Julie Himel

Master | Instructor | Mentor

Julie’s study of space is rooted in the understanding of landscape as both an encounter and an image. It’s in the balancing act of grounding and departure—always looking for the light through the tangle of life. It’s in decay, not as destruction, but as catalyst: a signpost for renewal, growth and reclamation. And it’s in honesty, about creating a portrait of landscape as it is: something apprehended and unknowable. Paint is the medium she uses to formalize the possibility of a place—a place alive, mutable and shared, a character in our collective unconscious.

“I can’t un-see the beauty of Earth in its natural state, and memory, dream or spiritual connection inform a beautiful longing for such spaces. I feel it’s important to portray that beauty, to think about all we need to preserve for future generations. The time I spend in nature is where I ground myself in that beauty, studying forms and qualities of light, but it plays an equal role to the time I spend away, dreaming, writing and responding to memories of natural spaces. The time I spend in reflection is the ingredient needed to steer me away from straight rendering of nature.”      ~ Julie

for Hobbyist and Emerging Artists

STARTS Wednesday October 28th at 10am-12pm ET (8-10am MT) and repeats on the 4th Wednesday of every month thereafter [NOTE: December’s session is on Dec. 16]

About The Artist

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.”   ~ Julie