JULIE WENDE

”There is a tangible amount of luck that is necessary for a successful career, and the only way that luck happens is if you’re prepared for it and you stick with it. If you drop out, your opportunity for luck diminishes greatly.” Brian Cranston

We had great art classes in the public schools in the California in the 1970’s. I learned photography on 35mm film cameras while working at a fine art photography gallery near the Brooks Institute in Montecito, and became adept doing free lance pen and ink illustration when I returned to L.A. Cell phone cameras are amazing inventions. As I am primarily a studio painter I use captured images for inspiration and roughing out sketches but they are not there for copying every detail. Establishing structure and themes within a composition using values, colors and contrast at the beginning of each work drives me to paint almost everyday, including Sunday. It is a privilege for me to attend workshops a few times a year by leading artists and I owe a debt of gratitude to Peggy Kroll-Roberts, Sherrie McGraw, Patrick Saunders and Michael Steirnagle. I’m also deeply grateful to Pat Bodnyk of HolderDane Gallery in Grapevine for her robust support and friendship and Joy Wilkerson at House of Neville in Fort Worth.