Cedar River Artisans

Biography

Julia is a native mid-westerner, born in Michigan. She has studied art in Florida, Maryland and California before moving to Iowa in 1992. She has a B.A., with painting as her emphasis, from Coe College. She has work in various collections nationally, including Alliant Energy, Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Coe College, Kirkwood Community College, University Miami of Ohio, Millhiser Smith, Terry, Lockridge and Dunn, and United Fire Group. She lives in Cedar Rapids with her husband Roy and sweet cat, Clark.

​

Artist's Statement

Painting is my true love. And recent years in addition to Oil painting, the exploration of watercolors has been a fulfilling journey. I’m attracted to everything about painting; implementing my quest of the “idea of color”, the movement of the pigment on the canvas or paper, how the gestural movement of the palette knife for the oil sculpts the paint and the fluidity of water and pigment can shape a landscape from the watercolors is inspiring. It leads the way to where I can lose myself in a meditative state. I react to the materials and let them guide me to a place where the combined composition and narrative can live. I love to see, as I hope the viewer does, a “surprise” or a moment that happens in my paintings, either while painting or after completion. It is important to me to keep some sense of traditional order in the landscape, but I also like to let the paint take on a life of its own and lead me to an end result that can be unexpected and seductive.