Project.julia

I’m super excited about my first ever Plant Fest tomorrow! Since I started my little printmaking biz, almost 10 years ago, I have gravitated towards making art that expresses my love and respect for the natural world. In most recent years, I started to specifically create work inspired by the beauty (and deliciousness!) of fruits and vegetables, whether it’s with colored pencil or the soft cut linoleum printmaking process. I’m super excited to join and other plant-loving local vendors, tomorrow at Fox Wine Co in the Funk Zone, from 11-4, as we celebrate Earth Day and this incredible planet we get to live on and enjoy each day 🌱🌏👩🏻‍🎨

I will be at the monthly market the the Presidio tomorrow from 10-4 :) I’d love to see you there! Swipe —> to see my first ever acrylic self-portrait of this selfie from last month’s market :)

Santa Barbara peeps!!! Come to my pop-up booth this weekend!!! I will be there at the SBCAW with my original project.julia goods, both old and new! This coming Sunday, December 5th from 11-4. I can’t wait to see you there 🤗

I will be here on Sunday from 11-4! Come visit me, shop and support local small businesses and stock up on gifts for the holiday season 🙂 I can’t wait to see you there!!!

This Sunday! Another Art and Culture pop-up from the great Vanae Rivera. 30+ local vendors of all kinds, from visual art to pottery to unique handcrafted goods to food and everything in between. DJ Magneto too. The holiday ones are the best ones. Pick up gifts for every one you know!

Late last winter I finally decided to splurge on a top of the line set of Caran d’Ache Luminance colored pencils that I had been eyeing for quite awhile. I felt like a little kid again as I opened the box for the first time. The colors are rich and gorgeous and it has been such a treat to incorporate them into my collection and art making process. My first project using these new tools was drawing this piece of Swiss Chard I bought at the farmers market. The vibrant contrasting/ complementary colors and undulating hills and valleys of the leafy green vegetable intrigued me and though I knew it would be a challenge I felt like I was up for it. This was also my first larger scaled piece, as I wanted to capture as much detail as possible. It wasn’t until just now that I realized how perfect a pairing this actually was: High quality, Swiss-made instruments and the leafy veggie (supposedly) first described/ discovered by a Swiss botanist🇨🇭🥬

Manzano pepper. Process to final product! When I created this at the end of February, due to Covid, it had been over a year since I had last seen my mom. Since she lives in the Southwest and it was close to her birthday, I decided to dedicate this Manzano chili pepper to her 🥰 Can you find the heart I incorporated in the highlight? ❤️🌶

Valentine Cherries! Posting my drawings in chronological order, I drew these cherries around Valentine’s Day last February (hence the name.) It was so fun to use a wide variety of pinks and purples to create the shadows and accentuate the highlights of these super reflective (and delicious!) fruits. 🍒

Pitaya! These tropical fruits are super refreshing, especially on warm days in the summer or fall! Their exotic nature is hard to miss and the structure, detail and contrasting colors inspired me to start drawing one back in January. I am in the process of making prints and cards of this exotic fruit as well as my other drawings so make sure to stay tuned for upcoming .julia_art announcements 🙂

Just over a year ago I began my journey dabbling in another media. We had some random fall produce lying around our house and I decided to set to work creating a colored pencil drawing of a small gourd (bottom left.) Little did I know that I would become engrossed in the process of capturing the details, light, contrast, value, color and all around beauty and organic nature of fresh fruits and veggies in the year to come. I am very excited to continue this adventure and to share the process, product and PRODUCE that I create through this new means of self expression.

Super exciting p.j announcement: I finally have a website!!! Not only can you check out all my original designs but you can also purchase products in my online shop! It’s definitely a work in progress but I’m super excited to get it all out there for everyone to see and access. Please check out www.projectjulia.art for all the linocut printmaking goodness you could ever want, made by hand in Santa Barbara, CA :) @ Santa Barbara, California

Yesterday, on the first-ever crisis initiated , I was able to donate $100 to the local Foodbank of Santa Barbara County. These funds came from 50% of the sales of 20 sets of my hand printed Mission Fig Coasters. Thank you so much to everyone for your support - financial and otherwise :) This donation is helping 3-fold: providing community members with fresh produce and staple groceries, supporting California farmers who may no longer have a profitable outlet for their current harvest, and giving local restaurants a chance to stay in business by launching Chef’s Kitchen, a program that hires restaurants to prepare healthy meals for families and seniors. I still have a few sets of coasters left and will continue to make more to help contribute to this important cause. Please DM me if you’d like to order some. And make sure to keep checking back for future shop updates :) @ Santa Barbara, California

Update: New design!!!! This current health crisis has affected everyone I know in many different ways. As a teacher my life and job have changed drastically yet it pales in comparison to the struggle many others are facing. As a result, I feel called to help out/ make a difference in the way I know best: by making art for others to enjoy. I decided to create a linocut print of a Mission fig and donate 50% of the proceeds to our local Santa Barbara County Foodbank. This fig print represents, in many ways, my life as a Californian: I live just up the street from Mission Street that eventually leads to the “queen” of the California missions, Santa Barbara. Figs are also known to grow and thrive in inhospitable locations: perhaps a metaphor for the global situation we are in now. Although I realize that this gesture is incredibly small in comparison to the burden so many are suffering and/ or feeling right now, I feel that it is important to give back in some way since I am able. Please consider supporting our local food bank for the price of $10. ($5 goes to the non-profit and $5 covers the cost of the materials.) You will receive a set of 4 hand printed coasters in return. Please DM me if interested and I will ship them to you! And don’t forget to stay at home, wash your hands and social distance ;) @ Santa Barbara, California