Into the Artist's world with Julianna Bryne

Welcome to ‘Into the Artist’s world’.

Each month i will ask an artist who is teaching a class at STILL a few questions about themselves and their practise.

This month we have Cornwall based artist, Julianna Bryne. We chatted books, how becoming a mother has changed her practise and living by the sea....

 

Ellie - What is your morning ritual?

Julianna  - As a mother of two small children my mornings are usually fairly slow and always start off with a cuddle in bed followed by a slightly hectic hour before nursery. Once I have a moment to myself I make myself a coffee and try and move my body, whether a walk or a brisk ocean swim. 

Ellie - What are you reading at the moment?

Julianna - I've just finished Evenings and Weekends by Osin McKenna, and starting Intermezzo by Sally Rooney. I'm loving modern Irish fiction at the moment. 

 

Ellie - Which is your favourite season and why?

Julianna - I love September. I'm a Virgo baby so I'm probably biased, but there is such a beautiful light that time of year. Early autumn is so abundant. 

 

 

Ellie - What’s your relationship with nature? Do you draw inspiration from the natural world? How and where?

Julianna - I'm lucky enough to live in Cornwall by the sea and that has absolutely shown up in my work a lot. I seem to be a magpie of deep ocean like blues when it comes to my colour palette. I also love foraging and growing food and these botanical references seem to come through a lot. 

Ellie - Who’s your favourite contemporary artist and why?

Julianna - I adore the work of Danny fox. His colour palette is so vibrant and his paintings and naive and dreamlike. 

 

 

Ellie - Tell me about a time when you were creatively stuck. Why and how did you get out of it?

Julianna - I usually try and spend time painting from still life or doing some design work, I try to remind myself that being stuck is actually part of the creative process and usually things start to flow again. There is a lot to be said for leaving your desk and heading off for a walk or to an exhibition, or just generally spending time doing something nourishing for you. You can't force it! 

 

 

Ellie - What’s an unexpected influence? Something which gave you a surprising jolt of creativity and stimulated your work? 

Julianna - In the last couple of years we've been lucky enough to experience the Aurora, here in Cornwall. Last summer the lights shimmered right above our house and I found the energy of it so cosmic, I ended up creating a whole body of work called "the psychedelic English garden". It was very cool, and totally unexpected! 

 

Ellie - How has becoming a mother changed your art practise?

Julianna - I think motherhood is full of contradictions, my children have naturally pulled me away from my practice and I have less time to develop work, but in the same breath, they have also sparked so much creativity and change in the way I approach my artworks. There is a freedom and childlike charm in my work now, that has shown up since becoming a mother.