Storm Approach

A view of the country around Douglas, Manitoba. A little license taken with the storm approach, but that it is the joy of painting... ;-)


Storm Approach
Julie Cooper Young ©2010
Mixed Media on Canvas


"If I could say it in words there would be no reason to paint."~ Edward Hopper

Beached

Memories of the beaches from home on Vancouver Island ...



Beached
Julie Cooper Young © 2010
Acrylic Mixed Media on Canvas

"What we need is more sense of the wonder of life." ~ Robert Henri

Dreams of Umbria

This long painting was inspired by a friend's trip to Umbria. I was fascinated by the villages clinging to the side of the steep mountains.



Dreams of Umbria
Julie Cooper Young © 2010
Acrylic on Canvas


"Art is an outsider, a gypsy over the face of the earth." ~ Robert Henri

Miniatures

A sampling of my miniatures from earlier in my career, transferred over from my old dismantling-in-progress blog. These paintings portrayed averaged about 2" or 3" though I often used to paint even smaller. I probably completed as many as 1000+ of these wee pictures and often used to use miniature work as a way to flesh out ideas for a larger composition.
These days I prefer large scale work, 30" x 40" or larger but I enjoyed coming across these and remembering another path in my artistic journey.

These works are also signed under my former married name.I guess I could have tried to photo-shop the signature out of the pictures, but it was another time and place, so I left them as is.



"Others have seen what is and asked why. I have seen what could be and asked why not." ~ Pablo Picasso

Into the Silence

One of my favorite pieces, hands down. A multi-layered mixed media piece consisting of the first few bars of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata,an reproduction of an excerpt from a 1940's scholar essay, the dictionary definition of moonlight and the hint of Beethoven peering through the bars of the music.

The title, a nod to Beethoven's encroaching deafness that overtook his life. Can there be something worse for a musician composer?

By Julie
"Into the Silence"
Mixed media on canvas 40" x 40"
Sold


"The pain passes, but the beauty remains." ~ Renoir

Wine

Wine ~ and another chance to play with one of my favorite palettes, van dyke red, dioxanine purple and yellow. Limited palettes are a great way to experiment with painting techniques. I happened upon this palette after visiting a Rembrandt exhibition, inspired by his use of low light and glow...

By Julie
"Wine"
Acrylic, mixed media on canvas

These Boots

A smaller piece, found myself in that denim and leather mood again...

"These Boots"
By Julie
Acrylic on canvas

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams

Playing in van dyke red, dioxanine purple and yellows...

Bamboo Moon

I enjoy working with texture and bold color ...Moonlight is a theme that shows up frequently in my work, as does symbolism. In China, bamboo is a symbol of longevity...in India, a symbol of friendship.

By Julie
"Bamboo Moon"
12" x 36"
Acrylic Mixed Media on Canvas

"I often think that the night is more alive and more richly colored than the day."~Vincent Van Gogh

Storm Approach

A view of the country around Douglas, Manitoba. A little license taken with the storm approach, but that it is the joy of painting...

By Julie
"Storm Approach"
12" x 48"
Mixed media acrylic on Canvas

"If I could say it in words there would be no reason to paint."~ Edward Hopper

The Dogs Are Barking

Just a fun little piece, an ode to summer and the season of flips flops. The pose, a testimony to any girl or woman who has spent too many hours on her feet.

By Julie
"The Dogs Are Barking"
Acrylic on Canvas

"It doesn't matter how the paint is put on, as long as something is said." ~ Jackson Pollock

Working on Songhees

This canvas is a 5ft x 5ft canvas of the Songhees Walkway, a beautiful stroll to be found on the Inner Harbor of Victoria BC. Stay tuned for more pictures of this large work-in-progress.

By Julie
"The Songhees"
5ft x 5ft
Acrylic on Canvas

"I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way--things I had no words for."~ Georgia O'Keeffe

Chateau Frontenac

A piece from my earlier days that I decided to throw in here. Sorry about the grainy photograph, I did not have a digital camera back then, and knew almost nothing about photographing art. Somewhere amongst my photo files, I think I have a better picture...
It was a larger piece, 24" x 30" ... still one of the pieces that stood out as fun to paint until I thought I would count the windows I was in the midst of painting on the Chateau ...257....

By Julie
Chateau Frontenac
Acrylic on Canvas
Sold

"Your style is the way you talk in paint." ~ Robert Henri

Just Because...

Night themes featuring the moon show up a lot in my work. One of my favorite things to do is go for a stroll under the moonlight. Night is never just black, there are always many colors present. Add to that, I enjoy playing with patterns and textures, going off to explore a particular color palette, just because...

By Julie
Acrylic on Canvas
12" x 24"

"They thought I was a Surrealist, but I wasn't. I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality."~ Frida Kahlo

The Village

A friend's visit to India resulted in my acquiring a bright hand-made quilt from the region they were visiting. The women of the villages that sew these quilts usually sew vivid patterns and designs distinct to their particular region and village. This quilt is one of my favorite possessions and the whimsy, joyful fabrics, sequins and beads inspired this painting.

By Julie
"The Village"
18" x 24"
Acrylic on Canvas


"A work of art is above all an adventure of the mind."~ Eugene Ionesco

I am Every Woman

We share far more in common then not. It's part of the human condition...

By Julie
"I Am Every Woman"
Acrylic on Canvas
18" x 24"

Ode to Emily

I am a huge fan of the work of Emily Carr. Her great sweeping trees that reached for the sky inspired this piece.

By Julie
"Ode to Emily"
Acrylic on Canvas
12" x 48"


"Technique is just a means of arriving at a statement."~Jackson Pollock

Here Comes the Sun

Playing with criss-cross strokes and transparent colors...

By Julie
"Here Comes the Sun"
Acrylic on Canvas


"Creativity is the voice of the spirit." ~ Maritza Burgos

Lost in the Clouds

As a girl, I spent a great deal of time stretched out on my back looking up at the clouds ~ and that was the inspiration to this piece... A moment, a memory...

by Julie
"Lost in the Clouds"
30" x 40"
Acrylic on Canvas

Another Dimension

By Julie
"Another Dimension"
Acrylic on Canvas
30" x 40"


"A painting is never finished - it simply stops in interesting places." ~ Paul Gardner