Drawing, Painting, Sharing.
I have been guiding people through the creative maze for many years and am fascinated by how different, and yet how similar, we all are. There are many myths about drawing and painting, but most come from a place of misunderstanding, or of disappointments left over from past experiences. We all have the capacity to improve. The only requirement I have of my students is that they have a desire to learn - and leave the rest to me. Drawing, the attention to what is around us, (drawing information, drawing near, drawing together and drawing comfort) is the true foundation of good painting. To draw well, we must learn to see. Learning to see is the greatest gift you can give to yourself. Life becomes full of aha! moments, more colourful and more beautiful than we could ever imagine.
I was interviewed by the lovely (and very creative) Roisin Ingle for The Irish Times, about Creativity, and what it means. She asked me, “WHY is it important to participate in a creative activity, what happens if we are creative?’ I was astonished, for the question turned the world upside down. The real question might be, “what happens if we DON’T participate in a creative activity?’ The answer to that is, we become unhappy and dissatisfied and can lose our sense of who we are. We are a creative species, innovative and inventive, with a whole brain (not just left brain or right brain) to nurture and grow. They say that we are either thriving or dying - so lets thrive. Lets make things, grow things, get outside, dance, sing, cook, breathe more deeply and laugh often. The best question of all is ‘What happens if I do THIS...?’
Grand Central Academy, New York City
Belfast Academy of Realist Art (BARA)
In 2018 Julie created Belfast Academy of Realist Art in lovely airy studios in East Belfast. All workshops, with Julie or with visiting tutors, now run under this title. The studio has moved a couple of times, and is now in a lovely bright space just off the main square in Comber.
Biography
Originally from County Down, Julie trained in Liverpool (foundation studies) and did her degree in graphic Design at Norwich School of Art. She worked as an illustrator for 12 years for advertising agencies, design groups and publishers. Julie was chair of the Committee for the Association of Illustrators (AOI) in 1989 and was on the judging panel of many illustration competitions during that time, including the Benson & Hedges awards.
She won the Association of Illustrators award on two occasions, in the Images Exhibitions (Images 11 & 3), for ‘Best Colour Pencil’ and ‘Best Unpublished’. The first of these was while still at art college in Norwich.
She won a New York Advertising award for her illustrations for American Express and two awards from the Color Pencil Society of America for excellence in colour pencil.
Julie has travelled to New York, Florence and France to study under some great artists, including Colleen Barry, Michael John Angel, Travis Schlaht, Ted Minoff, David Gray and Cesar Santos. From 2014 to 2020 she curated workshops with some of these artists to teach in Belfast, as well as PJ Lynch and Paul Foxton, attracting students from around the world.
Julie Douglas has been teaching observation drawing and painting for over 20 years, from beginner to degree level. She taught drawing and graphic design in Limerick School of Art and set up a private teaching practice at her home in County Clare called Art at The Park. She obtained as Distinction in the Masters programme, in ‘Multi Disciplinary Design’, at Ulster University in 2016. Her research was an investigation into the benefits of improving drawing skills not only to develop communication in design but also to enhance personal health and well being. In 2014 she created the first Draw In Symposium, a festival of workshops and demonstrations designed to celebrate observation and drawing, and the value of drawing as a creative tool, even in a digital age. This event included many artists from around the world who participated in lectures, demonstrations and workshops. See this review by Paul Foxton:
https://www.learning-to-see.co.uk/belfast-draw-in
In 2017 Julie published her own massive drawing manual, ‘Notes from the atelier’, which is available to buy on this site!
In 2020 Julie took part in Sky’s Portrait Artist of The Year in Battersea, London, where she had to complete a portrait in just 4 hours!
Julie's work has been exhibited in London, Belfast, Dublin, Seattle and Atlanta.
As well as painting, Julie enjoys spending time with her wonderful sons, her dog and two cats, She recently learned to ride a motorbike (a Ducati Monster 695), and sings in two choirs!
Coloured Pencil Treasures Book
Article by Julie Douglas – I was asked to contribute an image to a new book highlighting what is happening in the world of Colour Pencil, globally, today. I was honoured to be invited. All artists were asked to answer two questions, one about the specific image selected and the other was to explain our personal approaches to our work, as if we only had two minutes to sum it up! This was a great way of focusing the mind, and the different answers given throughout the book make it unique, valuable and varied.
Often, with both exhibitions and publications, there are artworks which don’t quite make the grade but this book is rather astonishing in that everything is amazing. A variety of subject matter and amazingly skilled artwork, to include all subjects and themes.
And while there is a wealth of artwork to be found on the internet, it is so lovely to have a good book in your hand, to really peer at some great work. I am really grateful to Ann Kullberg who co-ordinated it all, in a space of about 3 weeks, and would recommend the book to anyone who is interested in good imagery, no matter what medium you enjoy using.
You can purchase the CP Treasures book, share it on facebook and preview all of the pages here – http://www.annkullberg.com/cptreasures_2.php
My artwork, ‘Himself’, Colour Pencil on Bristol Board, selected for the 2010 CPSA exhibition.