Bio

Julie Hayes grew up on a small farm near Shenandoah, Iowa spending much of her time enjoying nature, drawing and painting.  While her course work at Iowa State University prepared her for a career in apparel design, she never lost the desire to draw and paint.  In 1999 she left a twelve-year career in apparel design to pursue her passion for art and complete her art degree at Salem College. She recently moved from North Carolina to Northwest Arkansas and now has the beautiful Ozarks for an outdoor studio.  
 

Watercolor is Julie’s medium of choice.  She prefers painting from life, especially plein air painting with the challenge of ever-changing light and color.  Julie’s paintings are created by building up and layering color on textured gesso-coated canvas or paper.  This helps create a mysterious quality in her work. The finished watercolor is then protected with a UV resistant acrylic finish so it can be framed with or without glass.