Julea Boswell

My art is sparked by movement and beauty. Primary influences stem from my involvement in art, dance music and theatre from a young age and growing up surrounded by the ocean on Prince Edward Island. From these experiences, my motivation as an artist has been steadily fuelled by the power of art to spread joy and bring people together. I express the energy and emotions inspired by interflowing themes of nature, movement, dance and music in colourful paintings that range from stylized imaginative interpretations of nature to purely abstract lyrical works.

I approach each piece as a kinetic and tactile process of discovery, moving to music while creating and shifting canvases freely from wall to floor as I progress. I’m a fan of working on raw unstretched canvas and using palette knives and different kinds of rags (linen, cotton, paper) to apply, blend and erase colour. I layer-in texture, and use squirt bottles to add improvisational movement-based finishes. I’m not afraid of colour! I love to use fluorescent and metallic pigments to punctuate and add energy to my work.

"Wow! Such colour and freedom. I love your expression of movement." - solo show visitor

”The paint dances across the canvas.” - exhibitor's comment

“A breath of fresh air! Breezy. It has such a lightness and positivity that make it pretty irresistible." - Instagram follower

"Your joyful work is exactly what the world needs!" - Artwork Archive blog author

BIO

In addition to her visual art, Julea Boswell's multifaceted career includes early days in the dance world followed by over 20 years in marketing and management roles including in cultural development with the City of Ottawa and as general manager with Propeller Dance Company.

Studying art, dance, and performing in professional theatre productions as a child set the stage for Julea to draw on a variety of elements to expand and evolve a body of work that includes textiles, drawings and paintings. She has also collaborated with dancers with and without physical disabilities and neurodiversity, and musicians and composers.

Boswell's work has been in solo and group shows as well as featured in dance-theatre and outdoor performance events. Her art is held in collections in Canada, the US, Europe, Asia and Mexico. She holds a Diploma in Theatre (Dance), BFA in Visual Art (with distinction), and an MBA.

Boswell lives and works in Ottawa and PEI, and has also lived in Toronto, Edmonton and Berlin.