Studio blog of Julie Galante – painting ridiculous things in Scotland
Today I started an expressive drawing class. The first exercises were about loosening up and making marks. We were to draw an object from several angles, so I chose a little wooden figure model I have in my studio, as it was the most organically-shaped thing I had on hand. The idea was to work … Read more
It’s November 1st, which means Art Every Day Month is upon us once more. I’ve been taking part almost every year since 2008, posting my daily creations here on my blog. Last year I did a small oil painting each day; this year I think I’ll mostly be sharing things from the online course I’ll … Read more
Aided perhaps by the long days and sunny weather, I’ve been getting back into sketching outdoors recently. It helps that I’ve finally sorted out my sketching kit. For the longest time I was unhappy with my options, and could never quite work out how to improve things. I love sketching in charcoal, but don’t like … Read more
I’ve just had the privilege of spending a week on the Scottish coast at a workshop led by Gillian Lee Smith, an incredible artist and teacher. The workshop was held in Gardenstown, an impossibly tiny and adorable village with one pub, one cafe, and no mobile phone reception. We started the week with a lot … Read more
Since January I’ve been taking a cityscape painting course at Edinburgh College of Art. It has been everything I hoped it would be – namely, an excellent shove back into daily life as a painter. Sometimes having too much freedom about what art to make next can be overwhelming – endless possibilities, how to choose? … Read more
I’ve been an artist in residence in at Arte Studio Ginestrelle in Umbria for almost a week now. The sun has come back, allowing for more long walks in the hills. In the studio I’ve been working on some pastel drawings of the city and surrounding landscape. Yesterday we went into the city of Assisi … Read more
The last couple days have been rather gray and rainy here in Assisi, offering us the perfect excuse to sit by the fire and drink grappa for several hours each evening. Days are spent in the studio making art. Yesterday I did a series of sketches with wine bottles, and some landscapes of the rolling … Read more
Sketch of Assisi, charcoal and pastel on paper, ©2012 Julie Galante. On Friday I said goodbye to my Munich apartment for the last time and headed south towards Italy. We stayed with friends in Padua last night, and today came the rest of the way to Arte Studio Ginestrelle, a remote artists’ residency outside of … Read more
Summer is a wonderful time to be in my studio. The long days give me extra hours of good light. Plus I don’t travel as much in the summer (I am a weirdo who doesn’t like heat), so I have more weeks of uninterrupted time to develop projects. Last week I finished off some commissions … Read more
Untitled (in progress), 40 x 30 cm, mixed media on paper, ©2012 Julie Galante. My studio looks a little different this week. The oil paints have been temporarily shoved to the side to make way for some new works on paper which I’m creating for an upcoming show. This particular piece is being created on … Read more