Julia Zanes

Scheherezade on Sinbad’s Ship

Blue Baby

Doll House in House

Human Headed Bird

The Good Me, The Bad Me

Gold Boat, Water rising

Red Room

Head and Page

pAbout the Artist

Julia Zanes’ paintings on board start out with collage and acrylic paint. She uses a variety of sources for collage materials: pieces of gum bichromate prints made by her mother, Hope Zanes, a photographer; her own digital photographs printed on rice paper or printmaking paper; and other decorative papers such as wall coverings, book pages, and wrapping paper. After adhering the collage pieces to the board with acrylic paint,  Zanes paints on top of the surface with translucent layers of acrylic colors to create the luminosity and details of the finished work. Finally, she adds thin layers of oil paint to make the colors richer and the surface glossy.

Julia Zanes’ narrative paintings reveal an inner, reflective world in which her stories are influenced by her interests in Indian miniature paintings and other art historical references, color,  and decorative elements. The people in her paintings are often women – sometimes queens or winged humans – and they catch the viewer’s eye from a place that seems long ago and part dream. The paintings contain rivers, flowers and trees, boats and birds. While these things are commonplace where she lives in Vermont, they are also symbols containing spiritual significance. (Tfaoi)

Julia Zanes Website

Posted by Carmelita Caruana