Julie Read became interested in painting at the age of 30, after encountering the work of a folk artist in Vermont. Though she has always been busy making some sort of art, she got her start with Acrylic paints in a 6-week class with Max Grover of Port Townsend where she now resides.
Julie Read uses Acrylic paints to capture realism and often draws from vintage Americana and found photographs to evoke nostalgic images from her own memory.
She shares a studio space, Howdy Studio, with her parnter, artist Burl Norville. She teaches Acrylic paitning classes for beginners as well as Open Studios for more advanced painters.
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2026
Happily Ever After: Julie Read & Burl Norville at Slip Gallery, Seattle WA
2024
Solstice: A Group Show at Bainbridge arts and Crafts, Bainbridge Island, WA
2022
Fresh & Cool: A Group Show with Max Grover, Julie Read, Larry Crockett and Tracy Grisman, Grover Gallery, Port Townsend, WA
CVG Show 2022, Collective Visions Gallery, Bremerton, WA
"Honorable Mention" Award For Yellow Number Two
2021
Byegones: Julie Read and Steve Parmelee, Bainbridge Arts & Crafts, Bainbridge Island, WA
2020
Kindred Spirits: Max Grover and Julie Read, Grover Gallery, Port Townsend, WA
2019
CVG Show 2019, Collective Visions Gallery, Bremerton, WA
PTSA Faculty Exhibit featuring Kim Kopp, Julie Read, Meg Kaczyk and Linda Okazaki, Phyllis Lamphere Gallery, Washington State Convention Center, Seattle, WA
2018
Extraordinary in the Ordinary: The Everyday World of Max Grover with guest Julie Read, The Art Project, Bainbridge Island, WA
2017
Humor & Whimsy, Northwind Arts Center, Port Townsend, WA
"Juror's Choice" Award for Glitter Bomb
Surreal Salon 9, Baton Rouge Gallery Center for Contemporary Arts, Baton Rouge, LA
CVG Show 2017, Collective Visions Gallery, Bremerton, WA
2015
EAFA 2015 Juried Abstract Show, Seattle Design Center, WA
"H.K. Holbein Sponsor Award" for El Toro Moribundo
2014
Fins, Feathers & Fur, Northwind Art Center, Port Townsend, WA
Expressions Northwest, Northwind Art Center, Port Townsend, WA
"People's Choice" Award for Jackalope & Friends
Small Expressions, Northwind Art Center, Port Townsend, WA
2013
Expressions Northwest, Northwind Art Center, Port Townsend, WA
Jefferson County Fair, Port Townsend, WA
“Best in Class-Adult Painting” & “Honorable Mention”
Small Expressions, Northwind Art Center, Port Townsend, WA
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2014
First Big Show, Max Grover Gallery, Port Townsend, WA
COLLECTIONS
Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, Bainbridge Island, WA
PUBLICATIONS
New American Paintings, Issue 163, December 2022/January 2023