Julie Wilson
The Lighthouse
Lilliehöökbreen
Birds of the High Arctic
Cabin in the Woods
Julie Wilson is the current Chair of the Pastel Society of Ireland.
She is an experienced artist who is based in North Down. Whilst her background is in textile design, for the last ten years she has worked mainly in soft pastels and charcoal, although also uses oils, acrylics, linoprint, wood engraving and monoprint in her work and she keeps pen and ink and charcoal sketchbooks.
She has been a committee member of the Pastel Society of Ireland for the last five years and regularly exhibits with the society, and is also an associate member of Ulster Society of Women Artists.
She is inspired by her travels in the High Arctic and by the historical and environmental links between Northern Ireland and Svalbard. She is a member of the Polar Artists Collective and developed the 2025 “High Latitudes” exhibition at North Down Museum with fellow Polar artist, Susan Moody. She plans to return to Svalbard as Artist in Residence at Spitsbergen Artists Centre during the 2027 polar winter.
She describes her approach to art:
“I paint primarily to capture the memory of emotions. In each of my paintings and across my entire body of work I am seeking to convey the emotional response that I experience when I encounter the natural (and sometimes built) environment; and to prompt an equivalent emotional response in the viewer.
I focus mainly on painting land and seascapes and I am particularly drawn to the fleeting play of light on water, with marine and sub-aqua worlds featuring in many of my works.
Memory, emotion and sense of place are significant influences and my work plays with themes of transience and nostalgia, often informed by childhood memories, associates, possibilities and imaginings. Coupled with this, the environment – its power, magnificence and (by contrast) its fragility – is a significant theme running through my work.”
Links
Instagram @juliewilsonartist
Facebook @JulieWilsonArt