THE ART OF JULIA LAW

by Roxay LeFae

From the delicate sketches of At Rest to the vibrant colours of Abstract Pinks On Dark Blues the eclectic work of Julia Law is truly inspiring.  She says that her inspirations come from human reactions to emotions and nature and as a viewer I have to say her paintings invoke many positive reactions.  Her portraits are reminiscent of memories of my own family as they seem to have a familiarity to them, possibly a feeling created by the likeness to the later works of Lucian Freud. 

Though there is a large distinction between the styles and techniques used in her painted portraits as opposed to her pencil portraiture.  She clearly uses traditional methods in both (emphasized by her creating many of her own papers in preparation for painting and the stretching of her own canvases) as her works both reflect timeless styles, though I must say I greatly prefer her pencil works as they show her talent - pencil is a much more difficult medium as it distinguishes any flaws whereas acrylic and oil paints are easily correctable.  At a guess I would also liken her inspirations to the natural studies of Leonardo Da Vinci because of the clean cut lines softened by smaller strokes rather than shading of the entire piece.

There is also a hint of Georgia O’Keefe to her horticultural studies which can be particularly well seen in her paintings of poppies and fuchsias, the colours are quite vivid but very accurate. My only dislike of these pieces is the backgrounds, it is my belief that the grasses and leaves do not always match the style of the foreground. This mixed technique works well with the bolder subjects but tends to blend too much when the focus is a more delicate type of flower.

It is my belief that Julia Law’s biggest talent is for scenery which can be best seen in Reflection Of Ravenscar.  These paintings and photographs capture the serenest moments in time. Beginning with her painting in this section, the skies are truly captivating.  Again there is a strong influence here from traditional artists such as Constable but the canvases are modernised by the smoothness of colour pallet. The waters are very realistic and have a feel of movement to them, I especially like the clear effect where the waves are pulling back from the sandy shore. 

Secondly is her photography which is beautiful.  Her angles are perfect for the lighting and she seems to catch a shot at the most dramatic moment, for example in her photo of Greece the spray of sea foam is just at the moment of crashing on the rocks.  Also being at eyelevel makes the image seem more relatable to the viewer as we could have been there, this prevents a distancing from the topic and a closeness to other events of a similar nature that the viewer may have been present at.  Like her portraits her photographs hold a sense of familiarity as though we are there despite not being.  It almost creates a sense of looking back through loved moments or the excitement as a close friend shows you through their latest adventures abroad.  She also photographs animals and has one piece of a cow in the grass which I found very exciting as she uses the same, bright lighting and utopian, country settings.

In conclusion I feel that although the work of Julia Law is eclectic is arcs back to the masters of the past, something I feel should be replicated more often rather than just drawn from.