COLOURFUL MODERN COASTAL, LANDSCAPE AND URBAN ARTWORKS BY JULIA ODELL.
‘I enjoy observing everyday life and telling stories through my art.’
Julia Odell
Julia grew up in the bustling seaside town of Looe where the family home overlooked the estuary, so was surrounded by the natural beauty of the area from childhood.
Julia studied fine arts at St Johns in York and taught college and university level arts for many years in Yorkshire. She now, once again, lives and works on the border of Devon and Cornwall - surrounded by moody moorland and close to the stunning coastlines that inspire her landscape work. She not only enjoys interpreting the landscape itself, but studying people within the landscape, so it seemed a natural progression to combine the two. The diversity of life and land in the southwest allow her to explore her enjoyment for both.
Julia studies a scene from different angles, or at different times of the day, and knits elements together to tell an overall story in a more compact way. For example in her Newlyn Harbour painting she reduced a wide panorama into a smaller space to show boat building observed over three visits.
Julia can often be found sitting on harbour walls or exploring the less beautiful areas of our towns.
I capture as much information as possible on location. Sometimes activities can be so fast that sketching isn’t feasible so I’ll photograph or video the scene and select what I need from that later.
I’m inspired by the narrative and atmosphere created in paintings by Pieter Bruegel, Christopher R. W. Nevinson and Kit Wood.