Julie Whyman, Artist
Julie is a mixed media artist, creating representational paintings, using colour and form found in nature. She lives rurally in the Waikato region of New Zealand.
Julie draws on a love of birdlife and the natural world, the rolling green and treed Waikato, and the coastal Coromandel Peninsula where she also spends time.
Alongside texture and colour, there is a stunning depth of layers in Julie's work. At times she represents birdlife or tree shapes as a focus in a painting, while other times the birds are more abstract and become part of the landscape. She constantly finds herself seeking out birds in her garden, listening for their calls, and noticing them wherever she travels. The changing colours of the seasons are also a fascination, and her palette often changes with them.
Julie is self taught, developing skill and technique through hours of practice and exploration. This exploration means Julie paints intuitively, making many mistakes and discoveries. She never stops learning, allowing work to evolve while maintaining her own sense of style and uniqueness.
Julie's process is to start with play, with the intention of finding inspiration. Her studio contains various works in progress, as she adds layers of paint, ink, pastel, collage and various mediums until form emerges. She loves metal leaf and these are often found featuring, or hidden under layers creating luminosity.
Her work is held in private collections throughout New Zealand, and abroad. Julies work can be found in the following galleries:
