About the Artist

Artist Statement:

As a teenager I had the good fortune to be sent by my family to painting classes with Alan Martin in Eltham.  Alan was a wonderful artist and an unassuming methodical teacher, conveying with great clarity and simplicity the fundamentals of black and white portraiture.  I hear his words each time I paint.

Growing up in Yarrambat on the rural outskirts of Melbourne AU, I was surrounded by the dry steep rocky hills of re-growth eucalypt and scattered tailings from the late 1800's Victorian gold rush era. There were the cows, chickens and gardens to tend, distant mountains views, ever changing weather and a wonderful array of wildflowers, lichen and moss appearing magically after the winter rains. The imprint of that world remains, revealing itself each time I paint. 

I arrived in the US as a postdoctoral exchange scholar in 1981. While making my living in materials chemistry and electronics manufacturing, I continued to paint, mostly outdoors ... landscape, transitioning from oils to water color and back. Now residing in San Diego, the arid mountains and blue skies of East County seem to have brought me full circle. Since 2014 I have been painting full time.

 Website:                   https://www.juliebradbury-bennett.com

Social Media:            https://www.instagram.com/juliebradburybennett

Email:           `          [email protected]

                                    [email protected]

Artist CV:

Training:

• Oil painting atelier style classes in tonal realism with Alan Albert Martin in Eltham, Vic AU 1968.  
• Online Study Courses:
  • Bryan Mark Taylor- Landscape Painting Coarse 2020
  • Albert Handell -Painting in Oil 2022
  • Kevin MacPherson -The Magic Grid 2022
  • W. Mundy -Mastering Dramatic Still Life 2022
  • Bhavani Krishnan – How to Paint Expressive Skies 2023
  • Bhavani Krishnan – Studying the Masters 2023

 Juried Exhibition Awards:

• 2024 FAV15%in FASO BoldBrush Painting Competition Selected as part of the jury's favorite 15% of the entries in the July for a figurative study "Warm Sand Cool Breeze"
• 2023 FAV15%in FASO BoldBrush Painting Competition Selected as part of the jury's favorite 15% of the entries in the August for a commissioned figurative study Sea Mist https://jbradburybennett.fineartstudioonline.com/portfolio-viewer?collection=98319#lg=1&artworkId=4589234.
• 2026 San Diego County Fair -Exhibition of Fine Art -Donated Award -Oil Figurative from Santa Fe Art Guild
• 2022 San Diego County Fair -Exhibition of Fine Art -Donated Award -Oil Still Life from Santa Fe Art Guild
• 2019 San Diego County Fair -Exhibition of Fine Art -Second Place- Oil Animals Section
• 2019 San Diego County Fair -Exhibition of Fine Art -Honorable Mention- Oil Waterscapes Section
• 2019 San Diego County Fair -Miniature Masterpiece -Honorable Mention- Oil/Acrylic from Juror Ron Goldman
• 2019 FAV15% in FASO  May 2019 BoldBrush Painting competition
• 2018 FAV15% in FASO August 2018 BoldBrush Painting competition
• 2017 FAV15%in FASO September 2017 BoldBrush Painting competition
• 2017 August Honorable Mention Oils/Acrylic -Carlsbad Oceanside Art League 66th Annual Open Juried Art Show from Judges Roberta Dyer and Michael Seewald
• 2017 San Diego County Fair -Exhibition of Fine Art  -Donated Award Oil Animals from the North County Association of Fine Art
• 2017 San Diego County Fair -Exhibition of Fine Art -Honorable Mention- Oil Landscapes Section
• 2017 FAV15%in FASO February 2017 BoldBrush Painting competition
• 2016 October First Place Oils Escondido Art Association Second Annual "Celebrate Grand Escondido" Open juried 2-D art show - Judge Richard Stergulz
• 2016 Honorable Mention Laguna Plein Air Painters Association “Home for the Holidays” Exhibition December
• 2016 Honorable Mention Oils Mission Trails Regional Park - 5th Annual Art in the Park Exhibit October 8 - November 4
• 2015 FASO-Staff-Pick FASO Daily Art Show Received the Staff-Pick from the FASO-Daily Art Show on June 17th 2015
• 2014 Honorable Mention San Diego Museum of Art Artist Guild 2^nd Annual Plein Air Exhibition at L Street Fine Art –from Judge Ariel Plotek
• 2013 Honorable Mention“Capture the Light” La Jolla Art Association

Carlsbad Oceanside Art League Member awards:

• 2019 November First Place Judge Jeff Yoemans
• 2019 July Second Place Judge Toni Danchik
• 2019 June Best of Show Judge Richard Hawk
• 2019 May First Place Judge Eileen McCullough
• 2019 April Honorable Mention Judge Mary Aslin
• 2019 January First Place Judge Kevin Davidson
• 2018 December Best of Show a Third and Honorable Mention Judge Kevin Davidson
• 2018 November First Place & Honorable Mention Judge Pat McGeeney
• 2018 September Honorable Mention Judge Rita Pacheco
• 2018 July Second Place Judge Toni Williams
• 2018 June Honorable Mention Judge Drew Bandish
• 2018 May Second Place Judge Anne Moore 
• 2018 February Third Place Judge Sally Strand
• 2018 January Honorable Mention Judge John Cosby
• 2017 November First Place Judge Shuang Li

Plein Air/Quickdraw Competition Awards:

• 2024 Honorable Mention San Diego County Fair Plein Air Competition on 06/20/24
• 2018 Honorable Mention San Diego County Fair Plein Air Competition on 06/23/18. -Judge Toni Williams
• 2018 Honorable Mention Fallbrook Art Association Plein Air Competition/Show April 25th -Judge Richard Stergulz
• 2016 First Place Oil San Diego County Fair Plein Air Competition on 06/23/16. -Judge Rita Pacheco
• 2013 Second Place San Diego Art Department/SDAI 3830 Ray St- Quick Draw Plein Air Competition- Festival of Arts May 18
• 2013 Second Place Art Beat on Main Street -Vista Plein Air and Photo Fall Outing - at the Antique Gas and Steam Museum October 19, 2013 

Invited and Juried Group Exhibitions:

• Oceanside Museum of Art Plein Air Festival Juried Exhibition 2025
• SIP Art Space San Marcos April_2025
• Mission Hills Hillcrest Knox Branch Library Solo Show May 2024
• Bonita Museum of Art -Juried Pleinair Exhibition -Spring 2024 and 2025
• Art in the Garden Wynola 2024
• Art on 30^th Ashton Gallery -Viva Magenta Juried Exhibition August 2023
• Ramona Valley Plein Air Panters Fall Art Show 2023
• Borrego Springs Art Guild Show at BAI April 2023
• Coronado Cultural Arts Commission -San Diego Plein Air Painters at C3 Coronado 2020
• Carlsbad Oceanside Art league Featured Artist 2019
• May-June 2018 Nainsook Framing and Art, La Mesa, CA group show
• Oct 2016-April 2017 Ocean Beach People’s Organic Market Deli solo exhibition.
• La Jolla Art Association Open Juried Show 2016
• Art in the Park MTRP Juried Show 2015 &2016
• Jan 2015-Dec 2016 The City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture –vibrant culture, vibrant city program, selected 6 works to be part of a 2-year group display at the mayor’s office at the City Administrative Building at 202 C Street, 11th Floor.
• Holiday treasures Debra Huse Gallery -Juried Exhibition Dec 2015
• L-street Fine Art Juried Exhibition Q4 2014
• La Jolla Art Association Open Juried Show 2013

Vendor Participation at Art Festivals:

• Artwalk Liberty Station, Ingram Plaza, 2751 Dewey Rd., San Diego, CA 92106 -August 2026
• Coronado Artisans Alley -Craft Fair -Village Elementary School, 600 6th Street, Coronado, CA 92118 -December 2025
• Artwalk Liberty Station, Ingram Plaza, 2751 Dewey Rd., San Diego, CA 92106 -August 2025
• Warner Springs Wine & Art Trail -Hawk Watch Winery, 27054 Chihuahua Valley Rd. Warner Springs, CA 92086 -Sept 2024
• Artwalk Liberty Station, Ingram Plaza, 2751 Dewey Rd., San Diego, CA 92106, -August 2024
• Santa Ysabel Art Festival, Santa Ysabel Art Gallery, 30352 Hwy 78, Santa Ysabel CA 92070 -May 2024
• OB Peoples Street Fair, 4765 Voltaire St, San Diego, CA 92107 2022, 2023 and 2024

 Teaching Experience:

• 1 Day Workshop Bonita Museum May 31 2025 “Painting Loose -Still Life with Apples”- 4355 Bonita Road, Bonita, CA 91902 -proceeds to the Bonita Museum,
• ½ Day Workshop 9:30am-12:30pm 05/04/25 Gallery 21 Balboa Park, 1770 Village Pl, San Diego, CA 92101 San Diego “Keeping Images Loose while Capturing the Uniqueness of the Subject”

Press:

• ArtWalk Liberty Station2 -KUSI-TV-7.29.25 Source: YouTube
  https://share.google/czo7oHnZ7jQRwFCEM
• "Plein Air Painters Exhibit Coastline Paintings at Point Loma Library" Peninsula Beacon 08-01-18
• “California- The Golden State” a collaboration of Laguna Plein Air Painters Association (LPAPA) and Community Art Project (CAP) 2017 http://www.stunewslaguna.com/component/content/article/25896-cap-presents-080417#.WYUk9VD8i2Z.facebook

• La Jolla Art Association (LJAA) Annual Plein Air Juried Competition "Capture the Light" 05-23-13 http://www.lajollalight.com/sdljl-plein-air-paintings-capture-the-light-along-with-2013may21-story.html 

Volunteer Activity:

• Organizer for San Diego Plein Air Painters Meetup Group 2013-Present
• San Diego River Park Foundation-River Days Paintout/Workshop Event 2014-Present and Mural Repair Team Member 2017-2019
• Organizer and curator of the following San Diego Plein Air Painters Meetup Group Exhibitions:
  • Village Arts Outreach -Gallery 21, Spanish Village-Balboa Park, August 2026
  • Village Arts Outreach -Gallery 21, Spanish Village-Balboa Park, May 2025
  • Pacific Beach Taylor Library May-June 2023
  • Rancho Penasquitos Library Feb 2018
  • Point Loma Hervey Library 2015 and 2018
  • Cardiff-by-the-Sea Branch Library Oct-Dec 2017
  • Solana Beach Library Shows: 2015,2016,2017,2018 and 2019

• Invited demonstrations -San Diego County Fair June 2023, 2024 & 2025

 Memberships:

• Artist Member - Laguna Plein Air Painters Association 2015-2018
• Carlsbad Oceanside Art League 2017-2022
• NCSFA North County Society of Fine Art 2017
• Borrego Art Institute 2023-2024
• Oceanside Museum of Art 2023-2026
• Artist Alliance OMA  2023-2026
• California Art Club -Associate Member 2023-present
• San Diego Plein Air Painters Meetup Group 2012-present

Parallel Education and Career Path:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jbradburybennett