Today we’d like to introduce you to Julia San Román.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
An artist from Spain, I did not know that I was going to be born three times. Like a cat with several lives, I experienced my second birth when I chose to come to the U.S.A. in 1988. Originally trained as a biologist, I left my hometown, Madrid, to find refuge in the research labs of the San Diego biotech industry.
My third birth occurred twelve years later, when during a sabbatical from my research activities, I decided to pursue a career as a painter. It seems that with the new millennium, another Julia came anew with the strong need to express an interior voice that was previously latent. That was a cross-road period of self-discovery that has continued to this day. Attracted to the visual arts since childhood, I was always engaged in drawing and painting as my favorite recreational activity, which I did for about ten years, and never gave up my obsession with painting and art history. After receiving extensive art training, I have dedicated the greater part of my life to the expression of it, enjoying the opportunity to exhibit and be promoted in museums and galleries across the U.S. My artistic focus has provided a way to work through my hardship and loss (my husband died of cancer after a four year battle with it) by using scientific sensibilities, cultural and social awareness and my creative drive to explain and document changes in my personal life.
In spite of my nostalgic detours through my Spanish roots, I believe that different people throughout the world are far more alike than we are dissimilar. Like my ancestors, I have crossed oceans and explored new roads. I think creating is an act of love and the best legacy we can give to others. My true passion is painting.
I became an American citizen in 2002 and live in California.
Please tell us about your art.
I create oil paintings focusing on light to express a mystical consciousness and sense of HOPE, where I integrate realistic light episodes in clouds with geometric abstraction. This can be perceived in the GLIMMER series, with the contrast of rigid, multicolored lines against the organic softness of supple clouds. In this case I am using two languages, abstraction and realism, to express more efficiently who I am: I grew up in the “old world” but I live in the “new world” and for that reason, I call this particular series “bilingual” . Or in the CANTE JONDO series where the abrupt, staccato rhythm of abstracted bird shapes over dramatic clouds represent the sounds of Flamenco hand clapping. Birds in clouds for me have become a liberating icon, the ever present emphasis on the spirit taking flight
In parallel, I also create paintings depicting the human figure interacting with nature and most significantly with birds- in flight, at rest, and in relation to the figure, as it can be seeing in the series BRIEF and FULL CIRCLE
Do you have any advice for other artists? Any lessons you wished you learned earlier?
Find your own internal voice and always be authentic in order to put yourself into your work.
The function of a visual artist is not only to show beauty but to convey deep issues and ideas to others, Whether it is to provoke, or to soothe, when you are authentic, that is when you will connect the best with the viewer.
Be relentless in your creativity, in your learning, work from inside out, and don”t step back by the upheavals of marketing and selling your production. After a rejection, keep walking and knock on many other doors. We artists deserve to make a living because ART is necessary in this world.
Develop healthy habits and find someone who loves you because you are constantly “giving love”…the act of creation is giving love.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
My work can be seen at Contemporary Fine Arts Gallery, in La Jolla, CA; at MaryAnn Doran Gallery in Tulsa, OK and at my own studio located in Solana Beach, CA. Also, in a group show at W.D. Cannon art gallery in Carlsbad, CA, through the months of May and June, 2018;
It can also be seen online at www.juliasanroman.com. The best way people can support my work is definitely by buying my paintings or by offering me exhibitions where I can promote them.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.juliasanroman.com
- Email: sanroman513@aol.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/julia.sanromannaughton
Image Credit:
Julia San Román
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
