Steph, mixed media on paper, 60x42cm
Several new mixed-media portraits of mine are on display at Stockbridge Library in Edinburgh through 29 April 2024.
Monday: 1pm to 8pm
Tuesday: 10am to 5pm
Wednesday: 1pm to 8pm
Thursday: 10am to 5pm
Friday: 10am to 5pm
Saturday: 10am to 5pm
Most of the work on display is available for sale, and shipping is available. Please get in touch if you’re interested in making a purchase or to inquire about a commission.
Poet Aonghas MacNeacail, mixed media on sanguine paper, 42x30cm
This autumn I returned in earnest to my studio for the first time since 2017. I’d still been making art here and there, but always in the margins. I am delighted to now be in a place where I can give more time and attention to my art-making again.
All this newfound creative freedom: where to start? It turns out I’ve begun by going back to my roots, focussing on portraits and cityscapes, which were what I exhibited in my first ever show back in Zurich, Switzerland, in 2008. The city in the scapes has changed, and the materials have shifted more towards mixed media and away from oil paint, but it still appears that my brain likes to start simply by looking around at the people and places nearby.
In this exhibition you’re seeing some of these new cityscapes, in particular those inspired by the area around my home in Stockbridge, Edinburgh. I spent a lot of time walking up and down the Water of Leith this summer, foraging for plants that I might turn into inks as part of my 100 Days Scotland project. This part of the planet is not new to me - in fact St Bernard’s Well featured in the paintings of my first Edinburgh exhibition in 2014 - but my ink-making project has led me to view this landscape through a new lens.
The work on exhibition here feels like just a start to me, the frantic scribblings of someone who can’t quite believe she’s free to play with the art supplies again. Each piece, within its layers, contains some of the botanical ink I made this year, along with charcoal (also handmade) and more conventional art supplies including pastels, gouache, acrylic, ink, and pencil.
Thank you for visiting. If you’d like to hear about future exhibitions, please sign up for my highly infrequent newsletter or follow me on Instagram or Facebook.
Opening hours
Monday: 1pm to 8pm
Tuesday: 10am to 5pm
Wednesday: 1pm to 8pm
Thursday: 10am to 5pm
Friday: 10am to 5pm
Saturday: 10am to 5pm
To purchase a piece in this exhibition, select it above and follow the instructions for check out, or contact me if you’d prefer to be invoiced. UK and international shipping is available, as is local pick up. All purchases will be delivered after the end of the exhibition, unless other arrangements are made (for example, if you are giving the piece as a Christmas present and would like to pick it up sooner, contact me and we can figure something out.) Please note that all work is being sold unframed.
2020 is taking us all in unexpected directions - one of those for me is teaching online workshops to people all over the UK and beyond. It’s been a joy to share my love of art-making in this way. My first fine art workshop to launch is Exploring Collage. It is delivered via a combination of live Zoom sessions and prerecorded tutorials you can work through at your own pace. The Zoom sessions are limited to a small group so that we can all interact, share, and ask questions. Participants also receive a custom kit of collage papers via post.
I decided to start with collage because it’s such a fun and interesting way to create, whether one has fine art experience or not. I also like how it can be done in a way that repurposes materials otherwise destined for the recycling bin or landfill.
The first workshop, in October 2020, brought together creators in Scotland, England, and the Netherlands. The group included everyone from complete beginners to experienced artists, and all were very enthusiastic about diving into the exercises. By the time we reconvened for the sharing session, they had created an impressive variety of pieces featuring dramatic faces, calming landscapes, found poetry, and more.
I’ll be running Exploring Collage again in 2021, in addition to launching a few more art workshops that I have in the works. Be sure to sign up for my mailing list if you’d like to hear when those ares announced.
I’ve made a few of my demo collages available for sale as part of my Artist Support Pledge. Find them in my online shop.
I’m excited to announce a brand new workshop designed especially for Christmas 2020. One of the things I’ve learned this year is that it’s actually possible to have meaningful, enjoyable creative experiences via Zoom. My small-group workshops have been really warm and lovely, with participants commenting on how much they’ve enjoyed connecting with me and each other. Getting creative can do wonders for one’s mood - there’s so much benefit in trying something new and getting lost in the process of making something by hand.
This Christmas card workshop dovetails nicely with my other November workshop, Letters to the Future, which is not at all about Christmas but it is in part about the joys of sending handwritten things to loved ones.
Since I was a child I’ve loved making Christmas cards. I know a lot of people are going to be missing Christmas as usual this year, so I’ve designed this workshop to be a vehicle for some of that displaced Christmas cheer. We’ll wear our Christmas jumpers, we’ll light candles, and we’ll make things together that we can then post out to all the loved ones we’ll be missing seeing in person. I’m looking forward to sipping some mulled wine out my favourite German Christmas market mug. And I’m having a blast assembling the kits of materials (and treats) which I’ll be sending out to participants. Care to join me? Book your spot here!
This workshop is also available for private groups of friends, coworkers, or family members. Get in touch to discuss.
Who could have predicted this 2020 fashion trend? I’ve long wanted to develop some fabric designs, and this seems like an opportune moment. I’m pleased to offer face masks featuring my work via Pixels.com. They are currently only shipping masks from the US, but will deliver anywhere in the world.
I’m also considering offering printed neck gaiters. The sample I ordered came out really well, so stay tuned for those to become available.
If you’re in the UK and would like to purchase masks directly from me, you can now do that here.
UPDATE: New date announced! Join us for The Art of Journalling on 1 September 2020.
I’m really excited to be teaming up with Cass Barron of Bookbinding with Cass to offer a workshop we’re calling The Art of Journalling. Participants will be sent a kit to make a beautiful handmade refillable journal following Cass’s step-by-step video tutorials. Then in the live session, we’ll discuss ways to use your new journal to develop a writing practice that encourages mindfulness and creativity.
We initially developed this workshop to be taught in person at the Arienas Collective in Edinburgh, but due to the current situation, we’ve adapted it to an online setting. Initial interest has been high, and our first two online workshops on 16 June have already sold out. Sign up for my mailing list to hear about future dates when they are announced.
Some of my mixed-media Edinburgh art will be available at the Edinburgh Macmillan Art Show, 24-27 August 2017.
An exhibition of my new artwork will take place at the Edinburgh Central Library on George IV Bridge on 2-30 August. The show will include around 40 paintings and mixed-media works, including figurative pieces, Edinburgh scenes, and portraits.
Art and Design Library, 7 George IV Bridge, Old Town, Edinburgh
Mon - Wed 10 - 8
Thu - Sat 10 - 5
This body of work started out as a study of the relationships between people and places: how one’s location and proximity to other people affects one’s mental state and well-being. The themes and subjects have grown and developed with the events of the past year. The power of groups of women became evident to me in the women’s marches taking place all over the world, as well as in the close-knit group of female friends who supported me through my husband’s leukemia diagnosis and treatment. His death in April of this year left me reeling, person-less and place-less. Much of the artwork I have created since then is an exploration of my new role of young widow. And finally, many of the pieces in this exhibition celebrate Edinburgh, the city in which I know I belong. There is very little certainty in my life right now, but one thing I know for sure is that this city is my home.
Julie Galante is a painter and mixed-media artist based in Stockbridge, Edinburgh. Her artwork focuses on people and places real and imagined. As someone who has lived in several different countries, she is particularly intrigued by the ways in which one’s location can affect a person’s inner and outer life.
Two of my mixed-media Edinburgh pieces have been selected for the 2016 Edinburgh Macmillan Art Show. This exhibition is a wonderful opportunity to purchase original work and prints from hundreds of local artists, with at least 50% of all sales going to Macmillan Cancer Support. More information on their website.
Two of my Scottish seaside pieces will be on display at the Art in Granton exhibition.
This month at Stockbridge Library there's an exhibition of 18 artworks inspired by places where I've lived and traveled.
Entitled 'Art Inspired by Travels Near and Far,' the exhibition is on now through the end of December 2015. It includes images of Scotland, Japan, Italy, and more.
Stockbridge Library is on Hamilton Place in Edinburgh, Scotland. Opening times are as follows: Mon & Wed 1-8pm; Tues, Thurs, Fri & Sat 10am - 5pm.
My paintings will be on display at the Art in Healthcare stall at the Edinburgh Art Fair at the Corn Exchange, which takes place 13-15 November 2015.
I'll be giving a presentation about art and travel at the art fair on Sunday, 15 November, at 2:30pm. Email admin@artinhealthcare.org.uk to pre-book your free place at this presentation, as places are limited.
There will also be a charity reception at the Edinburgh Art Fair on the evening of Friday 13 Nov, 6-8.30pm and Art in Healthcare is selling tickets for this event to raise funds for their activities.
Art in Healthcare is a national charity whose vision is for original, contemporary art to be accessible to everyone in healthcare environments. This work involves displaying artwork in hospitals for the benefit of patients, visitors and staff and leading art workshops for people with health conditions. Art in Healthcare works in partnership with other health charities and the NHS to make use of art in a range of treatment, wellbeing and recovery programmes.
Stockbridge, oil on canvas, 40x50cm.
New oil paintings and mixed media pieces by Julie Galante featuring Stockbridge, Edinburgh, and the Highlands are on display at the Stockbridge Library through 23 September 2015.
Opening hours are as follows: Mon & Wed 1-8pm; Tues, Thurs, Fri & Sat 10am - 5pm.
I'm pleased to say that two pieces of mine have been selected for the 2015 Macmillan Art Show at Bonhams. More details are available on the exhibition's website.
