Judy Takacs paints people

Judy Takacs shows it like it is. A winner of six “Best of Show” awards in the past two years, her bold portraits capture details and expressions in vivid hues and broad strokes on generally large canvases. Focusing primarily on painting people with understanding, irony and a high degree of painterly realism; Judy sometimes stages human situations with models, who pose as actors in paintings of stories yet to be written.

Other times the stories are told through the intense and expressive lines of their faces. Judy’s work is in private collections nationally and has been recognized by the Portrait Society of America and The Art Renewal Center. 

Chicks with Balls, opening Aug. 9 at BAYarts, is a provocative and edgy but thoroughly homegrown Midwestern collection of portraits celebrating everyday female courage with wisdom and fun. The ladies in Judy’s paintings have risen to a host of challenges with grace, courage and persistence. They are truly the unsung heroines of their ordinary Midwestern lives. An integral companion to the show is a blog where the artist and her subjects tell their stories. 

The collection continues to grow, and after its debut at BAYarts, the show will travel to art centers and galleries throughout the Midwest. The full breadth of this exhibit can be experienced through her blog, www.chickswithballsjudytakacs.blogspot.com; for more on Judy and her work visit www.judypaintspeople.com.

On Aug. 24-25, Judy will be teaching her special technique at a BAYarts weekend workshop, “Oil Painting the Figure and Face with Personality and Grace,” stressing gesture and expression of the human form using a live model. Chicks With Balls runs through August.