Seeking the Creative: Julia Divan, Portrait Painter

Self Portrait. CREDIT: Julia Divan

How would you describe your art in three words?

Meticulous, whimsical, reverent.

Artist Julia Divan from Riverhead, New York uses her observant eye and keen attention to detail to paint stunning portraits that highlight human beauty. The 19 year old engineering student always had a knack for the arts, but began focusing on portrait work within the past year. She is able to create paintings that demonstrate facial varieties, while still retaining her unique sense of artistry. Julia cherishes the process it takes to finish these portraits, and finds joy in allowing her art to flourish. Observing her work, the pure talent and care poured into these pieces is palpable.

Where/how do you gather inspiration?

I gather my inspiration from everyday life and also from other artists. I follow a lot of artists I admire on Instagram so often I’ll see a post I like and feel inspired to try something similar. Art begets art, I find the more I create art the more I feel confident to try new things.

What do you hope audiences retain from your work?

I’d like my art to inspire people to see more mundane beauty. Doing portraiture has made me look at faces in a different way. The way shadows fall on a face or how sunlight changes the color of hair. These are very simple and common things but they’re beautiful to draw and observe.