St. Croix has been her home ever since, and that may in part explain why she is so admirably attuned to the quirkiness of living here, which she often treats with a wry, often whimsical commentary. Using encaustic oil for her paintings allows texture and richer colors in her works, while the subject matter - the persons, their activities and the establishment place names tell an amusing story about island culture that testify to Judith King's love for this place. Her acute powers of observation are reflected in work with titles like "Down by the Big Mouth Bar", "Cell Phone Market", "Domino Players", and "Destiny Taylor".

In addition to painting, she has in recent years branched into several other art forms. On the gallery walls we see Mocko Jumbie stilt dancers or mysterious heads made out of natural plant materials - flamboyant and tan-tan seedpods, palm fibers and seeds, or heads made of coconuts, with a touch of color added.

Her latest achievement is in jewelry, primarily using silver and semi-precious beads, with design impressions molded into the 99.9% metal clay silver - showing island images like lizards, sea turtles, sugar mills, Mocko Jumbie stilt dancers, and other evocative icons of St. Croix. Combining silver with beads to make abacus jewelry again attests to the originality of her creative thinking.

Judith King's prices are reasonable, and prints of her paintings and watercolors are very affordable. View examples of her work at her website www.judithkingart.com, or visit the gallery Mondays through Saturdays, usually open between 10 am and 5 pm.