Julie Freeman

My fascination with realism started as a child, and I remember clearly the enjoyment and sense of achievement that I got from sketching and painting realistic pictures. As a result of these early experiences, the primary goal in my current work is to create a photorealistic image with more depth of feeling than can be achieved with a photograph. I love bringing my work to life and want to share what I see in my subjects.

Pastel became my favourite medium many years ago while living in the United States and England where I started doing animal portraits initially using just black and white. When I broadened my choice of subject, began using colour, and more specifically pastel pencils – my work started to be recognised. Pastel is a wonderful medium, easy to blend, immediate, and offers a vast range of colours, and with the discovery of pastel pencils allows me to perfect my passion for creating photorealistic images. I like to use both in my current work, pencils for detail, and soft pastels for the vibrancy, easy coverage and blending.

I always use my own reference material and when I’m not in the studio pastel painting, my husband and I will be on one of our photographic expeditions travelling around the New Zealand country-side. I love every step of the process, from capturing and composing the initial image/s, through to using a raw material to produce a final photorealistic painting. My body of work is constantly evolving and influenced by New Zealand’s beautiful scenery, flora and fauna that I missed for the 15 years I was overseas.

There is no greater reward than experiencing the pleasure that my work gives others, through their generous comments, and words of encouragement, and it’s always very satisfying when someone likes one of my paintings so much that they want to own it.

I am a Master Pastel Artist of PANZ (Pastel Artists of NZ), a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of America. PSA And in the Master Circle of the International Association of Pastel Societies IAPS. My work is being recognised nationally and internationally, and is also in private collections in New Zealand, United States, and the United Kingdom.