“Summer Breeze,” by Judy Stroup
By Kara Dicker
The temperature was in the upper 90s when Judy Stroup set out to paint the willow tree and surrounding grasses near the riverbank at Cliff Cave Park. The park’s main shelter provided just enough relief to make painting bearable. Then came the gift of breeze.
“I never noticed the heat once I started painting and finished up just as the wind calmed down,” said Stroup. The resulting Summer Breeze, completed in 2016, exhibited in shows and galleries around town before selling at RepreSENSATIONAL, the recent national juried exhibit hosted by Heartland Art Club.
Stroup, who describes her lifetime of drawing and painting as largely “self-directed,” embraced plein air ten years ago, pulled initially by childhood memories of her small family farm in Lincoln County, where creeks and creek beds held special allure. “A lot of what immerses you as a child sticks with you,” she said.
While depictions of streams and waterways prevail in much of her work, it’s the ongoing, interactive discovery within the medium that Stroup has learned to enjoy. “You can go very close to home and find natural beauty,” she said. Stroup resides in South St. Louis County, an area rich in parks and conservation sites. She lists Gravois Conservation Area, Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center, and Emmenegger Nature Park as among her favorites.
While Stroup often works in isolation, she enjoys occasional social engagement around painting. She organized the Wednesday Group, where artists gather weekly in the morning to explore a different location, usually in the South County area, such as Jefferson Barracks or Suson Park. “It just sort of evolved,” she said. “Some do it for the socialization; other people like being out without being by themselves.” It’s not unusual for a passer-by to stop to inquire about her work: “I welcome them,” she said. “I don’t encounter anyone who has been unpleasant. It’s usually brief and pleasant and enjoyable.”
Through the lens of plein air, Stroup has observed first-hand how the natural environment, particularly waterways, changes. The willow tree she painted in Summer Breeze is no longer there, a casualty of a recent flash flood. In other instances, she’s noticed how the curve of a bank or even the course of water has completely altered. “Those are the kind of things in nature that speak to me,” she said.
A founding member of Heartland Art Club, Stroup volunteers her time helping set up for workshops and hosting the gallery. “I enjoy spending time with the art there,” she said. “It’s interesting to see what people like.”
As for the current RepreSENSATIONAL exhibit: “The national show that’s in there now is just phenomenal,” she said, emphasizing that it broadens the understanding of what representational art is through its variety of works.
