life sketch

Julie Andrés (Jools) studied graphic arts in Los Angeles (1987-’88) with many of the city’s leading designers of the time, developing top-level old-school illustration, typography, and layout skills. During this time she also studied watercolour and oil painting at private studios and participated in solo and group exhibitions in Los Angeles, Venice, and Marina del Rey, California.

Following a move to Seattle, she was contracted by a US publisher to design and illustrate a series of three books, which sold well in major retail bookstores for several years. While there, Julie also earned a degree in depth psychology and creative writing, which supported her primary career as a writer and editor.

Back home in Canada, her professional work included corporate and non-profit positions, as well as many years working independently as a writer, editor, designer, photographer, and journalist. She continues to work selectively on creative publishing projects and visual and written communications strategies.

During the pandemic, Jools returned to her long-latent art practice and is exploring with acrylics and other media. She lives in Vancouver's Mount Pleasant.

Statement

"I grew up in wild country, first in the Ruby Mountains of northeastern Nevada, and later on the edge of British Columbia's Chilcotin Plateau, and throughout my life I've had the heart of a nature nerd. I carry a loupe, knife, and tiny baggies in my purse and eagerly count rings whenever I come across cut tree trunks. I am now completely and happily urbanized and enjoy frequent use of city trails and parks and make regular ventures into Vancouver's ambient coastal forests.

"My current artistic focus has been swept up by leaves that have detached from their earth-anchored plants to land on ground or water, where they enter a phase of transformation that holds great beauty and is fascinating to witness..

"Autumn leaves that gather at the edges of rain-filled ponds and puddles particularly fascinate me. The sky and trees cradle them with their watery reflections, and they eventually sink and become the very mud below. With paint I can explore this restructuring, between the sky and the mud.

“I endeavour to capture a sense of suspended time yet ephemeral seasonality in this inquiry.

"I am grateful to live and work on the unceded traditional territory of the  xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations."