In Preparation for Juried Exhibition "WATER: Blue Pulse of Earth". Presenting the Curator’s Art

Judith Skillman: Between Nature, Emotion and Abstraction

American artist Judith Skillman works primarily with oil on canvas and wood, creating expressive paintings rooted in her response to the natural world. Her practice moves between recognizable elements of landscape and increasingly abstract interpretations, where colour, texture and gesture become as important as the subject itself.

Skillman’s artistic background includes studies at McDaniel College, Pratt Fine Arts Center and Seattle Artist League (SAL), and her work has been presented in exhibitions at venues including The Pratt, Galvanize and Seattle Artist League. Her paintings have also appeared on the covers of Thin Air Magazine, Pithead Chapel and Torrid Literature, as well as in publications such as The Penn Review, Artemis and Raven Chronicles.

A landscape transformed by feeling

Although nature remains an important point of departure, Skillman’s paintings are not simply attempts to reproduce what the eye sees. Her landscapes often become spaces where atmosphere, memory and emotion are translated into colour and physical movement.

Horizons, skies, water and land remain perceptible, yet they are interpreted through broad passages of colour, layered surfaces and visible brushwork. In "Pacific Beach II", for example, the ocean and sunset are suggested through horizontal bands and palette-knife marks, allowing the landscape to retain its recognizable character while becoming more tactile and expressive. "Storm Front" similarly balances the suggestion of a landscape with a much more abstract treatment of its elements.

This tension between representation and abstraction is one of the most interesting aspects of Skillman’s work. The viewer can recognize a sea, a horizon or an approaching storm, but the painting does not depend on precise depiction. Instead, the experience is shaped by the interaction of colour, texture, rhythm and the physical presence of the paint.

Water as colour, movement and atmosphere

Water occupies a particularly visible place within Skillman’s recent body of work. "Turquoise Sea", created in 2026 in oil on wood, is part of a group of works that includes "Lavender Sea", "Fire & Water" and "Water Study". Even the titles point toward an approach in which water is explored not only as a landscape element, but also through colour and visual sensation.

In these works, the idea of water can be approached through shifts in hue, layered surfaces and fluid gestures rather than through conventional realism. Blue and turquoise become more than descriptive colours: they help construct the atmosphere of the image, while the material quality of oil paint introduces a sense of depth and movement.

This makes Skillman’s work particularly relevant to a broader understanding of landscape abstraction. Nature is present, but it is filtered through the artist’s individual perception. What remains is not necessarily a literal place, but an impression — a changing relationship between light, colour, movement and feeling.

 Judith Skillman and WATER: BLUE PULSE OF EARTH

This connection with water makes Judith Skillman a natural presence within "WATER: BLUE PULSE OF EARTH", the next juried online exhibition at People & Paintings Gallery, where she is serving as curator.

The exhibition invites artists to explore water in its many manifestations — from oceans, rivers and lakes to waves, glaciers, streams and distant horizons. Artists may approach the theme through realism, abstraction or experimental techniques, with an emphasis on water as a fluid, powerful, reflective and transformative force.

This week, People & Paintings Gallery is highlighting Judith Skillman’s art as we prepare for the exhibition, offering a closer look at the work of the curator and at the ways water can become a subject of colour, atmosphere, movement and abstraction.

(notes by Cosmina Marcela Oltean)

 

OPEN CALL 

Artists are invited to submit their work to "WATER: BLUE PULSE OF EARTH".

Submission deadline: 2 October 2026

Whether your approach is realistic, abstract or experimental, the exhibition invites you to share your own interpretation of water and its presence in our world.

Submit your work and show us your vision of water.

https://peopleandpaintings.com/exhibitions/water_blue_pulse_of_earth

 

Explore Judith Skillman’s profile. Meet the artist and her art:

https://peopleandpaintings.com/judith_skillman