Julia Hawkins is one of the NEAC’s newest members, elected in summer 2022. Here she tells us how she came to be a full-time painter and teacher – including childhood memories, method of working and influences . . .
“I never looked at my life as a painter as something long and continuous, probably because I started painting relatively late. I don’t regret becoming a full-time painter later in life, as I came to this with many years of experience in drawing and graphic art, so the life of a painter is one of happy adventure with many discoveries ahead. The older you get, the more difficult the relationship with yourself and with art can become. Questions arise – what you paint for, what you want to say with your work. It can make work and life difficult if you try to answer all such questions. So, it is better to leave it to the unknown. Give yourself to the adventure and occasionally feel happy when the work goes well.
I believe I’m lucky that my Russian teacher taught me to draw. I can’t imagine myself without a pencil in my hand. My mother says that, when I was young, she only ever saw my back bent at the table over a pile of paper and pencils. In recent years I have come to teach both painting and drawing, although I would like to teach students to draw more. For some reason, it seems to people that painting is a more attractive occupation and that there is no need to study drawing. It is a pity, because only drawing as a discipline gives you freedom and wings to fly wherever you want.
I paint only from life, sometimes adding from memory, never using any photographic reference as I am afraid to lose my freedom. Even if the painting looks unfinished to some, it carries much more important and truthful information about the subject than if at some point you used even the most illegible photograph. Working quickly, almost without thinking, letting the brush find its way and trusting the first impression seems especially important.
There were many influences over the years and two artists interest me at the moment – Isaac Israëls and Raphael Soyer. The first for his almost childlike, sincere visual response to everyday subjects. The second for his courage in reacting in his art to social life in America in the 1930s during the depression. Both have qualities I would like to keep or explore in my own work.”
Find out more about Julia Hawkins and view a selection of her work (some of which are available to purchase online) on her NEAC artist profile page. Julia will be teaching at a selection of masterclasses at the Art Academy in London, as follows:
25–26 March – Portrait Painting Masterclass
11–14 April – Landscape Painting Masterclass
14– 18 August – Landscape Painting Masterclass
