Biography

Julia Veenstra is an impressionistic painter working in acrylic, drawn to its immediacy and ability to produce bright, vivid colour. Having lived in several countries over the course of her life, she brings a range of global influence into a style focused on capturing a single, resonant moment in time, the play of light on trees, long shadows across a field, the shape of a home built for shelter. Her large-format canvases are built from vigorous, expressive brushwork and a careful balance of positive and negative space, often surprising even her with the shapes that emerge. At the heart of her work is a search for a shared sense of comfort and security, moments of memory, real or imagined, that give viewers a window into their own sense of home.

Veenstra studied illustration at Sheridan College before living and working in the United States, Kenya, and Tanzania, eventually returning to Canada. Her paintings have gained national recognition, including a feature on the Royal Winter Fair poster, and her work is represented by galleries across the country and collected around the world. She is also an entrepreneur, having built initiatives that support and promote other artists in the community.