Highly acclaimed artist, Julie Collins, returns to Brightlife this year to teach and inspire you with a two-day Art retreat. This is the chance to concentrate on developing your painting and drawing under Julie’s expert guidance. Julie has been a freelance Art tutor since leaving Art school in 1984 and has experience teaching up to BA & MA degree level art. Her teaching experience includes life drawing, history of art, and all aspects of painting and drawing.
Julie singlehandedly set up the painting and drawing programme at Gilbert White’s House in Hampshire during the 1990’s. She has worked as Artist in Residence at Gilbert White’s House & Garden, the Museum of Farnham, the Observatory at Lymington and the Observatory at Bucklers Hard in Hampshire.
In 2021 Julie was elected a member of the Society of Women Artists, a member of the SWA Council and RWA Network member. Julie exhibits her work nationally & has received numerous awards for her beautiful paintings. Her ambitious watercolour entitled, “Alice (in Wonderland)” was selected for The Sunday Times Watercolour exhibition, in London by Sir Peter Blake RA. The famous Art critic Brian Sewell, who wrote for the Evening Standard, chose her work for the highly prestigious Discerning Eye exhibition in London in 2011 and the following year Julie was selected by the artist Albert Irvin RA. Frances Carey from the British Museum also chose Julie’s work as part of her selection for the Discerning Eye show in 2009 where Julie received the award and regional prize for best painting from London & the South East.
Julie has been presented with numerous awards at the Royal Watercolour Society, Bankside Gallery, London, in their annual open exhibitions and received 1st Prize for Watercolour at the Royal West of England Academy of Art, Bristol in 2016 and 2019. Julie’s contemporary watercolour paintings have been exhibited at the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours annual show at the Mall Galleries in London, for the past five consecutive years. During recent years her work has also been exhibited at Southampton City Art Gallery, the Royal West of England Academy of Art in Bristol, the Society of Women Artists, Mall Galleries in London, Chelsea Art Club in London, and she is represented in several prestigious Art Galleries in the UK. During 2017 Julie had a solo exhibition at The Isle Contemporary Gallery, St Johns. Her work can be seen on the island at the Isle Contemporary Gallery, St Johns and Studio 42 Gallery, in Port St Mary.
As a young girl Julie always loved Art. She would visit the Manx Museum during her lunch break from school where she would be seen carefully studying the Archibald Knox watercolours. Each Saturday her Grandmother, Phyllis Bregazzi and her great Aunts, Edith and Emily would take her out into the Manx countryside, visiting places such as, Ballaugh, Tholty Will and the Claddaghs, all of which feature in her contemporary landscapes. Her Manx heritage has greatly influenced her work. Julie attended St Ninians High school where she was encouraged by the late Jean Davie to follow her ambition to become an artist and she went on to study Art at the University of Reading from 1980 to 1984. Here she was taught by some of the most influential figures in the Art world today.
Julie’s latest book “The Colour Mixing Companion” can be found in Tate Modern and Tate Britain. In 2014 Julie was commissioned to write three Colour Mixing Guides about watercolour, acrylic and oil painting by the publishers Search Press. The Colour Mixing Guides have also been translated into French, Chinese and Russian to be sold abroad. Her previous publications include the best selling “Painting Flowers with Impact”, commissioned by the publishers, David & Charles in 2005 for the UK & USA. In 2006 Taschen then translated the book into French, German, Dutch & Spanish and then into Chinese in 2013. In 2007, her next book, “The Colour Mixing Index” was published by David & Charles and sponsored by the Art materials manufacturers, Winsor & Newton. Julie is currently writing 3 Watercolour Handbooks for Search Press and they will be published late 2024 & during 2025. This will make a total of ten publications to date. She is also a regular freelance art writer for the Artist magazine.
Julie lives on the South coast of England where the sea and the landscape inspire her paintings.
For further information visit her website www.juliecollins.co.uk