Workhouse Artist of the Week: Judy Zatsick

Where artists get their muse is a mystery for the ages, but it doesn't hurt to have packed things up every once in a while and had a look at how the sun shines in other parts of the planet.

A well-traveled existence is but one resource which painter Judy Zatsick can call upon to invoke her creative energies. Her training as a painter in Belgium and her work as a graphic designer for an Italian media company were critical in helping her develop the necessary discipline to be a successful artist. She is accustomed to being creative, on demand, as it were—a helpful attribute with the deadline of an exhibition looming.

The exhibition in this case, "Tree Forms: Light, Shadow" is featured in Building W-4 where Zatsick is the featured artist in September.

"Tree Forms" combines Zatsick's many travels with her interest in how light affects the world, whether on the human form or in a natural setting.

The pastel work also appeals to her Impressionistic inclinations. "(The Impressionists) were really about light and that is really what this project highlights."

The paintings in the series depict Belgian Woodlands and the way light plays on the Beech trees that flourish in the area.

Zatsick often works on a larger canvas, where completing a work can take about a month, but the individual paintings in "Tree Forms" are on a smaller scale and each painting was completed in a few days. There were a few reasons for this choice.

"I wanted to do a series of smaller works rather than one large one," Zatsick says. "I wanted to resolve some of the painterly issues that I occasionally run into in a quicker fashion."

Working with pastel, as she did for "Tree Forms" was also favored by Zatsick for a couple of reasons. First, it called on her love of drawing and draftsmanship. She also likes that, to a degree, the pastels can be viewed naturally—allowing for an instant connection to the subject matter. "I don't like my work to be under glass", she says. "I like people to be able to get up close to it."

The paintings reward such close inspection, as they are dense with detail, revealing something new to the eye with each visit.

Zatsick, who lives in Fairfax Station, enjoys working in a setting like the one at Workhouse. "It's great to be surrounded by artists and to interact with them on regular basis."

Many of Zatsick's paintings are pictured to the right and can be viewed during Workhouse's regular hours, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wedesday through Saturday and from noon until 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Note: Each Week Lorton Patch will feature a profile on a different artist from the Workhouse Arts Center.