Welcome to a place where creativity is not only a part of life, but it is life to artist and musician, Julie Cohn. Please join in creating all kinds of art with Julie, singing with and hearing Julie perform, and helping to make her experiences in creativity all the more exciting because you are a part of that process. See her gallery of paintings, teaching schedule and singing performance dates inside.

ARTIST'S STATEMENT

Julie expresses her love for watercolor: "When I set brush to paper, I often feel as though I’m engaging with another being. I say something and the paper speaks back, not always saying what I expect. Because I stand alert with all my tools at hand – brushes, paper towels, sponge, salt, twigs – I’m ready to take up my part of the conversation again. Painting into a wet surface most of the time, I am usually watching the paint move or making it move as I tilt the paper and dance with the painting. I love the look of the paint sediment that has settled in the valleys of the paper. Watercolor is so alive! I’m fascinated by the results of the conversation. The more I let go of outcome, the more this wonderful medium speaks to me.

Over the last couple of years I have been further exploring a few inherent qualities of the watercolor medium that are naturally beautiful. I realized that I didn’t need to work so hard to produce spontaneous, loose, paintings because the medium is the perfect guide for achieving this goal. “Crawl-backs” or “blooms” naturally appear when a drier section of the painting resists a wetter, colored area. A beautiful flower-like line appears upon their meeting. I have been enjoying producing blooms, flicking paint into drier areas and watching the magic happen. Along with exploring using color imaginatively for traditional subject matter, I have been fully enjoying the range of the opacity of watercolor, using it as an oil painter would at times, allowing for a contrast between transparent washes of color that show the white paper from beneath to painting with color right out of the tube. I am continually amazed by the versatility of watercolor. As my journey continues, my eyes are wide open. There’s so much to learn!" - – JULIE COHN