JULIE POULSEN | 'Curlew Nesting' | Acrylic + mixed media on canvas / stretched

Julie Poulsen has lived and worked in Cairns, Far North Queensland, for over forty years. The region's distinctive environments continue to shape her practice: the tropical coastline, particularly Palm Cove, provides inspiration for her figurative paintings, while the dry inland Savannah country informs her landscape work. These contrasting locations are reflected in her colour palette, from the bright, saturated hues of the coast to the earthy tones of the interior.

Throughout her career, Poulsen has remained committed to experimentation. While grounded in strong technical skills, she values spontaneity and the unexpected, allowing works to evolve through intuition as much as planning. Writing also plays an important role in her process, helping to clarify ideas and establish directions for investigation.

Her figurative paintings are informed by decades of drawing from life. Working from photographs taken in everyday settings, she develops compositions through drawing before transferring images onto canvas using a process of tracing and imprinting. The resulting paintings emphasize shape, texture and colour over descriptive detail.

Poulsen's work balances observation with ambiguity. Through simplified forms and layered surfaces, she seeks to create images that invite interpretation rather than explanation, encouraging viewers to bring their own experiences and narratives to the work.

JULIE POULSEN | 'Curlew Nesting' | Acrylic + mixed media on canvas / stretched