Judy Miller

About the Artist:

I am a pastel artist working in the Lake Chapala area of Jalisco, Mexico.

It is quite an amazing journey going from a fresh piece of pastel paper to a finished painting. It can be challenging, uncomfortable and very stressful until it becomes gratifying, joyous and astonishing.

Pastel is such a luscious medium. The sticks are so rich with pigment and the sanded paper can hold so many layers that it sometimes feels like I’m sculpting. I love holding the stick and as it glazes against the sanded surface, it feels like the color is coming directly from my fingers, without the intrusion of a brush. Pastel is also the longest lasting of all media as it doesn't yellow or change over time.

I became a pastelist in my late 50’s as my 46 year career as a ceramic artist was coming to a close. I worked in a style that was distinctly my own and I sold to shops and galleries across the US and Canada, as well as participating in highly juried arts and craft shows. Using clay as a canvas, and with a humorous touch, I depicted scenes of people living life with a loving spirit. Because the scenes of home life were so specific, people looked at them, laughed, and said, “that's us”!

Living in Santa Cruz, CA, on the beautiful Central Coast, my vision changed from the interior life of my imagination that was my ceramic work to capturing in pastel the beauty that surrounded me. In November 2017 I made a permanent move to Ajijic, Mexico. I am now inspired by the ever changing clouds, sunsets and wildlife on Lake Chapala as well as the colorful people, fiestas and parades that I have seen here and while traveling. I work primarily from my own photo references. It is exciting for me to be awed by a moment and then explore how to express it as a pastel painting.

I feel very privileged to have had such a long and gratifying career as an artist and know that it has taken an enormous amount of perseverance and dedication to get to this place. What has meant the most to me is the overwhelming response I have received for both my ceramic work and my pastel paintings. To know that my vision has opened other people’s eyes to see anew, is what is ultimately rewarding.

“Pastel is like the dust on a butterfly wing…” ~ Claude Monet