About Julia

North Carolina artist Julia Chandler Lawing synchronizes color and brushstroke to capture the essence of a moment and evoke emotion. Her oil paintings have been called “extravagantly beautiful, spiritual and inspiring.”

Born in Atlanta, Julia moved to St. Simons Island, Georgia, at age 12. The experience of growing up in the Golden Isles instilled a deep appreciation for nature, light, and the wetland landscape.

Julia earned a BA in Journalism/Advertising at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (’90), with a concentration in drawing and art history. While employed at Savannah College of Art and Design, and later the Charlotte Observer, she continued her creative exploration through night classes in various mediums including stained glass, woodworking, ceramics and pastels. After docenting at the Cabarrus County Arts Council and teaching elementary art classes, Julia began oil painting and knew she had found her calling.

Julia’s work is featured in private and corporate collections across the US, including Towne Bank branches and Georgia State University’s College of Law. Her paintings have appeared as billboards in Charlotte’s 2018 ArtPop Street Gallery, commercial window clings, and sheet metal in historic downtown Concord.

Julia lives in the greater Charlotte area with her husband and four daughters, and creates in her studio at ClearWater Arts Center in Concord's Gibson Village. She is constantly inspired by life and the landscape.

Artist Statement

My art is as much about the interplay of paint and surface as the subject itself. Using a thick application, the energy of my brushstroke and my connection to the subject is recorded in the paint. I use the palette knife and other tools to subtract as well as add paint, building the painting in layers. I strive to say more with less, capturing the essence of a moment and evoking emotion.

My subjects come from my life; I am inspired by the beauty of the landscape, light falling on a structure, figures at play or rest. My own photos are the starting point for what I think of as visual psalms. Usually a specific memory or sense of place is what resonates with me, but occasionally an unusual palette, heightened surface or selective description becomes my main objective. I am also enticed by the tension of chaos versus order.

I paint because it engages my senses, my mind, my soul, and stirs a passion in me unlike anything else. My art exploration parallels my faith: there’s no end to the journey, but the reward is a wellspring of revelation that helps me know myself, the world, and God more fully.