Julie Davis was born in Galveston, Texas, and was raised in towns across West Texas from El Paso to Abilene. She grew up drawing and creating and earned degrees from Baylor University in education and law. After she and her husband started a family, Davis worked as a freelance writer and explored black and white photography, photographing the landscape and her daughters, and learning much about composition and light in the process. In 2007, she had the opportunity to study oil painting and quickly learned that it brought all her interests and skills together—her adoration of the outdoors, drawing, photography, writing, even law--all of it had a place in making art. She studied with some of the preeminent landscape painters in the country and continues to challenge herself so that she might elegantly demonstrate her respect for our landscape on canvas. Davis and her husband live in Austin and have three adult daughters.

A Signature Member of OPA, AIS, and AWA, Davis has won awards in OPA, AIS, and AWA national shows. Her plein air work earned Best of Show in the 2023 American Impressionist Society Wet Wall Competition at the Small Works Showcase by Judge Anne Blair Brown, in the 2019 American Impressionist Society / Southwest Art All-Member Central Park Plein Air Paint Out in New York City by Judge Kevin Macpherson, and in the 2013 and the 2014 Kerrville Outdoor Painter’s Events in Texas. In 2023, she earned an Award of Excellence at the OPA Masters show from Judge Scott Christiansen. Davis teaches online and in-person workshops when her schedule allows. Her work can be found at Davis Gallery in Austin, Texas, Mockingbird Gallery in Bend, Oregon, and Mary Williams Fine Arts in Boulder, CO. Davis is active on Instagram at @juliedavisstudio.

“Our experiences with the landscape are as unique as each of us. When I go outside with my plein air gear, I’m looking for locations that draw an emotional response from me. I try to build a painting that communicates an authentic reflection of my reverence for and my individual expression of our environment. I love the pursuit to understand a place that painting outdoors requires. The land always has a story to tell, and there is beauty in that. I do my best to understand the story within every subject I paint.”

Honors and Awards - 2019 to Present

2024 Honorable Mention, American Impressionist Society Small Works Showcase Fine Art, St Simon's Island, GA

2024 Impressionist Honorable Mention, Oil Painters of America National Exhibition, Wichita, Kansas

2023 Award of Excellence, Oil Painters of America Master Show, Illume Gallery West, Philipsburg, MT

2023 Award of Merit, American Impressionist Society's 24th Annual National Exhibition, Somerville-Manning Gallery, Greenville, DE
2023 Judge, Driggs Plein Air Festival, Driggs, ID

2023 First Place, Wet Wall Competition, American Impressionist Society Small Works Showcase, Judge Anne Blair Brown, Knoxville, TN

2023 Award of Excellence, Oil Painters of America Wet Wall Competition, National Exhibition, Charleston, SC

Selected Exhibitions and Juried Shows - 2019 to Present

2024 American Impressionist Society's 8th Annual Small Works Showcase, Anderson Fine Art Art Gallery, St. Simons, GA

2024 Oil Painters of America, Oil Painters of America's 33rd Annual National Juried Exhibition, Mark Arts, Wichita, Kansas

2023 Oil Painters of America, Western Regional Exhibition, Brushworks Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT

2023 Oil Painters of America, The Masters of OPA Juried Exhibition and National Show, Illume Gallery West, Philipsburg, MT

2023 American Impressionist Society's 24th Annual National Juried Exhibition, Somerville-Manning Gallery, Greenville, DE

2023 American Impressionist Society's 7th Annual Impressions Small Works Showcase, The District Gallery, Knoxville, TN