FOUNDRY GALLERY: "At First Brush" - Judy Gilbert Levey

"At First Brush" is Judy Gilbert Levey's show of vivid oil paintings including plein air landscapes, portraits and still lifes. In all her work, Judy expresses her first impression of the subject and works with speed and energy to keep that moment of reaction alive in her work. "If I'm painting something that's moving, I want my paint and brush to show it. When I paint outdoors, the light is always changing but you'll know where the sun was -- or if it was under a cloud -- when I tackled the painting."

Her heightened sense of color comes from the recognition that her eyes will catch, in a glance, a sharp accent of color that she'll work to retain in her paintings. Her colors can be thickly applied with a big brush or thinly washed over a canvas, depending on how intensely a part of the work is seen.

Judy's work was first established with her landscape paintings, which she gravitated toward for the experience of painting outdoors. Her winter-time studio work has taken on a greater importance in her work, as she's become interested in exploring meaning in faces and objects. "In the past few years, I've spent a lot of time at the National Portrait Gallery and given thought to what portraits mean to the sitter and to the artist. Many times in my past work, a painting will avoid using a face to create an 'everyman' sense to a work; for a change, I wanted these portraits to express the individuality of the subject."

Among her unusual works, she's painted a wall mural in a Bethesda park and a terrapin sculpture for the University of Maryland's Fear the Turtle campaign. Her work has been shown at the Yellow Barn Gallery in both solo and group shows. She's also shown her work at the Orchard Gallery in Bethesda and in group shows with the Montgomery Plein Air Artists. Judy is co-President of the Foundry Gallery.