Brushstrokes of Light:

Exploring the Journey of Fine Art Oil Painting with Julie Brayton

Hello Hope you’ve been well and enjoying the summer.

Summers are always crazy for me. In the last few weeks I’ve had a break from shows which gave me time to tackle a few commissions I needed to get done. My last show before the break, downtown Mystic was a fantastic show!

I take my students Plein Air Painting and this time we were in Westerly’s Wilcox park.  A woman came by and sang the praises of my unfinished painting of the fountain. She lives near the park and walked in it every day. She felt a special connection to the park so a painting of it would be near and dear to her heart. She asked if she could buy the painting I was working on. I took it home and finished it and then framed it for her. She was thrilled! See It Below

In the meantime, I had another commission on my easel of a house portrait. I don’t normally take house portrait jobs but due to the slow start to the year at the time, I went ahead and took it.  It was a unique job since one, the owner designed and built the house. Two, the landscaping was non-existent on top of it being early spring when I went to get the reference photos.

Most commissions I prefer to take my own photos if I can help it. The client had another house portrait of a former house that was done on mounted birch wood. In that painting a lot of the birch wood was left exposed so I chose to do the same in this portrait. I had to make up the landscaping after running ideas by the client. She was very happy with the results. See Below

In recent news,

I just hung a show at the Spring Bull Gallery. I am there as a visiting artist September through October. The gallery is on Bellevue Ave in Newport. It’s across from the Newport Museum of Art. Maybe you’ll take a ride if you’re local. See Below

Today I will holding down the fort at Fuller gallery on Narragansett Ave in Jamestown. Come by and see me!

Talk Soon!

My goal or mission is to bring reminders and connection to the importance each individual has through the connection to nature. How we all can honor the essence of who we have always been meant to be. Creativity, whether through collecting art or creating it, is a healing force that allows us to embrace, tell and own our stories in a transformative and ultimately joyful way.