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E-mail us at: artcanada@canada.com Attn: Valerie Constand. We publish e-mail unedited and “AS IS”.

Helen McMartin, a world class artist!!

I emailed you about Judith Hintz Cox, and then the phone rang and I forgot that I wanted to know about recommending another artist or two in this area. One of the artists name is Helen McMartin, she is about 70 years old and paints oils on canvas with a palette knife, they are bold and large. She is well respected in the Annapolis area and up north also. I could give you more info on her if you would like. Another amazing artist is Celia Pearson. She is a photographer and has become an accomplished Ilfochrome printer.

She has earned a national reputation for her photographs of interiors and gardens and is published in many magazines. Again if you would like more info please let me know. I am very excited about these artists as they have become my friends over the years that I have sold their work at the galleries I have worked at. Now, I am fortunate to represent them myself in my very own gallery.
Again I would appreciate any info on how to let the world know about these great artists. Thanks.
Greg Elliott, Studio 24E, 710 N. Hammonds Ferry Rd., Linthicum, Maryland. 21090. 410-609-2112.www.studio24e.com

Greg, I am familiar with the work of Celia Pearson. She is an household name in the European and American art communities and industries. I will welcome the opportunity of writing an article about her splendid work. Please provide me with the most exciting and recent news and press releases about her. As to Ms. Helen McMartin, I found her to be a very accomplished artist. Unfortunately, I found only two of her paintings on the whole world wide web. One, I discovered myself, the other was gracefully posted at the site of your elegant, charming and creative gallery “STUDIO 24 E”. Please rush me with her bio, a synopsis about her artistic life and all the excitement, adventures and discoveries she experienced in her life. I took the liberty of posting some photos showing the beauty and originality of your new gallery. I wish you a lot of success with your gallery and a lot of happiness. Go tiger, go them!!

Below: Views from the elegant and beautifully designed gallery “STUDIO 24 E” owned and managed by Mr. Greg Elliott who, put a lot of love, taste and efforts in this charming and cozy gallery. We wish him all the best. What are you waiting for? Go pay him a visit and buy something…Take care, this is your friend Erica….

Dear friends, Dear Dr. Inga, Dear Maximillien:
we have seen and read the new page of your site, we are left without words seeing Vincenzo Balsamo elected artist of the year, this is fantastic for us, wonderful thing. There aren't adjectives to express our happiness and pride for that nomination. Maestro Balsamo is deeply moved. Please tell us if there is anything we can do for you. Balsamo thank you greatly and embrace you will all his heart.

Vincenzo Balsamo, Verona, Italy

Maestro Balsamo, we appreciate your kindness and fraternal affection. It was a great honor having you as our honored guest. We thank you for giving us the opportunity and granting us the permission to write about your magnificent work. We will meet again, and if you don’t mind having a big hug from an 82 year old woman, I will hug you affectionately, tenderly and shake your hand with pride.

Dear Erica, I wanted to thank you for having showed my works to Dr. de la Croix de Lafayette. I am happy that my works have moved you and that I have been elected by your website. I wish you all the best. Best regards,

I was particularly moved by all your article about my works. Your enthusiasm is a carrier wave which I am sure will talk to people. Thank you very much for the recognition of my work and my sensibility. I think it is wonderful that in such a trouble period people like you can look up and things that get human condition better. Please receive my best regards and best wishes,

Maitre Venel, you are welcome. You are highly regarded by our staff. No doubt, our readers have enjoyed your art. True, in our troubled world, only goodness of the heart and the beauty of art can reduce our tension, anxiety and fear. Your art most certainly offered us joy, consolation and a feeling of peace and tranquil beauty. Stay in touch.

Note from Erica: Soon after the article by de La Croix about the American artist Judy Hintz Cox appeared on our pages, an overwhelming number of letters and e-mails poured over our desks. They came from everywhere, Lithuania, Hungary, Brazil, the United States, the Ukraine, Ethiopia, etc. I am unable to post all of them, nor to reply to each of them. Friends and folks, please forgive me for doing that. Ms. Cox took our pages, mailboxes, Germany and Austria by storm. Many of the bulk mail we received contained extremely interesting and intelligent inquiries. One lady from Bosnia asked me why Mr. De La Croix did not elaborate on Ms. Cox’s philosophy of life, interesting events of her life, the white and blue periods of her work, etc. I found this letter to be very sincere, alert and stimulating. Unfortunately, half of it was written in Russian. Really, I wish if I could post all the letters and inquiries about Ms. Cox. Obviously, this American artist has an international appeal. She did create an immense interest among our readers. So, what I am going to do is this. I am going to post on these very pages, all the data, information, news, statements by Ms. Cox artistic crew and representatives, bios found on her website and other sites, as well as Ms. Cox’s own personal statements pertaining to her artistic philosophy, her way of painting and relationship with her creation. I will not be editing, adding or retracting any part of segment from the material I have received and or gathered about this superb artist. Thus, you will understand the woman and the artist, the philosophy and relationship, the vision and feelings that create the persona of Ms. Cox and her magical universe.

Ms. Cox experienced several colors and visions periods in her creative career. She spoke about the “WHITE PAINTINGS PERIOD”, the “CLOWN PAINTING PERIOD”, “THE BLUE PAINTING PERIOD”…On each and about every particular period of her artistic life, she eloquently and sincerely expressed her feelings, emotions, reasons for embracing such themes and above all, she intimately revealed what she felt toward her paintings, as if they were human beings. In addition, this magnificent and superb artist touched our imagination and soul upon writing on her feelings and sensations toward the mentally disadvantaged. Here is Ms. Cox revealing herself, her art, her emotions and her philosophy about her art, colors, techniques and most particularly, her relationship with her paintings. " ...Starting the 'white' paintings was a mental breakthrough for me because for years I felt my work should somehow be related to something that had to do with humanity, specifically, the need to make a statement that will 'make a difference' in order for me to justify painting. As I have grown, I have completely accepted the fact that I am an artist - and what is meaningful is for me to fulfill my 'is-ness'.

I have loved the thought of working with white for years - there is something very challenging in making it 'work'. When I was working on this series, I cut and sewed the canvas together before stretching it to give it natural ridged lines that are painted with black when completing the pieces. I don't know why I started using charcoal as an undercoat - once an artist friend told me that most discoveries/breakthroughs are accidents." Judy adds: "even while painting them and stepping back and looking at them in process, I had moments of feeling calm".

Her biographer who seemingly appears to be her artistic spokesman wrote this: “ With charcoal as a base, Judy covers the whole canvas with charcoal, followed by painting thick oil paint mixed with encaustic on top of the charcoal, building up layers. Some layers are built with colors (mostly burnt sienna and yellow ochre and black), with each layer being scraped off after applying white. Once several layers are built, these abstract paintings are finished by applying the white with a brush digging deeply into the canvas. Judy continues: "I have recently gone back to working in white using some of the same techniques I used in 1999/2000 and adding other elements I am using in my mixed media works. I am rather obsessed with working with white, and am currently bouncing back and forth between mixed media and white paintings. What is new for me is to work in two very different modes at the same time - but I am finding it challenging and that it adds another element to each work."

MONOTONE

Her art spokesman provided this: Abstract artist Judy Hintz Cox has been strongly committed to painting for more than 30 years. She began painting while living in South America, after serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ecuador. In the early 1970s, she began exhibiting her work, with initial shows in Peru and Brazil. In 1976, Judy returned to the US and continued to paint while teaching art in Seattle, Washington. After a dedicated career spanning decades, she continues to paint daily and is presently represented in dozens of galleries throughout the United States, from New York to California.

Obsessive about her work, she is extremely disciplined, painting nearly seven to ten hours each day. Her series contain as many as a hundred paintings and continue until "either I have nothing more to say, or I become bored." Judy added.

The press release continues: Drawing from experience and borne out of inward commitment, Judy's original artwork has attracted a wide variety of patrons, and moved even more individuals. Beyond Judy's skillful application of color and clever use of mixed media, lie very cerebral and explorative qualities, ranging from calming to sad to whimsical and fun. Personal, accessible and searching, her artwork divines a level of human consciousness that cannot be expressed in words.

Who influenced Judy Hintz Cox? This what she wrote: “I love art. There are so many artists I have been influenced by that I cannot even begin to name them all, though one of my favorite artists is Wilhelm DeKoonig. When I was in my teens, I toured the Art Institute in Chicago, and could not leave. I sat for hours in a room full of Mark Rothko paintings and was so moved that I had difficulty breathing. I didn't start painting until I was 27, after my first daughter was born. Prior to this, I never believed I could paint or draw, then a friend of mine invited me to paint with her and I never stopped. After working with several artists, I decided to go back to school for a second degree in Studio Arts at the University of Maryland. I love to paint and draw and always feel discontented when I am not able to do it for a length of time."

The JHC Studio in Stevensville, Maryland houses most of her works, with the exception of those traveling on exhibits. Some series contain up to one hundred paintings. We encourage you to visit the studio if at all possible. The studio is located just 30 minutes outside of Washington, DC and 10 minutes from Annapolis.

A fascinating period in Judy Hintz Cox’s artistic life is the Cerebral Reflections Paintings. Let her talk about it.

THE CEREBRAL REFLECTIONS PAINTINGS

Inspired by the mentally ill, poignant and profound, the cerebral reflections series are darker than Judy's other works, with abstract figures that are intentionally somewhat difficult to see.

Paint is applied with a generous amount of linseed oil, brushed in rapid movements, as it was with the clowns in the Clown Series.

THE CLOWN SERIES

This was a series that Judy worked on in 1997-1998. Bright and dramatic, the paint was thinned with a generous amount turpentine & oil, and then applied using very rapid brush stroke movements, allowing colors to run and drip together. Intense, yet delicate, and with beautiful luminosity, these canvases are a commentary on the human condition. The expressive and exaggerated figures with small white female faces are engaging. Some figures are on crosses, representing the view that we (both men and women) often feel we are being crucified with the burdens/suffering of living.

"I know that suffering is a reality, but I also know that I am responsible for my thoughts, actions and reactions. Therefore, when I am in the 'crucified' mood, it is due to my own attitude. I expressed this with clowns, which represent a comic outer appearance even while feeling something different on the inside." Judy concluded.

MAIL: ASK ERICA . Part Six

Helen McMartin, a world class artist!!

Vincenzo Balsamo, Verona, Italy

THE CEREBRAL REFLECTIONS PAINTINGS

THE CLOWN SERIES

JUDY HINTZ COX. JUDY HINTZ COX. JUDY HINTZ COX.