Julia W. White
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Brand New Painting

4/14/2022

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I finished this painting last week. It's 40" x 60"; Oil on Canvas. It's the thirteenth painting in the Museum of Bad Judgement series (Click here for a full description of this series). The center is a portrait of the Polk County Courthouse where my grandfather tried many cases in his early career. Around it are more scenes loosely based his memoirs. It's actually four paintings in one, which is probably the reason it took so long. I actually started it in July of 2021, but I put it aside several times to work on other paintings. Here are some progress photos I took along the way:
I originally intended for this painting to be the last in the series. I thought I was done mining, and that I had gone deep enough. But, it turns out there are more images and ideas that keep coming to me, so I will to keep going. Stay tuned.... 
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NEW AMERICAN PAINTINGS #157

3/27/2022

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Sherwood High; 2019; Oil on Canvas.

New American Paintings
Pacific Coast Issue #157

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I am beyond honored to be included among so many amazing painters in the current issue of New American Paintings! 

I have been in love with this publication since the early 90's. I can remember working at Starbucks on the Ave in Seattle, and spending way too much time at Bulldog News looking through New American Paintings, because I couldn't afford to buy it. Each 9" x 9" issue was beautifully laid out on heavy paper, full of colorful paintings by emerging and established painters.  

​Here is a little more about them from the front of the magazine:

" New American Paintings was founded in 1993 as an experiment in art publishing. With over five thousand artists reviewed annually, it has become America’s largest and most important series of artist competitions. Each competition is catalogued in a unique volume: Northeast, South, Midwest, West, Pacific Coast, and MFA Annual. Featured artists are selected on the basis of artistic merit and provided space for free."

That's the great news. The not so great news is that because of COVID related shipping delays, this issue will be released in digital format only. While I was slightly disappointed not to be able to hold beautiful, colorful volume in my hands, the silver lining is that anyone with an internet connection can view the magazine and download it for free. I actually think more people will see the magazine, which is great.

To access your free issue, go to newamericanpaintings.com. When you get there, click the button that says "GO TO FREE ISSUE #157". When you get to the #157 home page, you have a couple of choices. You can  download a PDF of the magazine pages, or get a free copy on issuu.com by entering a special code which you will find close to the top of the page. The Issuu method takes a few more steps, but it is a great way to look through the magazine. Images of my paintings are on pages 152 - 155. 

Other than that milestone, my work continues in the studio and I have a group of paintings on exhibit in a salon in Tacoma called Studio 253 Salon. I don't have any other shows planned for this year (yet), but I am always willing to open and welcome visitors to the studio. Feel free to contact me if you would like to stop by. ❤️

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John Day Store; 2021; Oil on Canvas
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Pop-up Sale Coming 12/4/21

11/17/2021

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Work in Progress. Charlie's Rustic Bar. Come see how it turns out!
I'm setting up shop in front of Stocklist Goods
in Beautiful Downtown Tacoma!
Before things get too busy with the holidays, I wanted to let you know about my pop-up sale coming up in a couple of weeks. 

What: Pop-up Art Sale
When: Saturday, December 4th, between 11am and 3pm.
Where: Stocklist Goods (1936 Pacific Ave, Downtown Tacoma)

I will have a couple dozen small Pandemic Postcard paintings for sale at special low prices, as well as limited edition prints, and postcard packs. 

10% of my  proceeds will go to The Tacoma Rescue Mission and Stocklist will be donating a portion of their daily sales as well. It's a great way to support a local artist, a local business, and some people doing important work in our community. 

I am grateful to Stocklist for this opportunity. They are the greatest. This is part of The Low Key Pop Up Series that they started during 2020 to help artists in the community during the pandemic.  Hope to see you there! 

Here are a few samples of the paintings:
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Coming This Weekend - October 16th and 17th!

10/13/2021

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Join me at Arts at the Armory

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Acres; Original Acrylic Painting on Found Wood; 11.5"x11.5". Also available as a print.

Grab your mask and come down to the Tacoma Armory on October 16 and 17 for Arts at the Armory! This event is replacing the annual studio tour this year. I will miss having people into the studio, but I am really looking forward to being together with all the other artists! The Armory is gigantic (20,000 square feet!) so there will be plenty of room for everyone to spread out, and stay socially distant. 

I will be there both days with 27 original paintings that I have been working on over the past year+. I call them the Pandemic Postcards. These are small, acrylic paintings with imagery based on my beloved postcard collection. I started with one, back in March of 2020, right at the beginning of the pandemic, and I just kept going. They are smaller, faster and more spontaneous than my big oil paintings and each one taught me something. The paintings will be for sale at special low prices. 

Last year, after I painted a number of of these, it seemed like a natural step to make a set of postcards of the paintings. That was Volume one. I kept going with that too, and I just got Volume 4 back from the printer. All four volumes will be available for sale as separate sets, or you can buy the entire collection (34 postcards total - pictured below.) I will also have some really beautiful giclee prints of my work for sale. Something for everyone!

Plus, there will be so many other awesome Tacoma artists there too. I hope to see you there!

Find out more details on the Tacoma Arts Month Website 

Here are the basics:
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WHAT: Arts at the Armory
WHEN: Saturday and Sunday 10/16 and 10/17 11am - 5pm both days
WHERE: Tacoma Armory 1001 S. Yakima Ave.

Masks will be required, regardless of vaccination status.  
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The complete set of postcards.
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Lloyd Center, Portland; Original Acrylic Painting on Panel; 9" x 12". Part of the Small Mall Series
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Pandemic Postcard Pop-up Show in Downtown Tacoma

6/16/2021

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Davenport; Acrylic on Panel; 2021
As COVID hit in 2020, I was just beginning a series of paintings that riffed on my beloved collection of old motel postcards. As the pandemic dragged on, I just kept going with these postcard paintings, exploring different themes, and pushing myself to be spontaneous, and believe in my vision. I ended up with several dozen paintings and named the series Pandemic Postcards.

These little paintings mean a lot to me, they have a friendly spirit that is difficult to put into words, so I won’t try. I am excited to be able to share them in Downtown Tacoma.

The paintings are small. They range in size from 18" x 24" to 9" x 12". All will be very reasonably priced at $125. If you aren't able to get to the sale, I will have this special pricing available online through
 Friday, June 18. So - if you are in love with one, and can't get to Tacoma on Thursday, check my online store here on Thursday night or Friday and snag it there at that good price. 

I also made three volumes of postcards printed from images of the paintings, and those will be available for $10 per volume or $25 for all three volumes together. Oh yeah - There will also be some free stickers. 

What: Pandemic Postcard Pop-up Show
When: Thursday, June 17. 1:00-5:00pm
Where: In front of Stocklist Goods - 1936 Pacific Ave. Tacoma, WA 98402


10% of the proceeds from sales will go to Nourish Pierce County, a non-profit that runs a network of food banks throughout tacoma and the surrounding communities.


Here is a video tour of all the paintings paired with the beautiful music of William Tyler. I have several of his records, and they have kept me company in the studio during these strange times. This song is called With News About Heaven from his latest album. You can find more of his music at Bandcamp.
Please come downtown and say hi, look at some art, visit the fine people in Stocklist and support our community food banks, all at the same time.
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I will keep looking for signs.

12/19/2020

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This is an update to my blog post from 7/22/20. I stopped to see my favorite magical, abandoned, fading motel sign las week and I discovered that it had been painted white. They have been renovating the big motel on the property, and I guess this was part of that.  At first I was upset, but then I thought - it obviously had been painted over before, and someday this white paint will start chipping off, to reveal all the amazing layers beneath it. 

I am glad I discovered it when I did and that I spent time with it and took numerous photos. For reasons that are difficult to put into words, the discovery of this sign sparked my creativity and moved me on a deep level, and I am grateful. I must have been ready for it, and it was there. When I saw it for the first time, I gasped when I walked around to the other side, and saw the old burnt out neon letters. There is something spiritual wrapped up in this experience, but I don't think I am a skilled enough writer to express it. It's one of the absolute joys of being an artist - or just being human. To be able to be taken by these sweet discoveries, these things that make us catch our breath when we find them, and follow where they lead us. I think we all have them, what's yours, where did it lead you?

I never know who or what is going to move me on that deep level, or when it will happen. For me it is definitely tied into my painting and art making. I will keep my eyes and heart open and keep looking for signs. 

Take a look at my blog post from 7/22/2020, to see more pictures of the sign, and learn about the Red Top Lodge in Hazel Dell, WA.  
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A Fire in Santiam Canyon

9/30/2020

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Eulogy for the Cabin

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The Cabin burnt down this month. The historic and deadly Beechie Creek wildfire came down the river in Oregon, and destroyed the little cabin on September 8th.  My great grandfather (My mom's mom's dad) lived in Salem, and built the cabin in 1920. He called it Jessie's Inn, for his wife. The Cabin was only 25 miles from Salem, Oregon, close by today's standards, but I imagine back in 1920, it seemed like it was out in the mountains. 

Everything is gone now, except the river and the kind neighbors who have looked after the place for years. 

Many people in the Santiam Canyon have lost so much more than we have, and my heart aches for them. But my heart is sad for the loss of the Cabin, and I want to share about it, because I think it will help with my grief. 


The Cabin was very rustic and not in the best shape. And by rustic, I mean that you had to be prepared to share the space with rats ( wood rats- cuter than city rats, but big) spiders and bugs. And so many ants. There were several large ant hills on the property, and the ants had developed a complex network of highways for conducting their ant business. when I went there last week, the ant hills were gone, but the ants were still there, looking dazed and confused. I am confident they are rebuilding as I write. 

The outhouse was called Friendly Village. I never thought to ask my Mom why until we found out it was gone. She told me that my  great - grandfather used it as a church retreat in the 20's and 30's, and his church friends named it that. That didn't really answer my question of why, but it doesn't really matter. 

We kept a diary at the cabin, where usually people wrote about the weather and what we ate for dinner. There were diaries at the cabin, going back to the 1960s. In the stack of diaries (now gone) my dad wrote about my first visit when I was a baby. He wrote something like “Jule didn't have much to say. She has yet to say anything about anything because she hasn't learned to talk yet." 

Somewhere, I have video of my high school friends and I having a small party at the Cabin. We are drinking beer, dancing and singing to Tom Waits -Rain Dogs - getting progressively more into it, as time passes, and more beer is consumed. Thank god social media did not exist then. 


Most everything of value had been stolen from the cabin because it had been broken into countless times over the years. When I was about 21, I discovered one of the biggest robberies. They took many antiques including my grandmothers wedding trunk, an antique dresser, any dishes that had any value, and a giant rack of elk antlers.

The beds were all lined up on a covered sleeping porch, where you could sleep outside under crisp sheets and blankets, listening to the constant sound of the river as it lulled you to sleep. 

Memories of family, friends, boyfriends, husbands, wives, kids, music, dogs, games, the 70's clock radio in the kitchen that constantly played equal parts static and OPB -- if ever a space and place and a soul, this one did. It was a place that five generations of my family shared and loved in our own way. It wasn't insured, and really the only value it had was sentimental. 

I went there on Saturday for the first time since the fire. Every single thing that wasn't metal was burned, melted or broken. Of the house, only the chimney stood surrounded by ash, the crumpled metal roof, glass and nails. On the surrounding property, only the charred tall trees remain ( many of which will need to come down). On the edge of the property there were many charred cans and bottles which had been thrown from the road. Some cans were from the days before the pull ring openers. 

I rescued a couple of charred things out of the ashes. But I really am working on just letting go of that old place. This helps to write about it, and think of what that place means to me. That love helps me to move forward, and think about what the future holds. 

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My mom, aunt, and grandmother - 1965
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Artist Talk!

8/26/2020

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A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to give an artist talk for the Pitzer@Home series on Zoom. I spoke about the evolution of my work and my current project. I was a little nervous, because I have never done something quite like this before, but it was great. It was so fun to share my work with a group of people I mostly didn't know, all from the comfort of my own home.  Here is the video of the talk. I'm to scared to watch it, I hope it isn't word salad!  I did notice that my cat, Elliott, makes a cameo. 
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Motel Nostalgia

7/22/2020

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Secret Treasure in Hazel Dell, WA

I have always loved motels. When I was little, they were part of vacations with my beloved grandparents, where we had so much fun, and usually got those little boxes of cereal.

As a teenager, there were several motels in the Portland area that allowed us to drink and party with our friends. That kind of escape was my favorite thing to do in those days.

​Throughout my painting life, motels have found their way into many of my paintings. Not only because I love the look of them, but they carry so much emotion, potential and remembering for me.

​So I am always looking....
I drive on I-5 between Tacoma and Portland often, and I have often noticed a great mid-century motel in Hazel Dell, WA. (you can see it from the freeway - it's on the east side).  Several weeks ago, I noticed it was boarded up, which inspired me to pull off the freeway to take some photos. I decided to drive around the back, to get a look at the side. 
 
​The access was a strange open driveway with big signs and arrows to lead you around the corner to the now boarded up Value Motel.
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It was in this weird open driveway that I discovered this sign hidden under a tree.  It was a secret treasure that I had discovered. It is so beautiful, and I felt like I was led to it. It was kind of a miracle! 

These types of mysterious empty spaces and events really fire my imagination, and get my creativity going. I think it is because I know that there must have been something else there before. But what?

I keep going back to visit my sign under the big tree. Despite being right between I-5 and old Hwy 99, it is a peaceful place - like a cemetery. Plus there are a bunch of rabbits there, which makes it a little more magical.

Because of the internet, I was able to find out more about the Red Top Lodge Motel. And I even was able to buy 2 postcards from a dealer in Montreal. Here are the postcards:
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One looks like it is from the 50's, way before I-5 ran past it, and the other looks like it is from the 60' possibly when I-5 was still being built. 

All that is left of the old Red Top Lodge Motel is the old battered sign ( which was moved to make room for the newer, larger signs),  some trees and the curbs. 

Maybe the next incarnation of the Museum of Bad Judgement will be all about the Red Top Lodge Motel, and what happened there. ​

By coincidence (but are there really any coincidences?) - in recent days, two different friends shared an article with me titled Photographer Updates Postcards Of 1960s Resorts Into Their Abandoned Ruins, without knowing that I had recently been spending time at the grave of an old forgotten motel. Its a beautiful and fascinating article. Click here or in on the title to link to it. 

There is so much all around me that cuts right through all the noise, and inspires and transfixes me. I just have to keep my eyes and my heart open. 

You can visit the old sign and the weird empty space where the Red Top Lodge Motel once stood too. Just look for the tall motel sign, east of I-5, a couple miles north of Vancouver, WA. 
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Divest from Whiteness

6/17/2020

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Divest from Whiteness; Acrylic on Paper 48" x 62". June 16, 2020

 I made this painting after I visited the CHOP (Capitol Hill Occupied Protest) and was incredibly inspired by the art made by the protesters and the particular moment that we are currently going through. I feel like there is light coming in and our country is going through a shift. Change feels possible.

This painting is the third of several large acrylic paintings I have done on paper lately. They are meant to be fast and spontaneous. A real departure from my oil paintings which I spend weeks on. This one is 48" x 62" and took me about 5 hours. 

I was thinking of my white ancestors who settled in the Oregon Territory in the mid 1800's The people in the painting are based on this family photo that was taken on Broadway - in Seattle ( just up the block from CHOP) in 1896:
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The two men seated are my great great grandfather and his father, who moved to and settled in the Oregon Territory in the 1850s. Black Exclusion laws were the law of the land in Oregon, starting when it was a territory into the 1920's.  My ancestors settled and prospered in Oregon 160 years ago because they could. Slavery was illegal in Oregon, but black people were forbidden from moving there. (Incidently, I never learned about any of that in school in Oregon, which is a problem.)

They were all very religious christians, and I have no evidence that they were racist. But, as far as I know, they were completely removed and silent about the brutality suffered by black people. And that silence was passed down through the generations. 

I have lived much of my life in the same way. 

Living in the Pacific Northwest, I can easily avoid dealing with the pain suffered by such a large part of our population. My whole life has been built around whiteness, and the comfort that being a white woman affords me. That makes me feel uncomfortable, but at this moment, I want to lean into that discomfort as much as I can. I think that is where change and growth can begin. 

To me, Divesting from Whiteness means rejecting a culture that insulates and protects white people from the racism and brutality that is suffered by people of color. I have a lot learn and unpack, and I am not even sure how to do it, but I think this is a start. I will not be alone and I will keep my eyes, ears and heart open for the helpers and the healers. 

I plan to paint more about this. They will probably be big, fast, imperfect paintings like this one. 


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Detail: Divest from Whiteness - Acrylic on Paper
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  • Home
  • Portfolio
    • The Museum of Bad Judgement
    • Pandemic Postcards
    • Selected Work - 2017 - 2021
    • Earlier Paintings 1997 - 2016
    • Scientific Illustration
  • SHOP
  • Commissions
  • News / Current
  • About Me
    • Bio
    • Artist Statement
    • CV
    • The Museum of Bad Judgement
  • Contact