About Julie Bovee
My acrylic paintings are meant to encourage happiness through the innate healing powers of beauty. Deep in texture and layers of vibrant colors, they reflect the untamed quality of our natural world. I love sharing the contrasting experiences of viewing my art from a distance versus close-up. From afar, my paintings appear as impressionist-style flower meadows or other natural scenes. Upon closer inspection, texture, depth, and intriguing details peek through the many layers of paint, prompting your imagination to fill in what’s being represented.
To achieve this detail, I use tools that help me to mimic the unpredictability found in nature. I use old credit cards, corrugated cardboard, Q-tips, BBQ skewers, and various objects that I find in the recycle bin. These are impossible to control like a paint brush and give random, unexpected results. That adds interest to my paintings and reflects nature.
The ultimate goal of my art is to bring you into my world to pause for a moment, reach out and run your finger over the various textures, and to smile – it’s a small but powerful thing.
Smiling
It turns out that smiling is contagious! According to research, smiling can reduce stress, make us look more attractive, and can even boost our immune system. Even fake smiling (where you hold a pencil sideways in your mouth between your teeth, forcing your face into a fake smile) has a positive physical result, causing your body to release feel-good endorphins and seratonin. My hope is that taking a moment to gaze at my paintings will bring out your own smile, gifting you with a little rush of endorphins.
Training & Exhibitions
I’m self-taught and have had workshop training from a variety of local artists and online. My past includes a Master of Science in Computer Science degree and a business degree. I first publicly showed my art in 2019 for Silicon Valley Open Studios. Since then, my art has been exhibited in downtown San José, California, in solo exhibitions at KALEID Gallery (2022) and at Culinary Corner Bistro (2020) via Phantom Galleries. Two of my works were displayed in a serial exhibition named “Holding the Moment: A Public Art Initiative Responding to COVID-19” that was held by the City of San José Public Art Program in conjunction with the Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport in 2021. In 2020, I was commissioned to create a public mural in San José at Leif Erikson Park via ArtBox Project SJ.
My art is currently showing in KALEID Gallery in downtown San Jose, California. My art hangs in the homes of private collectors across the United States. I have an art studio located at the Visual Philosophy Studio in San Jose, California, where my art can be seen by appointment.
What Do I Love?
I love the outdoors – hiking, biking, bird watching – these are just a few of the things that bring me joy and happiness. Gardening is another big smile-inducer. I love munching on the fresh, homegrown veggies I grow in my raised veggie beds, but nothing beats a sea of colorful zinnias and towering sunflowers.
A few years ago, I dove headlong into a colossal re-landscaping of the entire yard, front and back. I wanted to give our little slice of urban California a native, forest feel using primarily indigenous plants. In the process, I discovered an active community of avid California native gardeners and master gardeners. The research to find flowers that are adapted to our drought-prone climate was super educational and fun! Now I enjoy a delightful space filled with eclectic, almost year round blooms that’s been adopted by a surprising collection of birds and critters. I spend hours out there, drawing inspiration from the nature.
Gulf Fritillary Butterfly on Orange Zinnia
Aside from the great outdoors, the other project most dear to my heart is volunteering to help save orphaned kittens in San Jose. These are kittens that aren’t old enough to be on their own (0-8 weeks) and they’re the most at risk. I’ve fostered kittens, volunteered to care for them in the shelter, and overnighted and transported them. There’s a learning curve to caring for these tiny babies, but I’m making progress and love being able to help out. Below are my two foster kittens from the fall of 2019. I took them to my art studio whenever I went there to work, and they loved having the extra space to romp around.
