Judy Robinson Designs & Art

One of the many musical instruments I have enjoyed making.

Updated Jan. 2019

I always have enjoyed bringing delight into people’s lives and find joy in being able to do that both through art and the musical instruments I build.

Lyn Boyer, painting on the rim of the Grand Canyon, en plein air.

My beginning with watercolor painting was inspired by watching artists during the Celebration of Art at the Grand Canyon. On location on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, they were capturing the beauty of the Canyon with oils, acrylics, pastel chalk and clay.

My approach also is influenced by the Urban Sketching movement, which encourages people to sketch the surroundings of their daily lives and be in the moment.

With pen, ink, watercolors, and acrylics I seek to capture scenes and moments — wood storks in wetlands or windy walkway in a medieval village on the mountains of Spain.

I’ve found creating artwork helps me synchronize mindfulness and the breathing I’ve learned in yoga. The attentiveness to surroundings promotes immersion in the moment.

Much of my career involved creativity through design – and helping others learn to design — print publications, websites, photography and music. I now enjoy working with wood, watercolor and acrylic paints — precisely because they are non-digital and don’t require a computer screen.

Urban sketch of rain scene in Gatlinburg, TN

One of the wonders of watercolor is its unpredictability. Pigment and water dance in unexpected ways.

Selling flutes at Leesburg Art Festival

In creating my Native American-style flutes, I enjoy the different qualities of wood and assessing which woods and what cut will create a flute of a certain tuning.

Branch flutes

Trees are fascinating and I always find surprises and delights as I create from branch flutes from each piece of wood. I can turn a flute to include both the heartwood and sapwood of the tree, or I can create a sweet-sounding flute from a tiny branch.

I’ve enjoyed studying with artists at the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts and John C. Campbell Folk School, in the Berkeley studio of luthier Mike DaSilva, and in an Urban Sketching workshop with James Richards.

At the end of one of my favorite classes at Arrowmont, Doug (left) and Bob traded wood bowls they’d made for a Native American-style flute I’d built.

What fun when I see one of my creations becomes a beacon to people. They have a flicker of recognition – a memory of a  place or song. They are are able to experience a location I’ve painted or they become inspired to play one of my flutes.

My artwork can be part of your life.