Today we’d like to introduce you to Julia Cary.
Julia, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I have always been artistically talented and have enjoyed the hobby growing up. I had my work selected to be shown in art shows and I started commissions at 11 years old. The summer before my junior year, I met a famous Polish portrait artist, Maciej Maga, through my dad. He saw my gift and began mentoring me to eventually attend the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts (Akademia Sztuk Pięknych im. Jana Matejki w Krakowie) in Kraków, Poland. From there, I began to work primarily with charcoal focusing on subjects like drapery, glass, architecture, and portraiture. I spent the next two years growing my portfolio and mastering charcoal. Charcoal is one of the harder media to work in due to the fact that it’s not easily erasable. To prepare for Poland, I began learning Polish and was tutored by two Polish natives, Halina Grodd and Dorota Baird, both located in the Dallas area. I am starting learning about Polish culture as I became more and more excited to study in Europe. I hope to study there for five years to get my Master’s degree in architecture.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
A more recent struggle that hit me the hardest during this journey was COVID. With borders closing and quarantine being enforced, it was harder than ever to travel to Poland. My plans to go there during spring break and also during June were canceled. The travel visa offices were closing and my chances looked more and more slim. There was only so much I could do on my end and that was completing my portfolio and applying to the school. When I do get the chance to travel there, I could have everything in order: my visa, acceptance letter, a place to live, etc. and the border guard of Poland could still turn me down. I am keeping my hopes high, though to soon fulfill my dream.
We’d love to hear more about your art.
Ever since middle school, around 6th or 7th grade, I began doing commissions. I did odd jobs here and there based off of what people wanted. In school, I primarily did hyperrealistic drawings but at home and in my commissions was where I could express myself. During my freshman year of high school, I started putting my work in auctions and in charities. I have only done paintings for the Dallas based charity I put my work in, Flite to Freedom, and I really enjoy it because I get to choose the subject matter and my meaning behind it. I have done a lot of paintings for commissions but in the last few months, I started getting into resin art. I loved trying out resin and the abstract nature of it. After resin, I started working on my portraiture more and have begun selling portraits as well. I started a concentration of portraits and that has been my most recent work. I believe the most unique aspect of my art is my ability to be quite versatile, depending on people’s wants and needs for their art. I have worked in graphite, colored pencil, pastel, charcoal, acrylic, oil, watercolor, resin, ink, and I have even painted murals.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
As of now, I currently attend the University of Texas at Austin for studio art. The Academy in Poland starts in October, which is definitely an adjustment in comparison to U.S. schools. If COVID doesn’t allow me to travel to Poland this year, then I will reapply next year. I believe that studying in such a historical and cultured place like Kraków will allow be to produce my best work to help me achieve my goals in architecture.
Pricing:
- Portraits (charcoal/graphite): $150 (typically 16x20in) (vary on size)
- Resin: $75 (11x14in) – $2,500 (36x48in) (vary on size)
- Paintings: $100 – $1,200 (vary on size)
- Drawings: $15 – $300 (vary on size)
Contact Info:
- Website: juliacaryart.com
- Phone: 214-394-6006
- Email: juliacaryart@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliacaryart/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/julia.cary.18
Suggest a story: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
