Sapulpa painter Julie Miller has never wanted to stay within the lines. Her exhibit, Grasslands & Waterways, is now on display through April 4th in the Governor’s Gallery, located on the 2nd floor of the State Capitol. The Governor’s Gallery is open Monday through Friday from 8:30-5:00. Admission is free and exhibits are curated by the Oklahoma Arts Council.

Impressionistic, expressionistic, subtle, abstracted and exaggerated are all words which have been used to describe Miller’s art. To achieve her signature style, Miller utilizes brushwork consisting of careful and deliberate details combined with loose and abandoned strokes and palette knives to create texture with the oil paint. “I am partial to paintings that show the process of brush, knife, paint and emotion,” said Miller.

Her paintings are often narrative and tell stories of subjects often overlooked in everyday life. Her painting style is representational, so the subject is recognizable, but also abstracted, which adds personality and feeling. Her landscape paintings convey the gentle beauty of nature and subtly invite the viewer to visit and take comfort.

Miller received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Kansas State University and continued her education studying under artists including Kay Orr, Gary Lennon, Judy McCombs, Rick McClure, Dale Martin, Mitsuno Ishii Reedy, George Kountoupis and Gail Booth. She is also a noted art instructor and workshop facilitator and credits the process of teaching for enhancing her own creative work. She has taught at Ziegler’s Art Studio, Tulsa; Fine Arts Institute, Edmond; Arteries, and Intergenerational Art Workshop, Sapulpa; Lennon Art Studio, Edmond; and Guthrie Art Center. Miller is also involved in arts organizations such as Oklahoma Visual Artists Coalition, Tulsa Artists Coalition and Tulsa Artists Support Group.

Since 1995, Miller’s artworks have been included in several regional exhibits every year including Art on the Square in Tulsa, the Edmond Downtown Arts Festival and Arts Festival Oklahoma in Oklahoma City. Her work has been featured in solo exhibitions in Tulsa, Sapulpa, Edmond and Oklahoma City.

In early 2009, Miller partnered with three other Oklahoma artists to open The Water Street Art Gallery in Sapulpa. The gallery hosts fine art exhibits and offers arts classes for students of all ages.

For more information, contact Alyson Atchison, Curator of Education & Capitol Galleries at (405) 521-2931.


ABOUT THE OKLAHOMA ARTS COUNCIL
The Oklahoma Arts Council is the official state agency for the support and development of the arts in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Arts Council's mission is to lead in the development, support and enrichment of a thriving arts environment.

Categories: Exhibits