Julia Jaakola, watercolor artist, is formally trained at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, CA and earned a B.F.A. degree in Illustration, 1989. She returned to Minnesota as a freelance artist for several agencies in MPLS. Her passion for retaining our natural environments guided her to work for Clean Water Action, 1994. Julia’s passion to protect our natural environment grew, and called Julia to teach. She earned a B.S. degree, Summa Cum Laude, in Education, grades 1-8, from Bemidji State University, 2003, and bridged her two degrees to retain an Art Education license, grades 1-12, 2008.
Julia discovered plein’ air painting, 2014, and eventually transitioned out of the public classroom, and into “God’s studio,” our natural environment. She states, “I love the songs of the woods, blending upward visually in light. My responses to the natural environment, through watercolors, create a style that is expressive, and relate the spirit of a place to the viewer with eloquence and accuracy. I like to stand in a spot where an historic event has occurred, to hear echoes of the human plight and then allow the power and beauty to tell its story through me, and on to the paper. I love the tangle of past decades emerging out of the earth, contrasting the past with the present. The layering of time embodies a fascinating tapestry, to cause pause and to question, “What happened, what is happening, is this place cherished?”
Julia enjoys being a member of the Outdoor Painters of Minnesota, and the Minnesota Watercolor Society. She continues to advocate for protecting water, wolves and wildlife.
- 2019 Honorable Mention Award, Spring Exhibition, Minnesota Watercolor Society
- 2018 People’s Choice Award, Port Wing Plein Air, Port Wing, WI
- 2017 Honorable Mention, Plein Air Duluth – Paint du Nord
- 2013 Best of Show, “Winter in Minnesota”, Blaine Arts Council,
- 2001 Second Place, Visual Art Award, Haute Dish Magazine
Metropolitan State University, St. Paul, MN - 1984 Visual Art Scholarship via portfolio submission
College of the Redwoods, Eureka, CA
PLEIN AIR FESTIVALS & EXHIBITIONS
2019: Red Wing Plein Air Festival, Red Wing Arts Depot Gallery, Red Wing, MN
2018, 2019: Hudson Plein Air Festival, Seasons on St. Croix Gallery, Hudson, WI
2017, 2018, 2019: Port Wing Plein Air Paint Out, Port Wing Town Hall, Port Wing WI
2016, 2017, 2018: Harvey Dunn Plein Air Paint Out, De Smet Event Center, De Smet, SD
2015, 2016, 2018, 2019: Grand Marais Plein Air, Johnson Heritage Post, Grand Marais, MN