Julie Swinsco

Julie originates from the northeast of England, and after achieving her degree in Fine Art at Central, St Martin’s in London, came to settle in Warwickshire.

The depiction of movement and energy is a constant theme within her artwork, although the subject matter and media used often vary. Julie is a painter, printmaker, and photographer, and like most artists, uses whatever media is best suited to reveal her vision and express her voice. 

Julie is currently fascinated in capturing the rush hour within the city of Birmingham at dusk, in the rain. Using her skills as a photographer, she takes quality slow shutter shots of the interaction of the traffic and how it moves throughout the urban terrain, leaving light trails and reflecting onto the architecture and wet streets. She then interprets these shots into semi-abstracted paintings, mainly in oils, capturing the dynamism and energy of the city at night.

 ‘I am captivated by the beating heart of the city by night. The vitality of the traffic, streetlights, road signs, iconic architecture, especially on a rainy night, is mesmerising. Not the easiest of images to recreate, my aim is to depict the atmosphere and the energy of the moment’. 

Whatever her subject matter, Julie is focused on capturing the essence of the pose, the energy and emotion of the situation, and the finer qualities of light. Her images begin as a drawing from life or her photographs, which are often then abstracted, using various media, including Photoshop, watercolours, acrylics, oils, mixed media, mono printing, etchings and lino. Most of her work retains some detail but also a recognition of the media used, and she allows the paint to drip, interact and become part of the composition.