SALLY RUDDY
Waterford, CA
Sally Ruddy has enjoyed a distinguished career as an artist throughout the California area as well as at the national and international levels. She is a member of the prestigious National Association of Women Artists, National League of American Pen Women, and Northern California Women’s Caucus for the Arts. Ruddy’s work is held in the public collections of the Kaiser Permanente Hospital (Modesto, CA), CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY STANISLAUS (Stockton, CA and Turlock, CA), the Museum of New Mexico (Santa Fe, NM), the Oakland Museum Department of History (Oakland, CA) and the State of Hawaii Department of Homeland Security (Kahului, HI). Her work is also held in international public and private collections ranging from England to Mexico.
During the past five years Ruddy’s work has been in annual solo exhibitions in New York City. Other solo exhibitions include, the Schacknow Museum of Fine Arts in Plantation, Florida (2008), at CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, STANISLAUS, in conjunction with the theater presentation of ‘The Vagina Monologues’ (2002). Ruddy’s work was selected for exhibition at the American Embassy in Almaty, Kazakhstan during 1999 and 2000. In 1999, her work was chosen by the United States Postal Service for a Commemorative Cachet (a first cover envelope) for the unveiling of a United States Postage Stamp titled, “Honoring Those Who Served”. In 1993-95, her work was selected as the cover image for the CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, STANISLAUS Schedule of Classes and also for the Annual Catalog.
The New York Art World (May, 2006 p. 21), NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL GALLERY GUIDE (Collectors Edition September, 2004 p. 29), ‘The Continuum Encyclopedia of ANIMAL SYMBOLISM IN ART’ (Hope Werness, pp. 36-37,148,331) and TALKARTS (Winter 2002) are among publications featuring Ruddy’s work.
Artist Statement:
It is with a sincere tenderness towards humanity and a reverence for nature that I create my paintings.
I live on a small almond ranch in Waterford, California, a quiet farming community. I was born in California, but raised in Reno, Nevada, where landscapes were barren and space was wide. Childhood summers at Lake Tahoe developed in me a great love of nature. In 1967, I returned to California. I later graduated cum laude from California State University, Stanislaus, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Fine Art, with a concentration in painting. I also took post-baccalaureate studies at the College of Arts and Crafts, in Oakland, CA.
The expressionistic qualities of the works of Vincent Van Gogh had a profound impact on me. Other artists who have interested me are: Botticelli, Bonnard, Gauguin, and Alice Neel.
I tend to work in a series. Earlier series include landscapes and portraits. In the late eighties, I produced the Altamont Series—a group of oil paintings based on the Altamont Pass area (near San Francisco) that is scattered with windmills. In the Nineties, I produced the Treasure Box Series – a group of oil paintings based on the desire to pay attention to my experience of life in the body of a woman. Also, I noticed that the middle-aged female body was not commonly represented in art.
In many recent works, the theme is drawn from within. These works are a thread that weaves through everything I have lived and painted. I often plant the seed for an idea in my sketchbook, allowing it hatching time. It is as though, during all those years of painting the view from the outside, there were these reflections growing within. Now, I wait quietly for these images to come up--sometimes, the results surprise even me.
I love lines around things, painting them in and out, sometimes letting them show, sometimes not. My brushwork is Expressionistic, and the content relates to Symbolism, in that each piece suggests a story. However, each object is not contrived as a symbol. The word that best describes the work is “poetic”. Poetic Expressionism – “My Paintings are like poetry; you understand the ‘words’, but sometimes they are put together in a way that surprises you.”
www.sallyruddy.com
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