Biography
Julie Devine is a contemporary American painter. She was born in California in 1968, and moved to Washington state in 1991. Her work explores the wild visual beauty of Western North America, celebrates its expanse, and abstracts its forms.
Julie paints from the landscape, combining gestural brushwork and knifework into a distinctive semi-abstract style. Her art communicates a spirited appreciation for the outdoors and for the tradition of painting, in particular the impressionist, post-impressionist, modernist, and abstract expressionist styles.
Her paintings are collected internationally and have been exhibited in the Pacific Northwest, New York, New Mexico, and Italy. The Fairmont Olympic Hotel and Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Seattle, Harrison Medical Center in Bremerton, and the JW Marriot in Buckhead Atlanta have acquired her work for their permanent collections. Her original work is available through JDS Gallery, Seattle Art Museum (SAM) Gallery, Smith & Vallee Gallery, and Yuan Ru Gallery.
Julie combines her love of art with years of experience as a curriculum designer. She creates and facilitates classes and workshops for students of all ages and levels. She is always looking for ways to bring fun and experimentation into learning events, and enjoys introducing students to new ways of thinking and working. She has taught at Gage Academy of Art, the Seattle Public Schools, and her own studio. Always curious, and a firm believer in the value of continuing education, Julie is currently studying ceramics and the therapeutic benefits of art making.
Artist Statement
"My work is about heightened emotional and spiritual experience in landscape. I’ve spent my life in the North American West, and my aesthetic is shaped by its bold beauty. Arid or lush; mountain, rolling hills, forests, and shores; I marvel at the expansiveness and variety of this part of of the world.
Painting outdoors has been instructive and inspirational, influencing the way I work in the studio. Outside, among the changing conditions, I paint quickly and intuitively. I favor palette knives for their speed, immediacy, and clean delivery of color. I draw upon this outdoor experience when working in the studio on larger work, invoking the freedom and fluidity that make plein air paintings so fresh and vibrant.
If I could paint the wind, I would. I pay close attention to the quality of light in a landscape and try to convey a sense of air and movement. Shape, color, and composition are important to me. I want my paintings to breathe with life and evoke the soulfulness of place.
Artists I am most inspired by include: Eugene Boudin (for his handling of air and light), Louisa McElwain (for painting canyon landscapes so boldly in plein air), John Singer Sargent (for his gorgeous brushwork and shapes), Edgar Payne (for sharpening my understanding of composition), Richard Diebenkorn (for his visible color blending and simplification of forms), Paul Cezanne (for his constructive use of color), Manet (for creating flat moments for the eye to rest), and Joan Mitchell (for showing me the wilderness of painting)."
Resume / CV
Education
2009-2011 Drawing, Painting, and Sculpture; Gage Academy of Art
1993 M. A. English Literature, University of Washington
1991 B. A. English Literature, University of California at Riverside
Galleries
JDS Gallery, Seattle, WA
Seattle Art Museum Gallery, Seattle, WA
Smith & Vallee Gallery, Edison, WA
Yuan Ru Gallery, Bellevue, WA and Taipei, Taiwan
Exhibitions
2024 Seattle Art Fair, JDS Gallery, Seattle, WA
2024 Gage Academy of Art Gala and Auction, Seattle, WA
2024 Fire and Brimstone, JDS Gallery, Seattle, WA
2023 This Land, Smith & Vallee Gallery, Edison, WA
2023 Enchantments, JDS Gallery, Seattle, WA
2023 Towards Winter, JDS Gallery, Seattle, WA
2023 SAM Gallery 50th Anniversary, Seattle Art Museum Gallery, Seattle, WA
2023 Seattle Art Fair, JDS Gallery, Seattle, WA
2023 Transcending Boundaries II, Yuan Ru Gallery, Yuan Ru Art Center, Bellevue, WA
2022 Renewal, Seattle Art Museum Gallery, Seattle, WA
2022 Endless Summer, Seattle Art Museum Gallery, Seattle, WA
2021 North Cascades, Gallery Mack, Seattle, WA
2019 Exploring That: Julie Devine, Suzanne Brooker, and Jean Myers, Gallery Mack, Seattle, WA.
2019 Representing the West: A New Frontier, Sangre de Cristo Arts & Conference Center, Pueblo, CO
2018 The Beholden Eye: Concepts of Beauty, Confluence Gallery, Twisp, WA
2018 Stormy Weather, Curve Gallery, Maryland Federation of Art, Annapolis, MD
2017 Finding Gold: Works by Julie Devine, Burien City Hall, Burien, WA
2016 Landscape Impressions, Carillon Point, Kirkland, WA
2015 ArtExpo 2015, Galleria Art Studio, Venice, Italy
2015 Art Port Townsend - Expressions Northwest 17th Annual Juried Art Exhibition, Port Townsend, WA
2015 Deciduous Sky, Paintings by Julie Devine, Burien Arts Gallery, Burien, WA
2015 Canopy, Johnston Architects, Seattle, WA
2014 Affinità e Contrasti, Galleria Art Studio, Venice, Italy
2014 All Woman, Kate Alkarni Gallery, Seattle Design Center, Seattle, WA
2014 Degrees of Abstraction: Paintings by Carol Basch, Julie Devine, and Jodi Hays, Cannon Gallery of Art, Western Oregon University, Monmouth, OR
2014 Art Port Townsend – Expressions Northwest 16th Annual Juried Art Exhibition, Port Townsend, WA
2014 StartT 2° edizione, Galleria Art Studio, Venice, Italy
2014 Waltzing Hues, SPACEWOMb Gallery, New York, NY
2014 Group Exhibition, Rossocinabro, Rome, Italy
2013 Colori dell'anima, Galleria 360, Florence, Italy
2013 Surpassing Edges, SPACEWOMb Gallery, New York, NY
2013 Southampton Cultural Center Juried Art Exhibition, Southampton Cultural Center, Levitas Center for the Arts, Southampton, NY
2013 Art Port Townsend – Expressions Northwest 15th Annual Juried Art Exhibition, Port Townsend, WA
2013 Edge, Gage & More, Simon Mace Gallery, Port Townsend, WA
2012 Horizon: Contemporary Landscape, Community Arts Center, Danville, KY
2012 Art Port Townsend – Expressions Northwest 14th Annual Juried Art Exhibition, Port Townsend, WA
2012 Tenth Annual Open Juried Art Exhibition, Peninsula Art League, Gig Harbor, WA
2012 After Dark, A National Juried Exhibition, Greg Moon Art Gallery, Taos, NM
2012 The Sequim Arts 36th Annual Juried Show, Museum and Arts Center, Sequim, WA
2012 Fifth Annual CVG Show, Collective Visions Gallery, Bremerton, WA
Awards and Honors
2024 Juror for Clark County Open Studio Tour
2018 Award of Merit for Prospect, Stormy Weather, Curve Gallery, Maryland Federation of Art, Annapolis, MD, juried by Dean Dalfonzo, Brooklyn-based artist and instructor at Pratt Institute, Parsons School for Design, The Fashion Institute of Technology, and Franklin University, Switzerland. ““Prospect” by Julie Devine, reminded me of Winslow Homer’s seascapes and the powerful forces of nature.” – Dean Dalfonzo
2016 Juror’s Choice Award (Grand Prize), Art Port Townsend – Expressions Northwest 18th Annual Juried Art Exhibition, juried by Patricia Watkinson, art and museum consultant, former interim director of the Museum of Northwest Art, La Conner, and former executive director of Pilchuck Glass School.
2015 Merit Award, Art Port Townsend - Expressions Northwest 17th Annual Juried Art Exhibition, juried by Kathleen Moles, independent art curator, writer, and editor.
2012 First Place, Landscape Category; Best of Gage, juried by Gable Griffith, Gallery and Exhibitions Curator at Cornish College of the Arts
2010 Second Place, Figure Category; Best of Gage, juried by Derrick R. Cartwright, Director of the Seattle Art Museum
Collections
The Herb and Lucy Pruzan Collection
The Fairmont Olympic Hotel, Seattle, WA
Kaiser Permanente, Seattle, WA
Harrison Medical Center, Bremerton, WA
JW Marriot Buckhead Atlanta, GA
International private collections
Bibliography
2023 Naturally Inspired Retreat Defined by Casual Elegance, Mercer Island City Lifestyle, March
2022 Julie Devine: Artist of the Week, Seattle Refined, March 19, 2022
2021 Design house: Take a peek at this Seattle new build that combines classic features within a contemporary space, World’s Best Homes, House Design, Homes and Gardens, Great Britain Edition
2018 The Art Edit, House and Garden magazine (March, April, and May issues) Condé Nast Publications, Vogue House, Hanover Square, London, UK
2018 Inspired by Cezanne: New Impressionist Paintings, Saatchi Art Collection, curated by Victoria Kennedy, Assistant Curator at Saatchi Art, Los Angeles, CA
2017 “17 Artists for 2017,” Magnify Seattle, an annual art magazine, Volume 1, curated and produced by Meggan Joy
2016 A Few Good Starts, Painting: Powers of Observation, a blog by Catherine Kehoe
2016 Spotlight on Seattle, Saatchi Art Collection, curated by Becky Benshoof, Sales Advisor at Saatchi Art, Munich.
2015 Creatives You Should Know, The Creative Network Blog, StudioVox, Los Angeles, CA, 4.15.2015
2014 Windy Violet, Richeson 75 Landscape, Seascape, & Architecture 2014 exhibition book
2013 Bloom I and Canopy II, Richeson 75 Figure/Portrait 2011 exhibition book
2013 Fall Abstract, Richeson75 Landscape, Seascape & Architecture 2013 exhibition book
2013 Featured Artist, Zealous, London, United Kingdom, http://www.zealous.co, 7.10.2013
2011 Vertical Nude, Richeson 75 Figure/Portrait 2011 exhibition