My work examines layers, transparent and opaque as a metaphor for what is the human condition. What is hidden is sometimes more revealing than what is seen. It is this paradox that interests me, the interplay of where we have come from and where we can be found now.
A recurring theme is the idea of compartments and compartmentalizing our lives, literally and figuratively. My work is informed by society’s teachings, how to separate ourselves, from our work, our heritage, our family, each other. We compartmentalize in the face of trauma in order to cope, and in the face of joy to celebrate and hold on to that positive space. We deal with compartments as we deal with labels, as a way to view this contemporary life.
Themes of Collective Memory and Resilience are currently finding their way into new work.
My method primarily involves layering, then breaking through to discover what is beneath. Often the result grows organically, however the idea is usually well thought out. My subjects can be a simple yet complex emotion, or a memory. I strive to achieve a work that is compelling, meditative, insightful and also illicits thought. I am successful when I can achieve painterly beauty without having to be pretty.
I am influenced most by artists with a brave heart.
Julie is a Southern California artist working in painting, fiber and conceptual/installation art. Her unique artistic voice and evocative exploration of our shared human workings has led to her work being exhibited nationally and internationally.
Julie is the founder of the global art project, Lift the Sky which offers a hopeful outlook for the future and invites artists to respond to the question, “what’s your message to the world?” After an early 2023 inaugural exhibition, Lift the Sky was seen at ArtPrize Grand Rapids in Fall 2023 where it was voted Top 25 Finalist (out of 750 artists). It was exhibited in 2024 and early 2025 at the Unity Center in San Diego, CA and at Balboa Park’s Gallery 21 in Spanish Village in September, 2026. Julie continues to pursue new exhibition venues.
Julie served as Director of Front Porch Galley, a nonprofit gallery in Carlsbad, CA where she worked from 2006 until 2023. There she curated and juried exhibits, worked with regional and national artists and created programming for residents in ten Front Porch retirement communities including traveling exhibitions and creating numerous large-scale collaborative projects.