Judy Richardson has always had a creative streak, but it was only after she retired from her first career as a kindergarten teacher in 2004 that she began to hone her talent as a painter. Plans of embellishing her pressed-flower greeting cards prompted her to sign up for a drawing class at the Ashland Academy of Art, which she did without the slightest inkling of where one innocent class could lead.

Once she walked through the doors of the academy, one thing led to another. Before she (or her husband Tom) knew it, there was a studio right in the middle of their house, Judy was signed up for painting and drawing classes, and empty wall space around the house was in danger of becoming extinct. Gallery shows ensued, and it became apparent that a craft project hobby had become a second career.

Influenced by the work of John Singer Sargent, Edward Hopper and Joaquin Sorolla, Judy loves using her brush to capture the vitality that light lends to a form on canvas. Whether painting figures, landscape or still life subjects, she uses the brush or pencil to capture a moment or an expression and develop its essence.

A lover of opera, gardening and the claret from the winery up the street, Judy is an avid traveler and general seeker of adventure, from rafting trips on the Rogue and Salmon Rivers to perfecting her cab-hailing skills in New York City. She treasures time spent with her six grandkids, whether vacationing on the Oregon coast or at home in Medford.

Judy’s become something of an art history buff in her exploration of different artists and their techniques. She appreciates how the pursuit of art blends with her love of learning, and creates a place to express what she’s learned while capturing the beauty of a moment.