The art of distance learning

KILLALOE-based artist Julie Douglas loves teaching others to enjoy art the way that she does.
Julie recently moved to Killaloe from Killanena and is currently preparing to lead her first distance learning art programme. In the meantime, she will be holding an intensive portfolio course in Killaloe from Monday to next Friday.
Most of Julie’s art is done in colour pencil in a precise, realistic style, making much of her work, particularly her portraits, appear almost as detailed as a photograph. But colour pencil is not the preferred medium of many artists. “In college from the age of 18, I just found that I didn’t like the fact that paint was wet. Colour pencils were dry in those days and I preferred working with them and in general preferred the results I could get. To be honest, I’d never encourage anyone else to work with coloured pencils, because it is very slow and requires great patience. As far as teaching goes, using coloured pencils is a great way to teach about using colour and creative colouring,” she comments.
As a child, Julie, reminded by her family, was always sketching.
“I loved drawing and colouring in. Little girls love to colour in and in some ways I guess I never grew out of that but I have developed it obviously to what it is now,” she remarks.
Originally, Julie planned going to go to music college to study brass instruments. “I played the euphonium and the piano. I still play the piano but rather badly and I sing a bit. I also love to write and these days I mainly write about my art work.
But for one reason or another, I just didn’t end up going to music college and went to art college instead. My art studies were general but over the years, I became more and more comfortable and happy using colour pencils and it is the main medium I use these days. I do some oil and water colours too but they are not my preferred medium. Drawing with coloured pencils because it takes quite a long time, gives the mind a mental break from the rest of a busy lifestyle.”
Julie says that she has been the only European artist in the Colour Pencil Society of America’s annual exhibitions, in which she won a major award last year and two years ago, with her drawing Boy on the Swing.
“Colour pencil is considered to be a newer medium but is beginning to catch on given that the range of colours is expanding. I would like to see more students becoming proficient in it because it makes for great precision and detail,” she adds.
Julie has been teaching art for a number of years now, including in the Limerick School of Art and Design, as well as many locations around the country and various art workshops and programmes.
“I teach in many parts of the country at different levels, from beginners right up to advanced. I really love teaching art. When I get busy teaching, I miss drawing and when I’m busy drawing, I miss teaching. Predominantly, I teach adults, but from time to time, I teach children also.
She also does some commissioned work but says that it’s not the focus of her work by any means. “I’m very focused these days on teaching. Because I love drawing so much, I want to pass on that love to other people and I can do that by teaching,” she says.
She adds that it’s impossible to choose which of her drawings she likes the most. “A lot of my work is spontaneous and I’ll know whether I should begin to draw something depending on the lighting of the scene ahead of me. I don’t in general paint landscape but mainly people and animals. My favourite drawing is always the one I’m working on at a given time because it’s the one I’m thinking about, the one that is taking up my thoughts and concentration and because there is still an element of surprise about the piece I’m working on, until it’s finished,” she explains.
Julie is enthusiastic about her latest teaching venue of the distance learning art school. “Not everyone can commit to art classes regularly, so I hope this will suit them. People will sign up for classes under my direction for one year, during which time there will be a workshop every three months. In between the workshops, students will do their own work at home and send them to me for my critique. I’ve had a great response and there is a demand for the course,” she says.
Her upcoming portfolio course in Killaloe has also attracted international interest – one student from Switzerland and another from China signed up. “The course is geared towards putting a portfolio together, which is part and parcel of any student being accepted into art college. The standard to get into art college is incredibly high and it is very competitive. What to put in a portfolio is the six million dollar question. There are so many different elements to a good portfolio but my main piece of advice is that it has to be very good quality work. That’s where I try to help students. I’m very much looking forward to the course,” she remarks.