Natural light floods into the workspace of artist Judy Nichols’ studio in Winlock.
Judy Nichols’ Winlock temporary art studio sits beside her log home in a garden setting. The basic structure for a new and larger studio has been erected behind the house, where her husband is working on completing the finish touches.
Winlock artists Joy Campbell and Judy Nichols are both experienced artists, working for years in their chosen mediums, who have a lot more in common than art and a hometown.
Both work in pastels — Joy also works in acrylic and Judy works in oil. Both have created work for publication and for private collectors, and both are new to ARTrails of Southwest Washington and the annual fall studio tour.
“I think it’s going to be delightful,” said Nichols. “I don’t really know what to expect, but I’m excited.”
The thought of sharing her studio with the public has Campbell a bit anxious, she said, but she is also looking forward to spending the next two weekends greeting her art-loving guests.
“It’s a great opportunity to meet a lot of people,” Campbell said. “I feel like I may be a bit like a fish out of water in doing this, but everybody should push their comfort zones a little. My only regret is that I won’t be able to see the other artists’ studios.”
Judy Nichols, Acrylic
Judy Nichols moved to the Winlock area from Alaska just seven years ago.
“I spent 40 years in Alaska and was very well known up there for doing Native American painting,” Nichols said. “I’ve sold all over the world. I love going to museums and going through archives and family histories. I’ve painted a lot of portraits from photographs.”
“Since I’ve settled in here, I’ve enjoyed learning about the Cowlitz tribe and the histories of other local native people,” she added.
Nichols enjoys incorporating her interests and the surrounding culture into her artwork.
“I live in a log home. There are a lot of flowers and I have honeybees,” Nichols said. “I’ve started to incorporate the honeybees into my art. A painting that I did of my neighbor’s big maple tree covered in honeybees has been selected for the cover of Bee Culture magazine.”
A painting of two cockatiels by Nichols has also been featured in Bird Talk magazine.
Nichols plans to have two paintings that are works in progress at her studio, one in pastels and another in acrylics, to demonstrate techniques to interested studio guests.
Joy Campbell, Oil Painting
Joy Campbell has marketed her work to companies such as Knott’s Berry Farm and other commercial enterprises, and she is currently working part-time for local artist and designer Elizabeth Brownd of Mossyrock.
“Elizabeth Brownd is amazingly talented,” said Campbell, “and I’m learning a lot from her and how she markets her work.”
But for the ARTrails studio tour, Campbell is looking forward to showing the work she has created for herself.
“I’ve been doing some imaginary animal painting, creating imaginary situations,” Campbell said. “I’ve been creating paintings and working for myself a lot more lately. I’m in a really good place for that.”
Campbell is also excited about the opportunity to work with the other ARTrails members and getting to know them better.
“They’re a really nice group,” she said, “and they work really hard to put the tour together.”
“I’ve been working on getting my studio ready for the tour and it’s getting there, I’ve turned it into a gallery,” Campbell said with a bold note of excitement in her voice. “There are a lot of paintings out there.”
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Kimberly Mason is a freelance writer based in Cinebar. She can be contacted at kz@tds.net.
