Today we’d like to introduce you to Júlia Godoy.
Hi Júlia, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I began making my own artist pigments during the pandemic while studying at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Met with job insecurity and no access to my art studio due to social distancing, I began taking walks in nature to get fresh air and to get away from the city. While hiking, I would find small rocks along the riverbank and draw with them on logs. It brought back memories from growing up in Brazil when my grandfather would pick little rocks off of the ground and hand them for me to draw with. Memories of painting onto the white tablecloth with the juice from my great-grandmother’s cherry tree came flooding back to me.
Back in Philadelphia, I used raw natural material directly onto paper to fulfill my school assignments. I learned very quickly that fighting mold was a major factor in supporting the archival quality of my work. Many of my earlier works did not make it due to bacteria eating- and ultimately destroying- the paper. Since then, I have become obsessed with ensuring my work is made to last and have created my own watercolor medium and specific pigment refinement process.
As for my creative journey, I grew up with my mom, who is an artist, and taught me not only how to paint but how to continue feeding my curiosity. After graduating, I moved to LA and put all of my energy into finding an artist studio and growing as an independent artist. I have found a safe haven at the Bendix Building, and I am so grateful every day to be able to push myself and face my fears creatively while surrounded by such a supportive community.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Absolutely not. It has been a constant challenge to get to where I am today. Throughout my life, I faced many obstacles in health, including experiencing a TBI after getting ran over by a truck at a young age. I struggled with addiction as a teenager and found myself grappling with my sense of self-worth for years. After experiencing housing instability, navigating the complexity of being an immigrant, and moving across the country twice, I am able to look back and feel nothing but an overwhelming sense of gratitude for everything I have been through. Without those moments, I would not be who I am today. The main thread that has kept me somewhat sane during my time here has been my creativity. Art has the ability to heal.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I specialize in making handmade artist pigments from locally sourced natural materials. I will hike throughout Los Angeles and collect plants, stones, insects, seashells, and other organic matter and refine them into quality pigments in my art studio. I grind everything by hand using a mortar and pestle and create large-scale paintings using my pigments. My pigments serve as a direct link between the physical land I reside on and my intangible memories and emotions.
I am most proud of my recent Solo Exhibition at the unparalleled interior design studio of Fig & Oak in DTLA. These paintings are a part of my IN BLOOM Collection, which I have been working on for the past year and feature paintings made entirely from locally sourced pigments. This collection is a direct reflection of my transformation through art and tells a story of expansion and rebirth.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
My success hinges greatly on my patience. Foraging and refining pigments is a process that can span many weeks and is physically demanding. To create my paintings, I apply numerous thin layers of oil paint onto the canvas, each requiring up to a week to dry. Initially, when I began working with natural pigments and ran out of a specific color, I would trek to the mountains to find it, which caused a lot of unnecessary stress. Since then, I have simplified my art practice and life in general. Now, once a pigment runs out, the painting is complete, and I move on to the next one.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.juliagodoystudio.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliagodoystudio/
Image Credits
Marika Tzantarmas
