Spotlight on: Judy Gilman-Hines

"Amaryllis" above and "Crabapple" below by Judy Gilman-Hines

Spotlight on Judy Gilman-Hines

By Judith Towers

One of the admirable things about botanical artist Judy Gilman-Hines is her organization.

• Paintings are always the same size and framed alike.
• Each one is intensely colorful.
• Her classroom set-up features a live plant, a lamp, top-notch paints, brushes, HP watercolor paper, and Judy, comfortably seated and excited about her drawing.
• She is always enthusiastic!

Judy has a website www.gilmanarts.com where you can see at least 48 of her paintings. She participates in many shows with a booth at Strange’s Orchid Show (see photo below), a gallery space at Crossroads Art Center, and has work in the permanent collections of Longwood University, Farmville; St. Catherine’s School, Richmond; and Queens University, Charlotte, NC.

Her first botanical class was at Wintergreen in 1992 with James Linton Sain.

Judy has studied with several internationally known teachers, including Katie Lee, Jenny Phillips, Margaret Saul, Coral Guest; frequently you can find Judy at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Juliet Kirby’s botanical illustration classes.

Judy credits her love of plants and painting to her mother, Louise Blanks Cochrane, who still paints at age 96. Mrs. Cochrane’s Victory Garden turned rose garden led Judy into gardening and painting as well. Judy, surrounded by beautiful plants all her life, now paints “to bring (the) garden into the house year round.”

No doubt Judy Gilman-Hines, like her mother, will be painting roses and rhododendrons, peonies and passionflowers, lilies, lady’s slippers, and more for many years to come...