Akachan Artwork

Cape Town based artist and designer Julie Scott was raised in the wild mountainous Cape winelands of South Africa. Her childhood memories of the mysterious power of forests and mountains and the magical creatures they home has been a major influence on her perceptions of the space around us. The visible and invisible beauty and character of all creatures and natural form provide inspiration for her creative work. "Drawing and painting my immediate environment, as strikingly beautiful as it is, has never interested me as much as exploring and expressIng its hidden qualities. I discover and translate that which is unspoken.. less visible, with as few lines or strokes as possible. It is the intangible presence and power of natural form that I hope to reveal by adding as little information as possible". Inspired by her shapeshifting (un-cat) Nanoshima, drawing cats is Julie's current fascination. She is intrigued by their elusive, regal elegance as they go about their lives in their own private mysterious world, bonded lovingly to ours yet magnificently elevated from it. "Watching these noble creatures in their various states of Zen, creating mystical experiences out of the mundane is truly captivating, and often hilarious. Cats provide a window into another place, I love exploring this. I want to bring this beauty and joy into the homes of my viewers." "I start out by experimenting with pencil, charcoal, pastel, chalk, and paint on various types of papers. I play, make a wonderful mess until I capture the feeling that I know I need to express. I then move to photography and digital media to hone in on communicating this otherworldly experience. As an established professional designer with my own design business in Cape Town I am equally comfortable with traditional and digital media. Traditional media provide a personal meditative journey while digital offers an unexpected freedom, the combine for a natural, flowing and articulate creative process."