Carolyn Judge is a New Zealand watercolour artist whose work is characterised by luminous colour, expressive mark-making and a strong connection to the natural world.
Painting has been a constant throughout Carolyn’s life. Largely self-taught, she has developed a distinctive approach to watercolour that embraces both its delicacy and its unpredictability. Her work ranges from botanical and bird studies to landscapes and more abstract explorations of colour, movement and form.
Rather than pursuing a single recognisable subject or formula, Carolyn’s work has evolved through curiosity and experimentation. Some paintings are carefully observed and intricately constructed; others are loose, intuitive and driven by the behaviour of pigment and water. Across them runs a fascination with colour, light and the expressive possibilities of the medium.
In 2017, Carolyn was awarded the Raye Hannam Trophy for Best Watercolour in Show at the Royal Auckland Easter Show, New Zealand’s largest art show. The award marked an important point in her career, during a period in which her work was also being published and reaching an increasingly wide audience.
After a period away from exhibiting and painting professionally, Carolyn is returning to her work with a renewed sense of freedom and perspective. Now based in the Nelson–Tasman region of New Zealand, she continues to paint, experiment and allow the work to evolve.
This website brings together a curated selection from that body of work — paintings made across different periods, subjects and approaches, but connected by a lifelong love of watercolour.