Julie Cross paints contemporary figurative works, with a blend of realistic form and invented, glowing colour. Bold design choices are combined with her signature, jewel-like, transparent optical texture, contrasted with abstracted areas of flat, opaque paint.
“My works virtually always contain the human form. They say ‘paint what you know’, and we are all experts at being human! That universal connectivity across time and space means that my subject matter may be instantly familiar to western audiences in many ways, yet may often suggest other, sometimes, contradictory, ideas. For instance, a bright, fluorescent palette choice can disguise some far from frivolous concerns. These may pertain to current affairs, my own life experiences, past and present, art history, or even my desire to ‘tell stories’ (I have a doctorate in Children’s Literature).
This preoccupation with the human form is reflected in my long-standing practice of life drawing (of both figures and faces). Many ideas for works are suggested by the poses of models or the interactions of daily life – the ‘people watching’ in public spaces that is so endlessly fascinating to me. Gesture and body language alone, like paintings themselves, say so much without words.”
Julie lives and works in Yorkshire and as well as her Ph.D, she has an M.A. in History of Art from York University. She studied at Newlyn School of Art, as well as at art colleges in Leeds. She volunteers at Harewood House in Leeds, where she enjoys telling visitors about the Renaissance art collection and watercolours by J M W Turner and Thomas Girtin.
She exhibits widely, including with the Society of Women Artists and the ING Discerning Eye at the Mall Galleries in London, and with New Light Art, which celebrates northern art. Her work has won numerous awards, including the Dry Red Press Award at the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, the Schmincke Award at the Pastel Society Annual Exhibition, and the prestigious Harold Riley Sketchbook Prize.