London based painter Amy Judd paints collection’s of sensitive silent moments; some full of whimsical intrigue, others more surreal and seductive. These paintings draw inspiration from the enchanting and imaginative relationship between women and nature found in traditional mythologies and folklores.
The composition, light and positioning of the subject, creates curious images, which conjure up new “mythological” narratives or creatures within the paintings. A recurring theme is the use of Feathers as armour, and birds as familiars. The more surreal nude compositions are bold and strong, the feathers allude to strength, flight and bravery, rather than fragility.
However the paintings depicting women with birds (owls) have a calmer atmosphere, the use of negative space in the image lets the viewer breathe, the clothes worn by the figures and the muted colour palette create a nostalgic dream like feel to the paintings.
Amy Judd has looked to Chinese mythology for some of her latest works. ‘Huli Jing seduction’ takes its inspiration from stories written in the 18th century by Pu Songling and translates as ‘Fox Spirit’. The fox spirits encountered in these tales are usually females and appear as young, beautiful women. Typically fox spirits were seen as dangerous, but some of the stories in Pu’s Liaozhai Zhiyi are love stories between a fox appearing as a beautiful girl and a young human male.