Julie Nicholson is an emerging artist living and working in Avalon Beach on Sydney's Northern Beaches.

Nicholson is a finalist in the Muswellbrook Art prize 2024 and was a finalist in the Paddington Art Prize 2023; First prize in painting at the Ewart Art Prize 2021; Finalist in the Northern Beaches Environmental Art Award 2023, 2022, and 2021; Finalist in The Fishers Ghost Award 2022, and Semi-finalist in the 2021 KAAF Art Award. She also co-hosts the popular arts podcast, Art W**k. 

Julie Nicholson’s artwork delves into personal narratives, capturing elements of landscape, light, and colour. Using multiple layers of oil stick drawing and painting, allowing unexpected memories or scenes to emerge, reminiscent of long-forgotten moments.

Throughout art history, the motif of a window—the medium through which we perceive the world, whether it's the windshield of a car or the display of an iPhone—has been thoroughly explored. This theme has garnered heightened significance amidst the confines of COVID-19 in recent years. Nicholson offers the viewer a synergy between artist and audience, through a shared perspective of ‘looking through’. Our perception of the world is filtered through this structured framework of lines. Nicholson has studied Architectural stained-glass, so the window holds great significance for her.

Nicholson’s paintings are an accumulation of impressions stores in my minds’ databank. Whilst studying stained-glass she was captivated by the interplay of light as it filters into a space, appreciating not only the transparency and vividness of colour but also the density of lead lines characteristic of traditional stained glass. Furthermore, she has found herself drawn to the sombre ambiance of the dimly lit interiors of churches, which stand in stark contrast to the luminosity of stained-glass windows.

Layering oil stick marks repeatedly reveals glimpses of what lies beneath and hints at the unseen. This approach feels more genuine to her than using a single layer of paint, because the history is revealed. The oil stick provides a great tool to create the denseness vs the colour and light seen in stained-glass windows. Colour is unveiled through successive layers of glazing, employing various mark-making techniques and scraping with a palette knife. This process unveils a spectrum of colours, with hues and flecks peeking through from beneath, bouncing off the surface.

 Alongside her art practice, Nicholson also co-hosts a podcast with fellow artist Fiona Verity. Cheekily named Art Wank, the duo expose the underbelly of the artwork through interviews with artists, curators, and creatives. One beyond a polished veneer, and instead focused on the process and practice of contemporary art.

CV

2024 Radiant Field, Group Exhibition, CBD Gallery, Erskine St., Sydney

2024 Finalist, Muswellbrook Art Prize, Muswellbrook Art Gallery, Muswellbrook, NSW

2023 Finalist, Paddington Art Prize, Coee Leven Art Gallery, Redfern, Sydney.

2023 ‘Conversations’, Group show at Woollahra Gallery, Double Bay, Sydney

2023 Finalist, Northern Beaches Environmental Art Prize, Manly Art Gallery, Sydney

2022 Finalist, Fishers Ghost Art Prize, Campbelltown Arts Centre, Campbelltown, Sydney

2022 Push and Pull, Group show at M2 Gallery, 451 Elizabeth st., Surry Hills, Sydney

2022 Finalist, Northern Beaches Environmental Art Prize, Manly Art Gallery, Manly

2022 Finalist, Ewart Art Prize, Willoughby Art Centre, Willoughby

2022 Two Artists, One Podcast, Sydney Road Gallery

2022 Artsphere, Group show, Willoughby Arts Centre
2021 The Other Art Fair, The Cutaway, Barangaroo, Sydney

2021 Christmas Group Show, Sydney Road Gallery, Balgowlah, Sydney

2021 ‘Into Abstraction’, Group Show, Purple Noon Gallery, Freemans Reach, NSW

2021 Finalist, Little Things Art Prize, Saint Cloche Gallery, Paddington

2021 Finalist, Northern Beaches Environmental Art And Design Prize, Manly Art Gallery, Manly

2021 Semi-Finalist, KAAF Art Award 2021, Korean-Australia Arts Foundation, 255 Elizabeth St, Sydney

2021 First Prize Winner in Painting, Ewart Art Prize 2021, Willoughby Arts Centre

2021 Art Wank Exhibition, Sydney Road Gallery, Balgowlah

2020 Inside Out Exhibition, Art Gallery on Palm Beach, Palm Beach
2020 Please Sign In Exhibition, Ewart Gallery, Willoughby 
2020 Finalist, Little Things Art Prize, Saint Cloche, Paddington
2020 Finalist Northern Beaches Art Prize, Online
2019 Pittwater Artist Trail exhibition and Open Studio, Newport
2018 Home Exhibition, Manly Art Gallery and Museum, Manly 
2018 Pittwater Artist Trail exhibition and Open Studio, Newport
2017 Warringah Art Prize, Finalist, Creative Space, Curl Curl
2016 Winner, 30 x 30 Art prize, Colour Trap Gallery, Avalon 
1999 New Designers Exhibition, London
1999 Degree Exhibition, Swansea, UK

Publications

2022 Podcast interview with Wilamina Russo on Interview with an Artist Listen Here

2021 Podcast Interview with Maria Stoljar - Talking with Painters Listen here

2020 This is Tomorrow article by Emma-Kate Wilson, ‘Exploring the Landscape Through Abstract Art — on Sydney’s Northern Beaches During the Time of COVID’ - link here

Education

2004 -5 PGCE Secondary Art and Design Education, University of Greenwich, London, UK

1996-99 BA Hons Architectural Stained Glass degree, University of Wales, Swansea, UK