Judy Riffel with her painting at the Paint & Palette Club Art Exhibit in the Robson Ranch clubhouse
Rosie Kuhn Bouse
From an early age, Judy Riffel was interested in the fine arts. She enjoyed being in the band and the school’s drama productions and participated in many kinds of art classes at school.
When she was deciding on her major in college, Judy’s mother, a teacher, strongly encouraged her to combine her love of art with a major in education. While student teaching, she discovered she excelled in teaching young people. Her early jobs after graduation laid a pathway to her career of teaching grades kindergarten through 12. She taught in Kansas, California, Kentucky, and Florida before settling into her longest teaching job as an art teacher in Lewisville, Texas.
After retirement, Judy settled in Robson Ranch 20 years ago. Judy was highly instrumental in helping to design the CATC building where Robson residents now enjoy a multitude of crafting classes. She insisted on having the glass showcases for artists to display their creations. For 10 years she taught drawing and painting. She participated in wood crafting and sculpted in wood, clay, and other media.
Judy’s home is worthy of being a museum, with her many paintings, sculptures, embroidered pillows, and wall hangings so tastefully arranged on the walls, sofas, and beds. Her previous home had been decorated with many florals, but she honored her husband’s desire to create new art from the animal kingdom and outdoor scenes of nature. Some of her favorite subjects are wild cats done in a variety of mediums and brightly colored peacocks painted and embroidered on pillows. She also has done outdoor scenes, which surround her getaway cabin in Colorado.
Judy is currently president of the Paint & Palette Club and participates in our quarterly showcases with her unique and colorful pieces. She has done many commissioned works and has generously shared her personalized embroidered pieces and paintings with a multitude of family and friends. It seems every new family member receives some unique creation “made with love” by Judy.
Paint & Palette is fortunate to have Judy to guide and teach us. Her classes in watercolor took place on June 20 and 27. You will find samples of the work that her students produced in the glass showcases in the CATC building.
Our Paint & Palette upcoming event for July 21 is “Keeping It in Perspective,” by Ron Hale. We continue with Show and Share the second Monday of each month. We are looking forward to a future third Monday experience on Monday, Sept. 15, when Judy will be teaching How to Draw Faces from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Indian Paintbrush Room 103 of the CATC building.
Membership for the year is $10. Students are treated to the classes free of charge. Sign-up in Room 103 is required. Some classes may be open to the public for a fee but are limited in size due to space. Members receive preference. The room is open for members to work on personal projects on Mondays from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. and on Fridays from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Please take note of our window displays, as they change fairly frequently.
Our September exhibition in the clubhouse is themed “Inspired by Imagination” and will be held Sept. 29 through Oct. 4. We hope you will find as much delight in our artistic creations as we find in exhibiting our talents.