Judith O’Conal grew up in Sydney’s Rocks area and became interested in art as she repeatedly passed the plaque advertising the Julian Ashton School. She credits Sir Neville Cardus with her impetus to study art seriously: ‘He happened to see some of the youthful watercolours she enjoyed painting, and declared they showed a talent which should be cultivated. Even though music and cricket were his sphere, Sir Neville’s perception with regard to Judith and art were totally correct’, she writes. She studied at the Ashton school under John Passmore. In 1980 she had a solo show at Prouds, King Street in Sydney; eighteen years later, the Casula Powerhouse displayed her work. She has been a finalist in the Portia Geach Memorial Award and her works are held by the University of Western Sydney; the University of Wollongong; the Baulkham Hills Shire Council; the James Ruse Agricultural High School; the John Curtin Hall of the Australian National University and in private collections. In a detailed explanation of her revised name and her methods on her website, she writes that prospective sitters have the ‘advantage of enlisting Judith’s full talents and expertise through the use of either Old Master Techniques or Tonal Realism’.
