original oil painting: Woman with BlackBerry Bold 9000

Portrait with attribute: woman with BlackBerry

Woman with BlackBerry Bold 9000, 60 x 40 cm, oil on canvas, ©2011 Julie Galante. This is one of my new series of portraits with modern technology attributes. I’ve been fascinated by attributes in historical portraiture for a while now, and this body of work is my attempt to play with this traditional aspect of … Read more

original oil painting: Oktoberfest dirndl

That time of year again

Dirndl study #8, 24 x 18 cm, oil on canvas, ©2011 Julie Galante. Oktoberfest starts in less than a month, and Munich is itching with anticipation. The giant beer tents are already being constructed. Billboards around the city are advertising the latest fashions in dirndls, traditional Bavarian outfits that are popular at the 17-day beer festival. These … Read more

Munich Odeonsplatz - original oil painting

Daily Painting: Munich – Odeonsplatz

Study: Munich Odeonsplatz, oil on canvas, 18 x 24 cm,  ©2011 Julie Galante. [SOLD] I haven’t been doing very many daily paintings recently; my large series of portraits and a couple commissions are taking up most of my studio time these days. I’m excited about everything I’m working on, but I miss having these little … Read more

Original oil painting: Two paint tubes, two brushes

Dreaming up some art influences

Two paint tubes, two brushes | 15 x 20 cm | oil on canvas | ©2011 Julie Galante | available on Etsy Last night I dreamed I was interviewing for something art-related. The interviewer (a stern older man) asked me what artists influenced me. I struggled to answer this, tossing out the first names of … Read more

Scott - oil portrait with attribute, in progress

A series is born

So just the other day I was whining about how hard it is for me to work in series. Work in Progress: Scott with MacBook Pro.©2011 Julie Galante. Now suddenly my studio is full of related paintings in progress, and I have six more models lined up. I do believe I’ve found myself a series. I’ve … Read more

cherries on a black ground

Cherries, summer, and Cy Twombly

Cherries, 15 x 15 cm, oil on canvas, ©2011 Julie Galante. Buy now This little daily painting was very hard to photograph. It’s so dark, and a lot of its interestingness comes from the three-dimensionality of the paint. For the past few weeks my still lifes have been less about representing the object and more … Read more

Daily Painting: kohlrabi is ugly

Kohlrabi study, 15 x 15 cm, oil on canvas, ©2011 Julie Galante. [SOLD] Kohlrabi isn’t the most attractive vegetable in the world, is it? But it was fun to paint. In other news, my first newsletter finally went out! You can check it out (and sign up to receive future newsletters by email) here.

On portraits and attributes

Jessica, 60 x 80 cm, acrylic on canvas, ©2007 Julie Galante. I’ve been thinking a lot about attributes recently. In portraiture, an attribute is an object included to help the viewer identify the subject, or to communicate something about the subject. Artists’ self portraits often include paint brushes or a palette, for example. Catholic saints are … Read more