2005 Artist of the Year

Joy Floats was added to the Wings Cancer Foundation permanent collection in 2005.  "Watching my father paint in the middle room of our shotgun house is indelibly etched in my mind.  He would paint beautiful wintry scenes.  Leafless dark branches contrasted clear blue skies.  Crisp white snow covered the ground.  It was all so thrilling.  Year later, I am still impressed and inspired by trees.  Gazing at them stirs within me a yearning to paint."

"You'll never see "Untitled" on any of my artwork.  Naming the piece is one of the most exciting aspects of my artwork.  To name the piece gives it life, and that way I seldom forget them.  When I paint, half of the effort is technique - the other is sheer fun."  NJ has said that she has to paint what's in her spirit, so it's interesting to note the changes from year to year.

Born a city girl, Nancy "Judy" Woods is a country girl at heart. Inspired by quiet, wide-open spaces and colorful people, she paints scenes of country life from memory.

On the weekends, to escape the noisiness of Orange Mound, the Memphis community in which she grew up, her family would visit relatives in Coldwater, Mississippi. Grandma Sarah's shotgun house, with its musty furniture and dark walls, became a country haven for Judy. She and her four siblings often chased chickens, wove through clotheslines, and picked and ate wild berries. The ride back to the city was always melancholy, because she hated to leave Grandma Sarah's home.

Yancy, Judy's father, inspired in Judy a love of painting. He painted recreationally in the middle room of their shotgun house on Bruce Street in Orange Mound. As a child Judy used tempera paint to decorate the windows. Today she works in acrylics and oils on canvas.

The visits to the country would later inspire many of the self-taught artist's paintings. Some of her most popular pictures are primitive scenes depicting country life such as "Southern Harvest" and "Sweet Breezes."

During the 80s, Woods met schoolteacher Wilma Tyler. Tyler would buy and sell artwork for Nancy. "I would go to different schools and sell (my work) to the teachers during their breaks". It was not until she entered the picture "Razz" into the WKNO Art & Antiques Auction that a larger audience began to notice her work. "The picture at my surprise overbid. It gave me a dose of self-confidence". Woods said she owes much of her success, confidence and eventual business, Zanique, to the exposure she received from WKNO, supporting family members and friends.

Zanique, a combination of the words zany and unique, is a word the artist felt best described her work. Wood's art has been seen city wide at various art venues such as the D'Edge Art Gallery, Germantown Festival, The Cooper Young Festival, and The Junior League Holiday Bazaar.

http://njwoods.com/home.html