Diane Gawey Riley and Judy Claudette Williams stand among the art available for purchase at J claudette. PHOTO BY DAN MORGAN.
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Therapeutic Brushstrokes
The owner of one of Tulsa’s newest art galleries meets hardship with paint and canvas.
udy Claudette Williams never planned on becoming a painter. In fact, if not for a series of medical hardships, she might have never put herself in front of a canvas with a palette of paint. Eight years ago, Williams battled breast cancer twice and won. However, after beating cancer, Williams was forced to undergo a thyroidectomy (the removal of the thyroid gland), but complications from that surgery left Williams with two paralyzed vocal chords. As a result of that surgery and subsequent recovery, Williams was left with about 60 percent breathing capacity and a changed life. “Life as I knew it just kind of came to a halt. I can’t walk and have a conversation, I don’t have enough air to do that and do anything physical,” she says. Williams, always one with an artistic bent who also runs her own interior design business, was urged to try painting by her family as a new outlet for her now much less active lifestyle. Without any experience in the medium, (“I didn’t even know how to clean a palette knife,” she confesses) Williams put brush to canvas and never looked back.
“I started, and I loved it,” says Williams, who signs all of her paintings as “Claudette.” “I just decided to take what had happened to me and make something good come out of it.” Williams doesn’t take her cues from contemporary or classical masters of the craft or from years of study; in fact, one instructor that saw Williams’ work said study might be the worst thing for her art. “I was told by an art instructor that whatever I do, don’t take a lesson. Just keep doing what you’re doing and don’t start to overthink,” she says. Williams paints in what is known as alla prima style – layering wet paint on wet paint – a style that means she paints a piece from start to finish, sometimes spending as long as 18 hours on a single work. “When I sit down to start painting, I just start with a color not knowing where I’m going with it,” says Williams. “It’s more emotional to me. It’s more of an emotional endeavor than the act of just physically painting.” The transition from therapeutic outlet to possible business venture happened somewhat quickly.
“People started to come see my work, then people started coming to buy my work,” she says. Before long, Williams’ work caught the attention of Diane Gawey Riley, an art dealer with Oklahoma ties who has run galleries from New York to Australia, selling the works of such stalwarts as Andy Warhol and Jasper John. “When I met her, I just said, ‘You have a gift; there’s something special about your canvasses,’” says Riley “We’ve been dreaming of doing a gallery since.” That dream came true in November, when J claudette Gallery opened on Brookside. The opening featured not only Williams’ work but also 10 other artists from around the country and world. J claudette Gallery also features one-of-a-kind artistic design items, including an 18th-century handcarved sculpture from Thailand. Williams is still happy to be perched in front of a canvas. “When I started, I was just painting for myself, and I never want that change,” she says. “If other people love it, that’s wonderful, but I just paint for myself.” MORGAN BROWNE DECEMBER 2013 | WWW.OKMAG.COM
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