Julie Himel

Julie Himel carries a Diploma of Fine Art from Langara College in Vancouver, a Bachelor of Fine Art Honours Degree from York University, and a Graduate Diploma from the Toronto School of Art. Her award winning paintings can be found in private collections internationally, public collections including The University of Calgary, Calgary’s Civic Art Collection, Westfield State University, the Armenian Centre Art Collection Canada, and several corporate collections nationwide.

“My process is quite organic rather than formulaic. When I’m out in the elements, I photo document compositions that interest me, capture light. This is sometimes the only document of the space I have to start with. Other times I bring my sketching or plein air kit with me and spend some time sketching from life and translating the view into something a little closer to how the painting will be. If I’m without materials to draw or paint with, I will sketch from the photo when I’m back in the studio. That process filters the image from reality to a more emotional response, a step deeper than simple seeing.

I have notebooks and sketchbooks filled with sketches and writing all over the place. My response to the environment comes at different times.

“Titles or phrases come to me, or colour biases or colour combinations stand out and I imagine how the scene would look and feel through that lens. I write those things down; I make notes on dreams and memories of places. I refer to those notes and bring them back into the paintings. When all of the preliminary work is done, I block out simple forms in emotionally driven hues, build up the image in layers of different materials, and then essentially respond to the canvas itself, referring to the sketches and notes as needed, which tends to be minimal. The paintings don’t work if they rely too heavily on the photography; they need to become a reality of their own on the canvas.”