About the Artist
Julie Davis, AIS, AWA, OPA
Raised in the open spaces of West Texas, I remember a love of nature and a desire to explore the land at a young age. I have vivid memories of feeling awe for the big sky and endless fields, of anticipation when we'd travel through the Caprock Escarpment, and of reverence when witnessing a dust-filtered West Texas sunset. I still enjoy exploring the land, and nature still humbles and awes me. The anticipation and gratitude I feel when composing a painting outdoors and from studying nature's beauty and dynamic character energizes me.
My approach to outdoor painting is primarily one of information gathering. My goal is not necessarily to pack up a completed painting, rather it is to learn what I can about a place through careful consideration and deliberate use of my time and materials. Through observation, sketching, and studies, I can translate my impression of a place into a plein air piece or into the foundation for a studio painting.
The scenes I choose to paint are rarely nature's standouts. The introvert in me gravitates to the quiet of the landscape and the bits of our surroundings that don't receive regular pause. I like for my work to celebrate the forms and figures in nature that are worthy of, but unaccustomed to, our attention. I'm drawn to the individual expressions of trees and the curious lines of long-forgotten structures. Translating and sharing our landscape is where I find my reward as an artist.
"Obviously, then, armed with a paint-box, one cannot be bored, one cannot be left at a loose end, one cannot 'have several days on one's hands,' Good gracious! What there is to admire and how little time there is to see it in!" -Winston Churchill
Selected Shows and Exhibitions
Julie Davis was born in Galveston, Texas, and was raised in towns across West Texas from El Paso To Abilene. She grew up drawing and creating, and earned degrees from Baylor University in education and law. After she and her husband started a family, Davis worked as a freelance writer and explored black and white photography, photographing the landscape and her daughters, and learning much about composition and light in the process. She began painting in 2007.
Davis and her husband, Ben, split time between Austin, Texas, and Jackson Hole,Wyoming. Their three daughters and sons-in-law live and work in Texas and New York.
A Signature Member of Oil Painters of America (OPA), the American Impressionist Society (AIS), and American Women Artists (AWA), Davis has won awards in OPA, AIS, and AWA national shows. Her plein air work earned Best of Show in the 2023 AIS All Member Paintout in Knoxville, TN, Second Place in the OPA Wet Paint Competitions in Steamboat Spring, CO in 2026 and in Bradenton, FL in 2025, and First Place in the 2019 AIS Central Park Paintout in New York City, where she also holds membership in the historic Salmagundi Club. Plein Air Magazine featured Davis in the June/July 2020 issue and Southwest Art Magazine's Editor selected her as an Artist to Watch for the September 2017 issue. She earned Awards of Excellence at the 2025 Virtuosos of the OPA Show from judge Daniel Keys and at the 2023 Masters Show from judge Scott Christensen.
Davis teaches online and in-person workshops when her schedule allows. Her work can be found at Cassens Fine Art in Hamilton, Montana, Turner Fine Art in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Mockingbird Gallery in Bend, Oregon, and Davis Gallery in Austin, Texas. Her paintings can also be viewed on Instagram (@juliedavisstudio).
