"Deciduous Sky" is the title of Burien Arts Gallery’s August exhibit featuring landscape artist Julie Devine.
The show runs Aug. 5-Aug. 30. Meet Julie at the Artist’s Reception, Friday, Aug. 7, 5-8 p.m. at the Gallery, 826 S.W. 152nd St.

Julie was born and raised in California, and moved to the Pacific Northwest in 1991. She paints from the landscape, combining gestural brushwork and knifework into a distinctive, semi-abstract style.
Her work communicates a spirited appreciation for the outdoors and for the painting traditions of impressionist, post-impressionist, and abstract expressionist works she has loved since a child.

Her paintings reside in private collections and have been exhibited in the Pacific Northwest, New York, New Mexico, and Italy.

According to Julie, “My work is about spiritual experience in the landscape -- those moments when the soul merges with the sky, the land, and light.

“Imagine making art outdoors -- setting up an easel; arranging a palette of oil paint; laying out brushes, knives, and towels; and securing all of these against the wind. And as you paint, the sun moves across the sky, changing the light it casts, while pieces of dirt, grass, flowers, feathers, and fur fly into your work.
“The painting is partly your own, but partly crafted by the elements. You are deep in it, and your work is infused with your surroundings.”

Julie says painting outdoors has changed the way she paints.

“I have learned to favor palette knives for their speed and immediacy,” Julie declares. “Outside, among the changing conditions, I paint more quickly, confidently, and with thicker paint. I use more yellow.

”The colors come more intuitively and I make more of a mess. What I have learned from painting en plein air, I bring with me into the studio.” 

Also in August, Artists United will feature portraits by award winning artist Anita Corby and a potpourri of paintings by new AU member Tracy Lemoine. 

Fine-art jewelry will also be exhibited.

The Gallery is open Wednesday through Saturday, noon-6 p.m. and Sunday, noon-4 p.m. It is closed Monday and Tuesday.

More information is available at www.burienarts.org or 206-244-7808.