"I Paint to Know Myself "
About Julie
I was raised to appreciate the arts by attending ballet performances and dancing at PACT in Pretoria as a young child. Many afternoons were spent visiting art galleries with my mom and it was her dream for me to pursue being an artist like my father, the renowned landscape painter Chris Tugwell. It took some time for me to start painting, and only after the passing of my mom in my mid-twenties did I reach for a brush in an attempt to connect with her. I soon realized that I wanted to succeed at art and chose to dedicate my life to being a full time artist.
A chance meeting with accomplished fine artist James Mooney led to my apprenticeship in his studio for the next 16 years where I learned from his mastery of the skills and techniques of hyper-realism. Whilst James trained me in the discipline of fine art realism, it was Jill Mooney, Jame’s wife, who introduced me to the world of colour and liberated my brush to become deeply self expressive. This signature of their combined tutelage is evident in the abstractions, flowers and colourful figures prevalent in my current body of work.
My days are now mostly spent in the studio where I work as a full-time artist on both large expressive canvases of colour and also smaller pieces of hyper realism.
“To be an artist is a tireless observing obsession and an overwhelming need to absorb. There is no fixed time table or schedule – it’s a constant urge to learn and express, and there is so much to learn”.
Work
Exhibitions
Julie Tugwell’s paintings hang in private collections and galleries throughout South Africa and internationally.
Local art galleries representing Julie Tugwell’s work include:
Knysna Fine Art Gallery, Crouse Art Gallery in George and Knysna, the gallery at Art on Queen, the Gallery of Grande Provence in Franschhoek, Artvark Gallery in Kalk Bay and Axis Art Gallery in Cape Town. In Plettenberg Bay some contemporary pieces can be viewed at Milkwood Gallery.
Her latest gallery representation is the Cherie De Villiers Gallery in Hyde Park Johannesburg and the DAB Gallery in Woodstock, Cape Town.
Past Exhibitions
Past exhibitions held at Gallery One11 – “Subsurface Scattering”, “Botanica Terrarum” and “Stop and Smell the Flowers”…the latter being a traveling two part collaboration with 22 artists in Porterville.
The South Hill Gallery group show called “On the Line”. In 2022, the gallery invited her back to paint for their Cornucopia Exhibition.
Julie has had numerous group shows at the Gallery of Grande Provence and Knysna Fine Art Gallery, the most recent show being “The Big Picture” in December 2022.
The Doos Gallery, Knysna: 2022 – current
The Prince Albert Gallery, “Coast to Karoo” group exhibition
Old Gaol Gallery, Knysna: 2021 – 2022
Coast to Coast Art Exhibition, George Museum 2023
Past works have also been shown at the Chris Tugwell Gallery in Pretoria and Kosmos, in Hartebeespoort, the stArt Gallery in Hermanus, Lynn Schaffer Gallery, the Pezula Hotel in Knysna , The Lofts Hotel on Thesan Island and the Imbizo Gallery in Durban
My abstract paintings are a visual language expressing through colour and gestural marks to achieve a desired effect , carrying a virtue of emotion. An abstraction of emotion expressed with the use of often intense colour and brush strokes balances the black charcoal or paint which glides through my work.
My expressionism is directly influenced by emotional automatism. The colour field does not always depict or produce an obvious focus point of attention but instead draws the viewer into a collective emotional response to the overall painting.
Hence my art is a task of abstracting emotion called emotionism. I see this as purely about creating beautiful effects even within the hints of darkness that is seen in some of my works. I am painting from an inner emotion to the point of freedom.
My paintings are a pattern of feelings created by colour , spacing and line without portraying form .
“ the highest form of beauty lies not in the real world but in geometry “ plato
Currently in my studio my abstract mark makings have started to embrace flowers and figures. I am known for my hyper realism oil painting flowers and in my new paintings these flowers are loosely drawn, bursting full of acrylic bright colour .
Julie Tugwell’s styles are endless and timeless visions that are interchangeable.
Her art is in a constant change of existence and unconditioned rebirth and she truly follows her own artistic inner landscape creating her own styles along her imaginative journey.
Her flowers and fine art are delicate collectable paintings that harness her gentleness in spirit, taking months to complete with hercualean patience.
The contemporary modern pieces are enjoyed by many, with her focus at times being on nudes – the female form embracing her emotions .
Julies popular large abstract paintings titled under the style Emotionism are stunning modern statement pieces . The true intelligence of observing these abstract paintings is in the ability to grasp the emotions with ones heart without a conditioned need to create a form with ones mind.
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Contact
072 047 3494
julietugwellart@gmail.com