Julie T. Chapman deftly utilizes a contemporary flair to capture the spirit of animals from the American West and Africa in her oil paintings, scratchboards and mixed media paintings. Her subjects are usually placed in an abstract setting, frequently looking directly at the viewer. The animals are inescapable, confrontational. It’s Julie’s way of challenging the viewer to consider his or her relationship to the natural world. “They also reflect the pure joy I feel when I am doing field work, observing wildlife or standing in the dust of a rodeo, itching to capture my excitement in art,” she says.
Julie grew up in the Midwest where she spent time drawing and painting as a child. She opted to study computers in college and made a living as a computer engineer in California’s Silicon Valley before winning the 2003 Art for Alaska Parks painting competition in Alaska. That recognition, along with the $50,000 prize, encouraged her to move to Montana and devote her time to painting. Julie spends her days working on her art and observing her wild subjects including bighorn sheep, wolves, mountain lions and horses.
Among her many awards and accolades, the most noteworthy are the American’s Horse in Art Steel Dust Award and the Calgary Stampede Western Showcase Best of Show. Julie’s artwork has been published in Big Sky Journal, Southwest Art and Western Art Collector. Her paintings can be found in museums throughout the country as well as in public and private collections.