We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Julie O’Sullivan. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Julie below.
Julie, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
I am a Nebraska country girl and I learned work ethic at an early age. There were always chores to do, a big garden to attend to and I started working in the fields when I was 14. This stuck with me throughout my life.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Being an abstract painter has provided me with great satisfaction, freedom of expression, and has greatly improved my mental health, which is important as I work a high stress day job. I have been seriously painting since 2013, but delved into the world of acrylic, abstract painting in 2008, before I was married. I was working under my maiden name, Julie Robinson; therefore, some of my artwork bears that name.
I hold a degree in Architecture, and have taken several general art, ceramics, stained glass, screen printing, and fashion design classes. After being in architecture, where everything is linear and exact, I love being able to paint with no design constraints. Shoebox Arts has been crucial to my professional development. It has various career development programs and workshops, which I highly recommend.
I have gone from having a private studio space to having space at the Hive Gallery on Gallery Row in downtown LA. I have just moved into a studio space at The Makery in Little Tokyo, where I have found a wonderful sense of community amongst my peers. The Makery presently has two galleries but is opening a third in the near future. It is also part of the DTLA Artnight, which occurs on the first Thursday of the month. I share a studio space with assemblage artist Monica Marks. I took this space because it allows me to paint on a larger scale.
My goals are to paint larger canvas’s and to try new styles. I find that going from painting small and detailed to large scale is very challenging, but I look forward to developing this skill. Please stop by The Makery and visit me!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The first quality an artist must have is patience. When things don’t go as planned, keep working and see where it goes. My paintings in progress are very organic and I wait for the canvas to guide me through the process.
I feel that being in such a constrained design environment has given me freedom to explore the opposite of my training.
Learn from others. See what inspires you. At first I did not want to be influenced by others, but as I developed as an artist, I decided that I would learn more from viewing others than relying on my own imagination.
To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
When I was very young, my mother recognized a talent in me and arranged for private art lessons. This helped me develop and grow into the artist I am today. I lived in the country and would sculpt from clay found in our ditch. When money was tight, she still provided me with watercolors, paint and fabric. I would make my own clothes. When I ran out of fabric, I would use sheets and pillowcases.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.osullivan-arts.com
- Instagram: @osullivanarts
- Linkedin: Julie O’Sullivan
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