Artist Statement

The Earth’s diverse surface is fascinating. The vegetative environments invite viewers to visit a place.  Local light and atmosphere affect the plant life that thrives, the colors we see and experience of mood and energy.  These botanical paintings explore memory and landscape with complex spatial environments that hover between painterly realism and abstract passages.

      Outdoor energy can be comforting like connecting with family.  Raised in rural Wisconsin and moving seven times in thirteen years piqued my interest in diverse landscapes, flora and fauna. Whether a mass of color blur or the focal point of a bloom like a botanical illustration, each is recording its environment and time. A meditative connection to the wild land comes with observation and ecological awareness. I am part of the Planet Earth’s complex system with respect for the Earth and its environment. We are all part of this system which weaves a connectedness to the spirit, emotion and texture of the Earth.

     My chemical engineering background is reflected in my artwork and creative practice focusing on materials and process. Using a Yupo support makes possible both aqueous materials and oil paint to create a complex spatial visual experience. The bold use of initial marks that swirl through the backgrounds of floral compositions, echo and amplify the rhythms of the more naturally drawn floral elements. Visual density from transparent to opaque are leveraged in creating organic textures.  Color is a vehicle to convey energy from nature. These works nod to influences from Henri Matisse, Paul Cezanne, Pierre Bonnard and contemporary artist, Robert Kushner.

Art Gallery Representation

Julie England Bio

Julie England is an oil painter working in Dallas, Texas. In 2018 she was honored with the SMU Mary Vernon Painting Prize from the Southern Methodist University Meadows Art faculty. England’s artwork was selected for the New Texas Talent XXVII in 2020 and the Texas National 2018 Art Competition & Exhibition. Her most recent solo exhibition was at Strata Gallery, Santa Fe, NM in 2022 followed by an artist residency at Vermont Studio Center in March, 2023. Julie’s artwork is represented by Jack Meier Gallery located in Houston, TX.

Julie’s work combines a unique background in engineering, business leadership and visual arts. England earned a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX. After a career in the semiconductor industry, she earned an Associates of Arts degree in 2015 at Brookhaven College, Farmers Branch, Texas. In 2018 she earned a Bachelor’s of Fine Art degree from Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.

“Women belong in all places where decisions are being made” said Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Julie’s passion for blazing trails in corporate roles is why she combines business with her art practice. Taking a seat at the board table is her way of paying forward to the next generation of professional women. England is a director on two corporate boards and paints between board meetings. A daily practice in an art studio located in the Dallas Design District, she is a committed oil painter. Going back to university for her art degree in order to launch her 20+-year commitment to painting fed her desire for oil painting.

Belief in being a positive force in her community, England is a former board member with the Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Arboretum in Dallas, TX and the board of trustees of the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, NM. Julie served for numerous years on the Art For Advocacy curatorial committee; this art event raises funds for Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center.

Julie England Resume

Born

Wisconsin Rapids, WI; Lives in Dallas, TX area

Education

2018 Bachelors of Fine Art, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX
2015 Associates in Arts Degree, Brookhaven College, Farmers Branch, TX
1979 Bachelor of Science, Chemical Engineering, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX

Solo Exhibits

2022            New Terrain, Strata Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

2020             Landscape at Elevation, Fort Worth Community Arts Center, Fort Worth TX

2017             Botanicals, Texas Women Ventures Office, Dallas, TX

2014             Sense of Place, Texas Women Ventures Office, Dallas, TX

Selected Group Exhibitions (2019 – Present)

2024             Daring To Be Avant-Garde, Nuu Nuse Gallery, Dallas, TX

2023             Out West, Guest Artist, Giddens Gallery, Grapevine, TX
                     Tom Peyton Memorial Art Festival, First UMC, Alexandria, LA
                     Arcadia Art Show Vol7, Small Works Art Exhibition, Arcadia Theater, Tyler, TX
                     CHAOS9, Small Works Art Exhibition, RO2 Gallery, Dallas, TX
                     PRESENCE, Small Works Art Exhibition, The MAC Gallery, Dallas, TX
                     Natural Diversity Art Exhibition, TJAA, Bath House Cultural Center, Dallas, TX
                     Printmaking in the Rockies and on the Great Plains Exhibition, Brinton Museum, Big Horn, WY
                     CCAN 2023 National Juried Exhibition, Center for Contemporary Arts, Abilene, TX
                     Salon des Refuses, Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park & Museum, Hamiliton, OH

2022             Second Annual Group Art Exhibition, Strata Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
                     Territories of Unknown Futures, Fort Worth Community Arts Center, Fort Worth TX
                     Lucid Influences: Chasing Dreamscapes Exhibition, NuuMuse Gallery, Dallas, TX
                     CHAOS8, Small Works Art Exhibition, RO2 Gallery, Dallas, TX
                     Printmaking Concepts, SP/N Gallery, Richardson, TX
                     56th Annual Richardson Civic Art Society Regional Juried Art Exhibition, Eisemann Center, Richardson, TX
2021             CCAN2021! Exhibition, The Center for Contemporary Art, Abilene, TX
                     Inaugural Group Art Exhibition, Strata Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
                     TRAHC’s 33rd Annual Juried Exhibition, Regional Arts and Humanities Center, Texarkana, TX
                     Lubbock Arts Festival 2021 Juried Gallery, Lubbock Memorial Civic Center, Lubbock, TX
                     Artist Showcase, Lincoln Experience Center, Frisco, TX
                     Animal? Mineral? Vegetable? , Dallas Metro Contemporary Arts Gallery, Plano, TX
                     CAL National 2021, Conroe Arts League Gallery, Conroe, TX
                     Reflection – Women In Art, Nuu Muse Gallery, Dallas, TX
                     February Group Show, Jones Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2020             New Texas Talent XXVII, Craighead Green Gallery, Dallas, TX
                     CCAN2020! Exhibition, The Center for Contemporary Art, Abilene, TX
                     Abstract Matters National Juried Art Show, 311 Gallery in Raleigh, NC
                     GALEX 54 National Competition & Exhibition, Galesburg, Illinois
                     Richardson Civic Art Society Juried Membership Show, Richardson, TX
                     Experiencing Perspectives Art Exhibit, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, Fort Worth, TX
2019             SOLO SHOW [DOWN], Fort Worth Community Art Center, Fort Worth TX
                     Calm To Chaos, North Haven Gardens Gallery, Dallas, TX
                     Through A Scope, Fort Worth Community Arts Center, Fort Worth, TX
                     National Juried Exhibition, Center for Contemporary Arts, Abilene, TX
                     Dallas CAC 2019 Annual Juried Membership Exhibition, Mary Tomas Gallery in Dallas, TX
                     California Open Exhibition, TAG Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
                     CHAOS, Small Works Art Exhibition, RO2 Gallery, Dallas, TX
                     GALEX 53 National Competition & Exhibition, Galesburg, Illinois
                     Experiencing Perspectives Art Exhibit, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, Fort Worth, TX
                     Richardson Civic Art Society, 53rd Annual Regional Juried Art Exhibition, Richardson, TX
                    2019 Texas & Neighbors 34th Regional Art Exhibition, Irving TX
                    Texas Visual Art Assoc. BLUE Juried Exhibition, Dallas, TX

Awards

Mary Vernon Painting Prize, SMU Meadows School of the Arts

Residencies

Vermont Studio Center, one month, October, 2018
Vermont Studio Center, three weeks, March, 2023

Public and Corporate Collections

Brookhaven College, DCCCD, Farmers Branch, TX

Lancaster Hotel, Houston, TX

Publications / Media Coverage

Annual Folio, Juried Publication 2022, July, 2022. Award: Traditional Painting: Contemporary – Silver. READ MORE
Annual Folio, Juried Publication 2019, December, 2019
VOYAGE DALLAS, September 28, 2020;  READ MORE
PAPER CITY HOUSTON, October 30, 2019; READ MORE
VOYAGE DALLAS, April 10, 2019; READ MORE
4WordWomen.org, January 21, 2019; READ MORE
PRIMEWOMEN.COM, October, 2018; READ MORE
SMU Meadows School of the Arts, May, 2018; READ MORE
Dallas Morning News, 8 July 2016; READ MORE
PRIMEWOMEN.COM, October 24, 2017; READ MORE