About

Julia Poulton is a contemporary abstract oil painter based in North Yorkshire. Her practice explores emotional connection through an intuitive dialogue with paint, where material itself becomes an active collaborator in the creative process.

Working instinctively, Poulton responds to the movement, viscosity and behaviour of paint, allowing each work to evolve organically. Decisions about colour, medium and composition are guided by feeling rather than conscious planning, creating space for experimentation, chance and unexpected discoveries.

Trusting the process and embracing uncertainty are central to her practice. By relinquishing control, she creates paintings through a continual exchange between intention and unpredictability, where each layered surface records moments of emotion, response and discovery.

For Poulton, painting is both a way of connecting with herself and an invitation for others to connect with the work. Rather than conveying a fixed narrative, her paintings encourage viewers to find their own emotional resonance within the surface, creating a shared experience shaped by both the making and the viewing of the artwork.

Bio:

Julia works from her studio in North Yorkshire, UK. She received a BA (Hons) degree in Fine Art at the University of East London in 1994, following which she returned to Yorkshire and after various jobs, overseas travel and raising a family, she pursues her career as painter.

Julia's work is held in private collections across the UK and abroad and she is represented by a selection of UK galleries.

Selected Exhibitions

'Connections' Yorkshire Art Collective at Morphets of Harrogate, Oct 2024
North Yorkshire Open Studios Jun 2024
Spring Exhibition, First White Cloth Hall Leeds, May-Jun 2024
Affordable Art Fair Austin, US with Carina Haslam Gallery, May 2024
Affordable Art Fair Hampstead, London with Carina Haslam Gallery, May 2024
Winter Exhibition, Saltaire Art Gallery Jan-Apr 2024
Affordable Art Fair New York, US with Carina Haslam Gallery, Mar 2024
Affordable Art Fair Battersea, London with Carina Haslam Gallery, Mar 2024
Tarpey Gallery Open Exhibition July-Aug 2023
Mercer Open Exhibition, Mercer Art Gallery, Harrogate Sept 2022 - Jan 2023
Journeys Through Colour, Whitehouse Gallery, Scotland Mar – April 2022
Summer Exhibition, The Old School Gallery, Northumberland – Jun – Aug 2021
Interpretations of Landscape, Highgate Contemporary London - Feb 2021
Winter Exhibition Silson Contemporary, Harrogate Jan – April 2019
Art & Contemporary Art Fair York Oct 2018
‘Smash: Visual Art Regrooved’ According to McGee York Oct - Dec 2018
‘A Sense of Place’ exhibition – Blue Tree Gallery, York Mar-Jun 2018
Winter Exhibition Silson Contemporary, Harrogate Jan-Mar 2018
Harrogate Open Exhibition – Mercer Gallery Jun-Sept 2017
North Yorkshire Open Studios June 2017
Spring into Summer, Silson Contemporary, Harrogate May 2017
New Beginnings, Silson Contemporary, Harrogate Oct 2016
Platform Open Exhibition – Morphets of Harrogate 14 – 17 July 2016
HIVE Arts Expo – Harrogate International Centre – Nov 2015
Platform Open Exhibition – Morphets of Harrogate - Oct 2015
Great North Art Show 2015 - Ripon Cathedral, 28 Aug – 20 Sept 2015
Harrogate Open Exhibition - Mercer Gallery, Harrogate, July – Nov 2015
North Yorkshire Open Studios June 2014

Awards:

‘Highly Commended’ Award at Harrogate Open Exhibition 2017, Mercer Gallery, Harrogate for ‘Those Days’ Oil on canvas