Julia Jensen Artist Studio Tour in Vermont

Earlier this summer I had the opportunity to visit one of the gallery’s artists, Julia Jensen, in the beautiful new studio she recently had constructed on her property in southern Vermont. Located just across the dirt road from the home she shares with her husband and their cat, the building is home to both Julia’s studio and a darling vacation rental space.

Julia’s studio space features stunning two-story floor to ceiling windows that allow for plenty of natural light and open to a canopy of green from the surrounding trees. On the walls are her paintings in process - both landscapes and the newer, more abstract works she’s currently exploring. I find myself continually pulled to the quality of light in Julia’s work, always amazed at the way she captures the glow of light or the layered darkness in her paintings. It was an absolute gift of an experience to be able to visit this space in person and see where Julia creates.

Read on for statements by Julia about her work as an artist.

“When I first began to paint I worked directly from life. I would paint plein air and in the colder months I would work in the studio using sketches and photographs. Through this early work I developed a vocabulary of landscape. At present I am not painting from life as much as I did earlier in my career. Now I work from memories and impressions.”

“As I paint I try to keep the surface open for as long as I can. I begin with brush stokes and color, turning the panel this way and that, allowing the painting to emerge. While I am referencing the physical world, I am no longer trying to faithfully represent a specific time and place. I am more interested in evoking memory and impression.”

“These days I am guided by a more internal path, which is expressed perfectly by this statement from George Inness:

‘The definition of art is to represent objects, not for themselves but in order to embody the echo they have placed on our soul.’ “ - artist, Julia Jensen