Julie Fournier doesn't confine herself to one media, and, although she's well known by many for her oil paintings, she does not confine herself to one discipline, considering herself to be a multi-media artist: Julie paints traditional oil on canvas, does calligraphy, pinstripes under the name Junkyard Jules, is a potter, a mosaicist, a tailor/seamstress, a sculptor, a graphic designer as well as an Industrial Designer, and more, in a wide variety of styles that has won her a solid reputation and recognition for her work. Her website reflects her diversity of style and materials that she expresses her creativity with.
Neo Realism best describes Julie's style. Events in modern American culture that have impacted our lives and our relationships with each other influence Julie's work. Often overlooked aspects of daily life inspire her, as can be seen in the variety of media she uses to rediscover the banal or forgotten in all it's innate beauty. Her graphite drawings isolate objects in minute detail, focusing attention on the intricate lines in a pair of blue jeans or textures of surfaces. By painting glassware, she utilizes the transparent vessel and, through a playful yet defined sprinkling of color and shape, turns the utilitarian form into a fuller sensual experience. Her stained glass mosaics and painted furniture artwork often involve found objects, bringing society's discards to center stage. The subjects she chooses for her oil paintings are taken from everyday life, challenging traditional notions of beauty, social class and human interaction. In her designs, Julie always strives to communicate and connect with the viewer.
Julie has been called "a reporter on modern life," seeing that which the crowd has passed by in it's haste to move on to the next sensation. Focusing on the missed opportunity, the bypassed alternative, the meaning and wonder working within subjects or moments, Julie's work is accessible by way of conveying what her artist's eye has seen, capturing moments and sensations and freezing them in time so they can be share . Ultimately, Julie's work focuses the viewer on relationships in the world around them.
Currently Julie is working full time as an artist, freelance designer and pinstriper. When not at her studio, Julie plays pool, wrenches on her classic Mustang, or pinstripes cars under the name "Junkyard Jules".
Self - Employed Professional Studio Artist/Freelance Designer
Freelance Contract Jobs:
Web Mistress Russell Industrial Center,Detroit, MI
Muralist Continental Bike Shop, Hazel Park, MI
Design Director Blooms Essentials, New York, NY
Graphic/Web Designer JR Group, Detroit, MI
Graphic Designer Urban Authentic Sportswear Los Angeles, CA
Graphic Designer River'sEdge Financial, Franklin, MI
Graphic/Web Designer Axlerod Trailers, LLC, Franklin, MI
Package Designer Ringmaster Rubbing Oil, Inc., Detroit, MI
Art Director/Photographer Orient Express, Shelby Twp., MI
Industrial Designer David Lilenfeld, PC, Peachtree, GA
05/2005-09/2005 (laid off due to bankruptcy) BBi, Inc, Bloomfield Hills,MI
Industrial Designer
Education
09/01-05/05 Wayne State University Detroit, MI
*B.F.A. with major in Industrial Design
* Graduated Cum Laude with G.P.A. of 3.5
* Named to Dean's List with G.P.A. of 4.0
* Accepted to Gold Key National Honor Society 2001
Lawrence Institute of Technology Southfield, MI
*Undergraduate Architecture DegreeProgram
* Drafting skills / blueprints
* Produced scale appearance models
Professional Affiliations
IDSA, Detroit By Design, National Gold Key Honor Society, President of Lincoln Homeowners Society.
Exhibitions
Johanson Charles, "Hope inDespair: Detroit", Detroit, MI 5/08/2009-5/1/2009
Natural Canvas Gallery, Ann Arbor, MI,01/23/2005-02/18/2005
Johanson Charles, "Television",Detroit,MI, 03/07/2003-03/31/2003 and 05/03/2002-5/24/2002
Fanclub Foundation for the Arts, "Caliente Tres", Pontiac, MI, part of GirleeDetroit Girlee Collective Exhibition, also *curated by Fournier, 08/24/2001
C-Pop Artist's Garden Party at HarmoniePark, Detroit, MI, 08/15/2001
Scarab Club, Detroit, MI, Paintin' in the Streets invitational exhibition,06/29/2001 - 07/29/2001
Maniscalco Gallery, Grosse Pointe, MI, part of Girlee Detroit Collectiveshow,03/27/2001 - 04/27/2001
C-Pop, Detroit, MI, Mosaic as part of Slaw show, 03/2001
Snug Gallery, Detroit, MI, 12/01/2000-01/29/20001
Pygmalion and Galatea Artisans Gallery,Toronto, Ontario, 10/14/2000-/04/2000
C-Pop Artist's Garden Party at the Whitney, Detroit, MI, 07/6/2000 - 07/07/2000
