 | Judith Mackey has been a
professional artist for over 45 years. A native Kansan who resides in the Flint Hills, she paints what she is most familiar
with-landscapes of the prairie, working cowboys and the ranch life that
surrounds her rural Chase County home.
Judith was self-taught for the
first 30 years of her career, but in a recent effort to further
cultivate her talents she has sought out the tutelage of her favorite
contemporaries - Wayne Wolfe, Jim Wilcox, Ralph Oberg, Skip Whitcomb,
Dan
Gerhartz, and Michael Lynch. These associations have made Judith aware
of her possibilities in both technique and subject matter that have
broadened her vision and enhanced her talents so she feels a renewed
vitality and inspiration for her painting. |
Over
her long career Judith
has won many honors. In recent years, she has been in the top 200 in
Arts for the Parks competition three times-almost every time she
entered this prestigious national juried show. In 2005 3 pieces were
selected to be in the top mini 100 in the Arts For The Park
competition. She was
juried into Salon International, an important exhibit for artists of
the west two years in a row. In 2001 her work was accepted into the
American Women Artist competition along with the years 2006, 2007 and
2009 in which she won awards all three years. In 2009 she became a
signature member of the American Women Artist organization.
Her
paintings have been used as cover illustrations on
magazines and books. She was featured in the Spring 1997 issue of
Persimmon Hill, the official publication of the National Western Cowboy
& Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. In
2004 she was a featured artist in the New York Times article titled
"Sowing Art on the Kansas Prairie and was filmed in her studio for
inclusion in a CBS documentary on the same subject. Recently featured
along with 10 other artist in the March 2012 Plein Air magazine in an
article titled "Composing Outdoor Paintings on the Prairie".
In
addition to many private
and corporate collections, Judith's work hangs at the Kansas Capitol
Building and at Cedar Crest the official residence of the Kansas
Governor. In 1999, four of
her oils were on display at the White House as part of the "Save
America's Treasures" Christmas display, and since then her work has
been used 2 more times as part of the White House Christmas Display.
Judith first abstracts her
subjects' mass and form on location. She then finishes the paintings in
a more deliberate manner in the studio, adjusting the composition and
values, and selecting significant details. Although she may take a
reference photo or two, she depends principally on her intimate
knowledge of the place she lives and loves. Those who know the Flint
Hills well usually love Judith's work best. For others, it opens their
eyes to the beauty often overlooked on a trip down I-70 thru Kansas.
While pursuing her artistic
ambitions Judith also found time to raise three children, manage a
household and art gallery, and work with husband, Ken, in their various enterprises
promoting the small town of Cottonwood Falls. She now enjoys the
company of her grandchildren.
Go to Judith Mackey's Previous Works
Go to Judith Mackey's Current Works
Go to Judith Mackey Available Prints
