Not yet 19, Roanoker Brook Ludy already is making a name for herself in the region as a gifted artist and illustrator.
Noted for bright, exuberant cityscapes showcasing downtown Roanoke features such as the Mill Mountain Star, the H&C Coffee neon sign and the city’s beloved vintage eatery, the Texas Tavern, Brook will feature her artwork at the Jason Lane Holiday Craft and Vendor Fair Saturday, December 1, at the Berglund Center. Time of the event is 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
A native of California who relocated to Roanoke with her family as a small child, Brook is a recent graduate of Cave Spring High School now enrolled as an art major at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.
Her parents, Chris and Kristi Ludy, Pennsylvania natives and high school sweethearts, chose Virginia as a new home because of their affinity for “The Waltons,” a popular 1970s TV series set in the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Great Depression era of the 1930s, according to Brook. Brook’s Dad owns Back Creek Sportswear, and she has a brother,Trey, a student and sports enthusiast at Cave Spring Middle School.
When they are not in an art show, Brook’s works are featured at Buy the Season on Apperson Drive in Salem and Greenbrier Nurseries’ Farm to Table on Starkey Road in Roanoke.
She’s illustrating a new children’s book, “A Star City Christmas,” by Roanoke author M.R. Hooley, coming out in December just in time for the holidays. In the book, designed for youngsters age four to 10, Santa and his reindeer become lost in Roanoke on Christmas Eve, where the jolly old elf gets stuck by his britches atop the Roanoke Star and needs to be rescued, and the reindeer stop and take a lunch break at the Texas Tavern.
“I’m really excited to see it,” said Brook of the hard cover book, which also will be offered at Buy the Season.
Brook said after college, she hopes to return to Roanoke, where she dreams of one day opening her own shop downtown and marketing her art on mugs, tote bags and t-shirts to promote the city.
“I love all the festivals here,” she said. “I picture myself downtown.”
About the Writer:
Rebecca Jackson is a veteran newspaper person/journalist based in Bedford County, VA. A native of California and an M.A. graduate of Arizona State University, she has a passion for pets (animals), good food/cooking, music, wine, horticulture, photography and travel.
