Born in Fort Collins, Colorado near the rolling foothills, Julie was called to the city of Denver to pursue an art degree after high school. Graduating from the Colorado Institute of Art class of 1987, she soon developed a career in Denver and Boulder areas at ad agencies and design firms. Julie was notably involved in the Denver International Airport corporate identity branding under Robert W. Taylor Design. She continued working for small and large agencies while having 3 children in between time. In 2002, Julie established Lewis Design Studio. She has won numerous awards for her graphic design work.

Julie incessantly painted for her own amusement and began painting more passionately in 2009. Under independent study and through many workshops by established artists, she studied watercolor, oil and acrylic. Eventually arriving at her preference of the quick and satifying results of acrylic. She favors moving along a piece quickly, a habit from her career-long discipline as a designer under hasty deadlines. Julie loves the textures she applies with artist pastes and mediums and enjoys layering with glazes to produce intricate works on canvas.

“Abstract Expressionists of the ages have been my inspiration for some time now. This style of art moves my soul where I find intense motivation to create in that realm. I use a rich palette with emphasis on applying a variety of white tones along with black or dark hues to create contrast throughout a piece. I prefer to stay focused on utilizing warm pigments as the dominant colors, but adding cool colors often creates beautiful surprises. Texture, shapes and sketch and scrawl marks of pencil or charcoal add to the intense depth of each piece. Layer upon layer develops a creation that gives meaning, resonating a message of its own to the viewer. As I paint, my art unfolds into something I cannot explain, but it speaks for itself in a language I can only feel as I move along to the finish. In the end, the piece communicates its own story; I simply am the scribe.”