A Modern Fayum Mummy Portrait by Judy Vars Wins Best of Show with Valley Fine Arts Association Juried Art Show

I will be showing some of my favorite artworks at the 

Bear Paw River Brewing Company
Artists Reception
4605 E. Palmer Wasilla Hwy
First Friday! July 6th 4-6 PM
The art will be there all month.
I will be sharing some of my favorite encaustic paintings (pigmented beeswax painted with fire). Bear Paw is a cool microbrewery with a friendly community vibe it's a great place to schmooze, have a cold brew and see art!

A MODERN FAYUM MUMMY PORTRAIT
by
Judy Vars

Angels, Skulls and Ravens OH MY!

Cross Road There is No Planet B

WE would love to see you at the opening reception where there will be a huge ice sculpture of a glacier which will be melting before your eyes, Lynda Enfante-Lyons and her partner Graham Dane super talented artists will be a part of this art installation with post cards to Alaska. Please try and come on one of these dates and see a very special art installation take part in poetry and a Q&A with Fran Ulmer about global warming.  Sandy Hill conceived this art installation to bring community attention to global warming and especially how it affects Alaska.

  Bless her heart she had been collecting hundreds of newspaper articles about climate change; scientific articles, political articles, actions to take, art and more. I was asked to create some artwork from these raw materials so I took the box home labeled Scientific Evidence, honestly I did not have any inspiration until last week then it came to me, this triptych is made from the newspaper articles and beeswax which the art is literally  melting. 

The science of global warming  and newspaper headlines does not offer much good news the scientific data is bleak and confusing.  I decided the best approach was to make an emotional appeal, temperatures are rising, weather is getting more unpredictable, sea levels are rising, out planet is getting hotter! 

First we need to stop being in denial and we need to stop now! Then we can address the issues we are at a Cross Road There is No Planet B!

 The Glaciers are Melting

 Tales of a Warmer Planet

 The Bad News! We're On Fire!

The Angel and the Skull

The Angel and the Skull

Original Oil

by

Judy Vars

24 X 30

VANITAS painting which translated means vanity and reminds us that this earthly life is temporal but there is another aspect to our existence. This painting holds a psychological meaning, the flowers represent that life is short and transient, the angel gives us hope, the skull says we will all become dust one day and the three wise monkeys remind us to be of good mind, speech and action.

From Caravaggio to a White Bird in a Golden Cage

This painting has a long story, I am going to repeat it here as I remember it. This painting is huge Greg had started a few years back and was intended to be of a desperate tragic woman in an iron cage symbolized as his mother, the eight iron bars represent her children of which Greg was the oldest. His mother died under tragic circumstances when he was just a boy. 

Greg’s vision was to have a Caravaggio type dramatic painting that expressed the bleak sadness he had as a child and his mother's circumstances as a trained classical pianist (symbolized by the ballet slippers) stuck in a ghetto with 8 kids and an abusive husband.

I always thought this painting a little coarse so one day last summer while visiting him I said; hey Greg I can finish that painting for you. He called me a week later and told me to come and get it. I brought home this huge heavy canvas about 5 'x 4'  looked at it and asked myself are you crazy? Well we all know that is a rhetorical question, yes I am crazy.

  In the process of trying to complete his painting and his vision (which I now know is impossible) I found thoughts wandering to the lyrics of the song, White Bird in a Gilded white bird must fly or she will die. I wanted to change her iron cage into a gilded cage, and make her younger and prettier; I just couldn't help myself my ego got in the way. I changed the iron bars to gold, I changed her face from a desperate woman to the saddest girl in the world, I added cycles of the moon, I painted fire flies for little points of light, gave her a boob lift, and even added a moth for good measure the only part of the painting that I didn’t touch was the golden ballet slippers.

I wanted to rewrite Greg’s childhood to a happier one with some hope. When Greg saw it for the first time he was taken off guard!  I know he expected it to resemble his original idea and I felt like an asshole for stepping on his painting and his Caravaggio theme. 

It is unclear to me if he really liked the painting after I got a hold of her and changed everything, but he was very gracious his comment was; I can say this, it went from a painting that would be not liked by most people to a painting that would appeal to a broader audience. He comically commented as to how now his mother's boob is pointing at his face after some discussion he sent me home to add a key to symbolize that there was a key to his mother's cage.

I delivered the finished product to him on Thursday.  

This is a heartfelt gift for my friend Greg . . My association with him has enriched my life more than I can express. He was one of my greatest art supporters, biggest critic and great friend besides. Every time I saw him I asked, how are you? He always said "better now that you are here" and it magically made me feel better. I know he has many, many devoted friends but he always made me feel most important and loved.

As I write this Greg's journey in this life is coming to an end, if the amount of people on this planet that truly love you is any indication of a successful life then you my dear friend are a superstar. Thank you for being in my life.

SAVE THE BEES - BEEHIVE DRAWER

SAVE THE BEES - BEEHIVE DRAWER

Encaustic wax - Mixed Media

21 X 21

450.00

16 OUNCES OF

HONEY

REQUIRES

1,152 BEES TO TRAVEL

112,000 MILES

AND VISIT

4.5 MILLION

FLOWERS

The Magic Hours Between Night and Day on Solstice Eve

Still Life on My Deck

24 x 48

Oil

850.00

What is your favorite time of the day? Do you love sunrise surprises? Do you enjoy the noon hours white light? Or the early evening hours with their glorious sunsets? June 21st holds the honor of being the longest day of the year. In my neck of the woods  (Wasilla, Alaska), that day provides us with twenty hours of daylight. This extravagant length of hours  seems to slow time and confuses our understanding of morning, noon, and night.  It’s been my tradition is to stay up all night on this Summer Solstice. I’ve heard it said that Alaska  is an insomniac’s paradise. Suffering from a bit of insomnia myself,  I can attest to the difficulty of trying to put oneself to bed when the sun is still shining.  On the solstice, I don’t even try. My personal favorite time of the day this time of the year has always been the window of  magic hours from 10:30 p.m. to midnight. The sun goes down slowly during this period,  displaying a long and glorious sunset. The light remains in a suspended state somewhere between day and night.  Old Sol hovers just behind the horizon, casting a filtered light of lavender as a  Prussian-blue sky and crimson shadows give the scene an otherworldly glow.  I often sit quietly in my secret garden next to my lake carefully observing the various elements of my surroundings. Because I am an artist, I mentally translate the colors I see into pigments  and am inspired to attempt to capture the essence of what I am experiencing. At these moments  I think of something Vincent Van Gough wrote to his brother, Theo:  "One of the most beautiful things by the painters of this century has been the painting  of darkness that is still color.” I feel like one of those artists as I sit and contemplate how to capture  the magic of the midnight sun onto canvas—how to paint the darkness that still has color. For now, I’m content to enjoy the midnight sun, as soon enough it will be night most of the day.  But the long winter’s night is magical, as well. Oh, the sights you can see: the Milky Way, the aurora,  nighttime so clear and clean you can see planets and galaxies with the naked eye! Sunrises, sunsets,  and bliss, “oh my.” At the Winter Solstice (the shortest day of the year), it’s my tradition to remain snuggled in my  new flannel pajamas all day long, no matter what. Tradition is a cozy thing. Blessed Solstice to Everyone

Tornado on the Plains

Tornado

Original Oil

16x20

Judy Vars

200.00

Dr Freud, Dr Freud calling, I'm not just sure why I painted a tornado, I have never experienced a real one. But holy shit a huge tornado must be a terrifying experience! The fury of powerful winds swirling around leaving indiscriminate destruction in it's wake.  We all know people like that, some of them came to mind while I was painting this tornado. Beautifully scary and it's for sale at a low post tornado price.

Bee and Flowers in the Window with Red Drapes

Bee in the Window with Red Drapes

Oil/Beeswax

20 x 24

Judy Vars

350.00

Come and take a sentimental journey with me do you remember as a child staring out your grandmothers window? Fresh flowers placed in the open window sill bringing a touch of nature inside her small but cozy home. What is about doors and windows that is so endlessly delightful? If the eyes are the window to the soul then and the home and hearth represents our soul then it stands to reason why these kinds of paintings are so heart warming. 

This was painted with oil and to make the window trim look even more rustic and dimensional I used encaustic beeswax, to put the whipped cream and cherry on the top I found this old shabby chick frame. I hope this window painting warms your heart and brings you joy.

Encaustic Wax Art

Encaustic is a Greek word translated means “to burn in” natural pigments are made from pure organic beeswax, mixed with dammar resin and fixed with heat. The exact formula was lost until a modern chemist reinvented it in the 1940’s.

The earliest surviving examples are the Fayum mummy portraits (300 B.C. to 100 A.D.), discovered near Alexandria, Egypt where embalming was big business and lengthy process taking 70 days, the head and shoulder portraits of the individual was painted onto wood panels for the mummy casing - an early Greek version of the funeral makeup artist. 

On a recent trip to Southern California we visited the J. Paul Getty Museum; this marvelous museum contained a room devoted to Fayum portraits and other fascinating funerary from Roman and Egyptian culture. Alone in this room I felt a visceral connection to the long dead people and the artists who faithfully tried to create a likeness of the person, it was a rare glimpse into the faces and eyes of an ancient civilization

The earliest icons were painted with encaustic wax.

Encaustic painting fell into obscurity by the seventh century and was forgotten with the invention of more practical methods such as oil and tempura. Electricity and pre-made pigments have made encaustic more available to everyone. Now in the 21^st century encaustic is back in a big way!

The qualities of the artwork that can be achieved with encaustics are unique. The beeswax is pure and organic, perfect for artists concerned with the Green Revolution. The methods are more like alchemy and magic than painting. It can be layered with translucent pigments to mysteriously reveal what lies partially hidden, carved back to reveal what is beneath. The depth and luminosity that can be achieved is remarkable.  Modern artists have taken the wax to amazing places. It also appeals to artists who want to carve, sculpt or collage. 

As encaustic goes main-stream, art collectors and galleries are becoming more interested in the medium. Encaustic art is losing some of its novelty - which is good. Collectors will not shy away from this medium as more people hear about it and understand its unique qualities which include durability and permanence.

My mission is to spread the “cult of the wax” so, fired up with enthusiasm!  I will be teaching a 1 ½ day workshop Artist Technique, Experimentation and Enlightenment in Encaustic paints at the Machetanz Art Festival at Mat-Su College June 3^rd and 4^th … Bring your ephemera, sacred objects, photographs  and I’ll bring mine, together we’ll create some art, imagination and willingness are all that is required.

http://judyvars.com/

http://www.cabinfeverinalaska.blogspot.com/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cabin-Fever-In-Alaska/113698755320513

Studio: (907) 355-2219

Marilyn Monroe RIP

Marilyn

Acrylic/Oil

16x20

400.00
Judy Vars

Marilyn Monroe

June 1st - August 5, 1962

The iconic Marilyn Monroe has fascinated my psyche since I was a little girl. As a budding teenager 

I watched her perform her song "Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend" on my parents black and white TV the excitement she created kept me awake! I imagined myself like her a beautiful blonde sex goddess. Fifty four years after her passing she is still alive in our hearts and imagination. 

Enduring fame is the definition of immortality!

Just like Vincent Van Gogh who painted prolifically for just a decade, she was an actress for only 10 years. On June 1st of this year she will have turned 90.  If only we could have watched her grow old beautifully.

I queried my friends of FaceBook to see what they would name this painting, here are some of their responses; Resurrection, Addiction, Beautiful, Marilyn Macabre, PhenoBarbie, I Am What I Am, Nearly Dawn Getting Ready For the day, Indulgent Woman, She Lives, True Identity, Fleeting Beauty, Beauty is Transient, Beauty is only Skin Deep, Eye See You, Sweet Reality, Life and Death, My Fair Lady, Equalizer, Pamela, Scary Date, Wife of Trump, Beauty Inside and Out and Skin Deep. Veeeeery interesting this proves that people are different and everyone sees art differently Marilyn cannot be labeled.

Happiness is not anything I ever took for granted.

If I am going to be a symbol of something I'd rather it be sex. 

Marilyn Monroe

My Fetish Doll

Look at my fetish doll - it's mine all mine - not everything is for sale . Driftwood gathered from the beach at Golovin, Alaska, Raven feathers, Seagull feathers, seabird beak, cracked seagull egg, old spoon and beeswax to hold it all together. 

“According to doll making legend, the original work for doll was “idol” We have just lopped off the “I.”
When we make dolls we are invoking God like powers. Doll making is a very powerful form of magic.
Because we are working directly with the human figure in a form that appeals to our child self, we are talking directly to our creative consciousness, which in turn speaks directly to our Higher Self.

“Doll making is a very potent form of magic. Therefore, dolls are extremely potent tools for manifestation. (It is no accident that dolls are used in Voodoo.)” But if dolls can be—and have been—used negatively, they can also be used positively, and that is what I did here.”

 

Why is it that dexterity, knowledge of art, and taste do not necessarily add up to what we seek in art?
Peter London

HAPPY DECEMBER! From My Cabin To Yours

Happy November

Pumpkin Head Snowman with Raven

OIL

Judy Vars

125.00

It's that time of year Halloween is over and the big Feast Day Thanksgiving is just 21 days away and then Christmas.
I created this piece today in the spirit of the season with my paint buddies at Grannie Frannies Painting loft. First I painted a crazy colorful abstract in acrylics and when it was dry I painted this cute pumpkin head snowman with a sweet raven sitting on his stick arm, it's too cute. This underpainting created a lively effect of color peeking from underneath it literally sings and dances.
In fact it was sooo much fun making this one that I am going to create more Christmas joy this season.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Snowman-with-Pumpkin-Head-and-Raven-Snow-Scene-for-Halloween-or-Christmas-/191731937321?http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/191731937321?

Geneva's House with Ghosts of the Past

Geneva's House with Ghosts

by 

Judy Vars

Private Collection

The other day something my grandmother Geneva had written turned up, it was written a long time ago in the perfect script of a school teacher using the indelible led pencil and her words were fading fast and the paper it was written on deteriorating. Well admittedly I have frequent contact with the other side through impressions, coincidences, funny happenstances so this I could not ignore. My grandmother was asking me to transcribe this before it's gone. The following is what she wrote long ago.

     My Grandfather Wesley Rose and his wife Maria Gates Rose accepted the gospel in Canada moved to Kirtland where the saints were gathered. They assisted in the building of the Kirtland Temple. They moved with the saints to Nauvoo helped building the city and Temple at Nauvoo. They were in the company of the prophet Joseph Smith on many occasions. Grandmas brother Henry Gates was set apart by the prophet Joseph Smith to teach singing and dancing in church socials. The Gates were great singers as was grandmother and a number of her family. 

    When the saints were driven from Nauvoo they took a few of their belongings and crossed the Missouri River on the ice late in the fall of 1847 on the Iowa side of the river they made a dugout in the bank of the river and spent the winter there. My father Hyrum Rose was born December 26 1847 in the dug out and early in the spring of 1848 they loaded up the things they had left in a handcart and with their two small children started on a thousand mile journey to Salt Lake to join the saints once more, arriving in the late summer of 1848.  They lived in Salt Lake for a few years and South to Cottonwood and later moved to North Ogden. My grandparents and father underwent the hardships of the early settlers of Utah and there were many at this place where my grandparents spent the remainder of their lives.
     My father Hyrum Rose spent his boyhood days in North Ogden at his place a few family had gathered and built a small fort to protect themselves from the indians. The young men would stand on guard the fort watching the Indians when they saw them coming they told the people inside the fort. this was the duty of my father as a young man. When he was about 20 years old he was called to cross the plains with an ox team and bring emigrants to Salt Lake City. It was late in the Fall when he returned. They had to travel in snow from Laramie Wyoming to Salt Lake City.
     My father Hyrum Rose married Martha Ellen Shaw of North Ogden in the Old Endowment House in Salt Lake City with Elder Daniel H Wells officiating. My mother Martha Ellen Shaw was the daughter of Elijah Shaw and Martha Ann Thomas Shaw. She was born in Salt Lake city August 25th 1852 her parents were converts to the church from Tennessee they also underwent the hardships of the early settlers of Utah When Johnsons Army came to Utah mother as a small girl helped drive the sheep and pigs when the saints moved South. After their marriage they lived in North Ogden until the spring of 1880 when they moved to Weston Idaho to start pioneering again.
     They settled on a lot in the northeast part of town across from the public square where Albert Jensen now lives. Here my father planted the first shade trees ever planted in Weston. He engaged in farming cutting his grain with a cradle he went on the hills and prairies south of town and cut grass with the scythe to feed the cattle during the winter months. He helped make the irrigation ditches in the South and East fields where he owned land. later he took up a farm in the Southeast part of town on the hill south of the Weston Mill. This place was covered with heavy sage brush he cleared the brush built a house and went6 thirty six miles to get more trees to plant and also lilac bushes which were planted. Now the oldest row of lilac bushes in the state of Idaho the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers put up a marker in 1941. At this place my mother and father lived until their death. They took part in the religious and civic activities in Weston all their lives. Nine children were born to them five girls and four boys at the time of this writing five are living.
     My father took part in all social events of the town he always called for all the square dances in Weston and surrounding towns. He was a good dancer as he was taught in his early life by his mother.
     Father and mother always raised a good garden. He took vegetables to Pocatello, Idaho to sell going in horse and buggy. He had a fruit orchard in Weston he was a strict tither paying his tenth in hay, grain, and produce. He broke his knee cap working on a threshing machine in Dayton which left him crippled. I remember him using a cane with the head of
Grover Cleveland and when he worked at night he took a lighted lantern. He took an active part in the seventy quorum. I remember.........................................
 

Little Gothic Girl

Gothic Girl

Oil

20 x 17

ORIGINAL NFS

Oh the joys of Grandmotherhood. Nicole my eldest daughter and I dressed up Rhaya my granddaughter for a photo shoot just so we could have some fun and so I could paint her. She being hyper kinetic and more of a sporty girl than a make-up girl cannot sit still for even 2 minutes so she indulged our urge to play dress up on her. We got quite a few poses for future paintings. Rhaya is my pride and joy; bi-lingual, smart, healthy, good esteem, "her future is so bright she's got to wear shades" I seem to have caught her impish essence.
I guess the Alaska State Fair judges thought so to because this won the big prize!!The Grand Champion. WOOT WOOT (that's me tooting my own horn).

15 Limited edition artist galley wrapped canvas giclee prints (artist enhanced): 20 x 17  $265.00

15 limited edition giclee prints of fine paper  20 x 17 $130.00





                                           
Small prints: 8.5 x 5.5  $15.00

Please contact me if interested: 907.355.2219

Liquid Sunshine

Liquid Sunshine

54 X 60

3240.00

Original Oil

Judy Vars

 I've had this intimidating gigantic blank canvas on my wall for several years taunting me to paint something upon it. Ideas for a large scale painting came and went. I wanted to paint a big deep space nebula but this would have been my first one. Then came abstract painting ideas; I am not comfortable with abstracts so I watched tons of demonstrations on YouTube. Next I thought just make it easy with Rothko like painting: paint a red field with a yellow square in the middle (too easy I thought). How about a group of people engaged in some kind of activity, no, that would be way too hard. All this over thinking was getting in the way of just doing. So one sunny Sunday day I set up the canvas on the deck, squeezed out gobs of paint, and just went for it painting happy clouds.  Right then Bob Ross did a fly by and whispered in my ear: “paint some Happy Trees.”  I said to myself “yeah trees, all kinds of trees,” I don’t care if my trees live together in nature because this is my world, and I can do as I like.  So I painted trees: ornamental trees, Poplar trees, Aspen trees, Oak trees, Rain Forest Trees, pine trees and more.  As I was painting, the clouds started to gray and become heavy and then there was a deluge of rain and hail, so I painted that too.

This painting did not come without frustration, bugs, and things blowing in the wind that kept sticking to it, and I had to haul in and out of the house when it rained.

The joys of painting for me is the meditative contemplative act of doing it, things roll through my mind, like how beautiful the world is how the cycles of sunshine, clouds, and rain nourish us and I contemplate the nature of trees, which I love, I’m a tree hugger! I imagine trees as people should co-existing side by side in harmony and love.

Now after weeks of joy and frustration I have given birth to this masterpiece Liquid Sunshine and it is now ready to go out into the world find a home.  It would make an impressive statement piece for your home or office. Please call me with any questions you may have. 

Raven Quadriptych

Raven Quadriptych 

Encaustic Beeswax

15 x 15

Judy Vars

$299.00

My Rant or is Facebook the Definition of Addiction?

After this week ends drama with Facebook I am ready to pick up my crayons and leave the playhouse. When one friend who likes to say fuck lightheartedly posts an article about people who use the word "FUCK" are Hotter and Healthier. Another Facebook friend who has strong opinions about the word fuck and the people who uses "said" word posts a confrontational judgmental generalization of people who use the word fuck in comments. This started a tit for tat that got ridiculous. I was reading this banter saying WTF!@#

I stand up for the person who was rudely insulted for basically a joke and support the other person’s right to their opinion and their constitutional freedom of speech. In the end they are mature adults and worked it out themselves.

My granddaughter Rhaya TEXT Messaged me: What’s up grandma? I reply: Drama on Facebook. She replies: LOL Grandma you're addicted to Facebook!

Out of the mouth of babes! Yes Facebook tickles my need to connect, click and get instant satisfaction. I get annoyed with the right wingers Hillary and Obama bashing,  giggle at the cute kitties, love to see funny stuff, hate to see hateful stuff, shutter at the gross stuff.  I enjoy looking at your life events; your vacations, new born baby, fun events and I also see your personal struggles even death sometimes the sadness and grief is too much for me to bear it breaks my heart a little more, still I look.

I endeavor to respect everyone's right to be who they are unique individuals with their own point of view and life experiences.I pride myself on my diverse menagerie of friends from all over the world, liberals, conservatives, Communists, Mormons, Muslims, Jews, Catholics, Pagans, Born Again, New Age, Buddhist, young, old, artists and missfits you are all my friends.

Don't misunderstand me I love me some Facebook.  
But there is such thing as too much sharing? I know I am guilty of this!  
I share my new mani-pedi, post my fancy Yuppie meal, share the ugly photos of my stitches, make vague comments to get people to engage with me, take a proud selfie of me on my new lawnmower, post some clever thing I am thinking the moment like "Some People Just Need to Lighten Up", or do my favorite thing scroll, LIKE and comment on all your posts until my pointer finger hurts.

I’m not sure if this post is going anywhere or who has the patience to read it.

I was just thinking about how many extra layers of skin I have had to grow over the years to be able to just deal with life on lifes terms and at the same time deal with my traits to be open minded, compassionate and empathic. I need some balance FRIENDS so it might be a good time to take a little break from Facebook and get back to my family, my blog and creating art. Hey if you see me lurking about on Facebook feel free to call me out or give me a call me my phone number is easy find.

One cute saying going around  Facebook:

 "NOT MY MONKEYS  NOT MY CIRCUS".
by
Judy Vars

That’s all I have to say for now but here is a picture of a cute baby turtle just because.

Northern Lights Tryptich