We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Judy Eckhart. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Judy below.

Alright, Judy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

It is all about precious land, views, preservation, conservation and soul nurturing experiences from the landscapes around us. The director of Environmental Neuroscience Lab at the University of Chicago, describes the scientific theory, “biophilia”, as the human desire to connect with nature. Humans bring in houseplants, floral fabrics, walls the color of the sky and landscape paintings to connect to the healing properties of nature.
Judy has connected to the landscape in the many areas of the country where she has lived. When she returned to visit former neighborhoods, she discovered that views she had previously painted had been developed with housing and businesses. Those vistas were gone.
When she moved to her Santa Fe, New Mexico neighborhood, a nearby mountain called Sun Mountain, was about to be purchased by developers who were going to build homes to the top. Local neighbors banded together to put the mountain into protective conservancy through the Santa Fe Conservancy Trust. The mountain has been saved and is now used by locals and tourists for hiking the maintained trail to the summit.
Now, Judy photographs the landscapes seen from her own yard below Sun Mountain. The views include native plants, trees, mountains, arroyos and dramatic skies. She has painted landscape after landscape, recording these precious views. The series is called “100’ from Home”.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Art has been a lifelong focus and passion since her childhood when landscape painter Judy Eckhart began private art lessons at a young age. After completing a BFA at a large university in Texas, she married and began the adventure of moving from state to state generated by her husband’s career. Location and scenery began to be very inspiring and important in her artwork, both in graphic design in Mississippi and Illinois, and in fine art painting shown in galleries in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and currently in Santa Fe. Her artwork graces the walls of homes domestically and internationally. After decades of working as a professional artist and then retiring to explore new mediums non-professionally, Judy is very proud to have revived her art business and studio at age 68. The last two years have seen a portfolio development, internet sales, association with a new gallery as well as mentoring and nurturing an artists’ community. She is inspired by other older artists and business women who want to keep creating.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Judy Eckhart has had two challenges on her journey as an artist. First, in the early 2000’s, Judy was diagnosed with health problems that closed her studio practice for about 8 years. Her health became her focus. She learned her physical limits and learned to work with them. Fatigue and heat sensitivity continue to be a challenge, but with care and planning, Judy has found that there aren’t many things she can not do. She adjusts her schedule to attend art openings early in the evening and cannot participate in mid-summer outdoor art events. The second challenge is that about 4 years ago, Judy learned she is allergic to a chemical in acrylic paint, her prominent medium for the last 45 years. She had to find and relearn a new painting medium. She chose gouache paint which is an opaque watercolor medium. After a learning curve of about a year, Judy felt she had reached a professional skill level. Judy feels that challenges like these helped her learn more about herself and her strengths.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

As an artist and sole proprietor, Judy experienced, as many do, the challenges of business, marketing, taxes, and social media. In the past, mistakes were made in bookkeeping and taxes. With this new venture back into business, Judy has learned to reach out to support services like the Small Business Administration, SCORE, tax professionals, web support, and mentors.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.judyeckhartstudio.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/judyeckhartstudio

Image Credits

All photos by Judy Eckhart