Staff Member's Painting Accepted for International Pastels Exhibition

Courtesy of Judy Howard

Pastel painting by Judy Howard

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Judy Howard, a graphic designer and project manager for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, will have one of her most recent pastel paintings on display at the International Association of Pastel Societies’ 26th Juried Exhibition next month. One Winter Evening, will be shown as part of the association’s convention and PastelWorld Exhibition in Albuquerque, New Mexico, June 2-7. The convention is held every two years and attracts artists from pastel societies around the world.

“I’m very excited to have a painting chosen for this exhibition,” said Howard. “It is very competitive, with hundreds of artists submitting their work. I’m honored to have one of my paintings displayed along with paintings by so many wonderful pastel artists.”

Howard grew up in Fort Smith, the daughter of Louise Ferguson and the late Rex Ferguson. She attended Westark College – now the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith – before earning a Bachelor of Arts in art education at Arkansas Tech University. She taught at Van Buren Junior High and later at Westark, before starting work there as a graphic artist. Her iconic watercolor of the campus bell tower has been used in framed prints, countless publications and on stationery and clothing.

She moved to Fayetteville and the U of A in 1998, and began working in pastels about 10 years ago.

One Winter Evening is Howard’s second painting to be accepted into an International Association of Pastel Societies juried show. Tracks & Shadows was chosen for the 23rd Juried Exhibition online show last year.

Howard has had two solo exhibits in Northwest Arkansas — one at the Arts Center of the Ozarks in 2013 and a second at the Bentonville Convention and Visitors Bureau in 2014.

She is a member of the Ozark Pastel Society and Artists of Northwest Arkansas and currently displays her pastel paintings on her website: http://wordpress.uark.edu/jihoward/.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.