A Celebration of Julie's Contribution to the AnArt4Life Blog
On the 2 Dec 2019 Julie joined us as one of the writers for the AnArt4Life blog. In celebration of her first anniversary with us we are going to tell you a little about Julie's interests and showcase some of her past posts.
Julie is a woman of diverse talents and interests and her posts highlight many of these.
Like all of us on the blog team, Julie is a dog lover and Foxy is her constant companion and editor of many of her posts.
Julie has a deep love of aeroplanes which stems from her grandfather who worked as a plane mechanic in Northern France in WWI, mainly on Sopwith Camels.
Below are two photos showing the Sopwith Camels lined up at the Bruay airfield, on 26th March 1918, which is where Julie's grandfather was stationed. It is possible that he is in the photos.
Sopwith Camels 4th Squadron Bruay Credit: AWM EO1877
Sopwith Camels 4th Squadron Bruay Credit: AWM EO1878
Julie is almost equally obsessed with steam trains as attested to by these images.
This also seems to be an inherited family trait! Julie and her family have been taking steam train trips since she was a little girl, but none more iconic than two trips on the Flying Scotsman when it came to Australia from England in 1988 and 1989. It is one of the most famous trains in the world, the first to reach 100 mph between London and Edinburgh.
Here is Julie on the Flying Scotsman at Spencer Street Station, Melbourne, the day of the parallel trip to Seymour with another steam train, the R Class 761 in July 1989. What a memorable day that was!
Julie shares her recollection:
During the AusSteam Festival the Scotsman and R761 did a parallel run to Seymour, Victoria. It was a great day, we loved hanging out the window to see the other train, getting soot in our eyes!... And we loved the usual photo stop, with everyone getting off in the middle of nowhere and the two trains backing up and then roaring up together, whistles blowing and smoke billowing! Here is a video showing the two trains travelling together. Note the crowd gathered to watch the fun on the side of a Heathcote bank.
Hop aboard and share the experience by watching the video below of the Flying Scotsman R761 Parallel Run produced by SymphonyofSteam.
Julie and AnArt4Life subscriber John Pickup share the same passion for planes and trains and often compare notes or interesting historical information.
In celebration of Julie's love of remarkable machines here is a small selection of steam train paintings by John Pickup.
Julie is also a keen gardener, with a particular passion for roses and conifers.
In terms of art, Julie's great love are the Impressionists and she has produced many posts on this topic for the blog; showcasing many of the women from this period who are often overlooked.
Click on this link to read one of Julie's posts on the Impressionsits.
Berthe Morisot
In another post she introduced us to the Glittering, glamorous glass works being created by Californian artist Jack Storms.
And her love of all creatures is never far from her mind as endorsed by her post The Beauty of Owls.
Julie has been inspirational in the contribution she has made to the AnArt4Life blog.
Thank you for the wonderful variety of subject matter you have introduced to the blog and for leading the way in unearthing forgotten artists especially the women associated with the Impressionist movement.
Anne, Jane and Caroline