Julia L. Kay

Julia L. Kay is an artist, author, analyst and teacher of the Alexander Technique.

The main subjects of her art are expressionistic portraits of humans and animals and semi-abstract plant forms. Her main media are acrylic paint and iPad but she also works in most drawing media, watercolor, oil, collage, and photography. She loves to experiment and learn new ways to make things, including drawing with her eyes closed, the pencil between her toes, and using her nose on her iPad. Her style ranges from realistic to abstract, and she has a taste for vivid color, the patterns of light and shadow and strong expression of emotion.

From 2007 to 2010, the main focus of her art was her Daily Portrait Project (DPP) in which she made a portrait of herself every day. Through thick and thin of life: job changes, family illness, travel in distant countries, she explored different interpretations of the concept of self-portrait and didn't miss a single day.

As the the DPP was winding to a close, she started Julia Kay's Portrait Party (JKPP), an international, online, community of artists who make portraits of each other in every imaginable media and style. Since the group started in 2010, the members have made more than 50,000 portraits of each other. You can follow JKPP

on flickr: https://www.flickr.com/groups/portraitparty/

or facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juliakaysportraitparty/

Julia's book "Portrait Revolution" features 450 portraits by the members of JKPP in a wide range of media, style, and themes, along with technical tips and inspiring quotes. It's a great resource for anyone interested in making portraits, or looking at art, or thinking about the human condition.

Julia's current project is the Templeton Commission, a large painting in her Sun Dances series of semi-abstract works based on the shadows cast by her split-leaf philodendron. You can follow Julia's current work

on flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/juliakay/

on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StudioJuliaKay/

You can find links to her previous work on her homepage:

http://studiojuliakay.com