Julie Mai : Fine Artist

I make my art to relish and get lost in the process of creating it, to meditate and contemplate each choice. I aim to strike a balance between conscious and subconscious mark making, leaving me with an artifact of my internal journey, all the while, paying heed to minimalism and a delicate beauty.

 

Inspiration comes from internal and external themes about the world I would like to live in and the world I do live in, and the discrepancy between them. But more so, I would say inspiration comes in the form of a way of being. I enjoy playing with the concepts of spontaneity VS deliberate, and transparency VS opacity, and simplicity VS intricacy-some of the different ways of moving through the world. I also love the theme of time, created by the layers and delicate patinas, as well as excavating back to previous layers/past.

 

I fell in love with encaustic because it readily expresses these themes, and I can layer these, choosing each layer what to keep and what to take away, creating a whole. Unlike other mediums, I don’t need to wait for it to dry- only cool. This makes the whole process, and end result, much more immediate. I also love the way the light passes through the medium, because there is some depth of wax buildup,- the light refracts differently. Photographs of my work are never as alive as they are in person.

 

I want my viewer to feel an overall sense of calm, yet upon contemplation move around the work and be delighted by the intricacies. I aim for my work to feel familiar, like an old, well loved leather bag. The parts make up the whole, and feel harmonious. I strive for my work to be a place of respite, in an otherwise over simulating world. I hope the viewer, is able to superimpose their own lives on the abstract work. I am just the messenger.

 

I have recently moved to Mallorca from my native Canada. I have also lived in wine country Canada, California, Germany and Hawaii. I have had many professions, the last being an interior Designer, but all having dealt with 3D creating. I have been painting full time for 20 years. I am self taught.