Julia Robinson

I view my paintings as representations of memory, grounded in real experiences yet shaped by my personal perspective.

Colorado and the American West are the landscapes I return to most as subjects. I grew up in a rural mountain village in New Mexico, where the landscape was part of daily life. I’ve always been fascinated by the intricate beauty of nature, but I’ve also seen its power when wildfires reshaped my hometown and the places I loved in 2024. That awareness of beauty and impermanence has deepened my appreciation for the landscape and strengthened my desire to travel through it.

Painting outdoors, en plein air, has become an essential part of my practice as a result. My work may be rooted in preservation, but in the process of making it, I’ve also found joy and gratitude for the present moment. I like to walk until I come upon something undeniable. I’m especially drawn to moments when light changes the character of a place, and to the way one element in a landscape can activate another. Those relationships feel richer in person, and paying attention to them has become an important part of how I paint. I want my work to embody those moments of activation or change, however subtle, because nature is never still.