Journey 2001

Julie Bell made "Journey" with paint; what kind, I couldn’t tell you. But look at the way she's built up the layers, it’s like she's sculpting light itself. You can tell art-making, for her, is a kind of process of discovery. Check out how Bell renders the light on her figure's skin. The warm flesh tones are contrasted with the cool blues in the sky and landscape, creating this push and pull, a vibrant energy. And that little dragon! It’s almost like a detail from a Persian miniature, or some lost illuminated manuscript. Each scale is perfectly rendered. The whole painting feels like a dance between fantasy and hyperrealism. She reminds me of Frank Frazetta in a dress. And in a way, this piece is reminiscent of classic fantasy illustration, but with a contemporary sensibility, suggesting that art is an ongoing conversation across time. It embraces ambiguity, inviting us to explore multiple interpretations rather than settling for one definitive meaning.