JUDY RIDER

Judy Rider is a water media painter who has lived in Hickory since 1991. She is a signature member of the Watercolor Society of North Carolina, an Associate member of the Southern Watercolor society, International Society of Experimental Artists, Piedmont Painters and the National Collage Society.  Since her introduction to watercolor medium in 1987, she has advanced her technique and style through workshops by professional artists like Fred Graff, Mel Stabin, Frank Webb, Stephen Quiller, Zoltan Szabo, and Bob Burridge.  Judy has participated in art workshops by nationally acclaimed artists for several years. She also teaches watercolor technique for Catawba Valley Community College, the Hickory Museum of Art, and Full Circle Arts. She accepts commissioned work in florals, landscapes, children and pet portraits.

Judy's inspiration comes from things in her immediate surroundings, like sunlight on a glass table, tree shapes she views from her windows, her travel, plein air painting and her imagination. Her subject matter ranges from florals and still life, landscape, figures, pets and house portraits. She has several ongoing "Series", including paintings from her travels in Italy,  and the East Coast of North Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, "Bar Essentials", "Going in Circles", "Sanctuaries", "Light and Shadow", "Tree Shapes",  "Canyon Memories" and "The Broody Bunch (Chickens)".

Artist's Statement: "I enjoy expressing the effects of light and shadow from my surroundings.  Whether the inspiration comes from my home, my garden, my travel or from painting plein air, I try to express the overall feeling or mood I first notice-time of day, heat, winter, sunlight, happiness, or the beauty of nature."
Mrs. Rider participates year round in local and regional juried exhibits, including the Watercolor Society of North Carolina and the Southern Watercolor Society, the National Collage Society, and the International Scoiety of Experimental Artists.. Judy has been juried in to the prestigious "Art in the Park" Fine Arts Festival in Blowing Rock, NC in the past.

Judy has a B.A. degree in English Education from Louisiana Tech University, and a M.A. degree in Secondary Classroom Teaching from West Virginia University. She is married to Thomas E. Rider and has three children.

Click to view Exhibition Awards