Julia Poprawski

Julia is a resin and mixed media artist living and creating in the seaside town of St Ives, Cornwall. Her work is inspired by the ever-changing light, textures, and colours of the Cornish coast. She finds endless inspiration in the rhythm of the tides, shifting skies, worn rocks, tangled seaweed, and the way light reflects on the water. Each piece she creates is a response to this connection - a conversation between nature, emotion, and material.

Julia studied at the Norwich School of Art, where she first developed a love for materials that carry their own energy and story. That passion has since evolved into a practice that blends traditional and experimental techniques, with resin as her primary medium.

Each artwork is built up in multiple layers of resin, sometimes over days or weeks. These layers allow her to capture textures, pigments, inks, and fine details such as gold leaf or grains of sand - creating depth and a sense of suspended movement. The process is both intuitive and intentional, echoing the way the sea shapes and reveals over time.

Julia has recently begun a new series of works focusing on the shoreline. Real sand, carefully collected from a local beach, is incorporated into the piece, adding authentic texture and a tangible connection to the coastline. Flowing resin mimics the incoming tide as it washes naturally across the sand, creating the illusion of waves gently rolling onto the shore. The transparent layers and organic movement of the inks and resin give the painting depth, light, and a sense of constant motion, making each piece completely unique.

Through this approach, Julia aims to create more than just a visual piece. Her work draws the viewer in, evoking the feeling of gazing into tidal pools or watching the incoming tide across the sand. There is a quietness within these layers, a stillness, but also a sense of something living just beneath the surface.