Fumage artist Julie Willan

 Julie Willan is a Contemporary fine artist known for her distinctive use of fumage, which involves the use of flame and smoke to create atmospheric works that explore the spirit and quiet power of the natural world.

Her work has received national and international recognition, including selection for the "Birds in Art" exhibition at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, and the Society of Animal Artists' 66th Annual Exhibition.  In 2024, Willan was commissioned to create original fumage portrait and poster artwork for Adele's Munich residency, bringing her distinctive smoke based technique to an international stage.

Artist Statement

My work explores the space between what is seen and what is felt.  Working primarily in fumage, I use smoke as both material and metaphor.  The unpredictability of smoke fascinates me.  I can guide it, but I can never completely control it.  That tension becomes part of the piece.  Animals have always held a powerful presence for me.  I'm drawn not only to their physical beauty, but to something quieter, their instinct, intelligence, vulnerability, and strength.  Rather than simply creating a likeness, I want each animal to feel as though it is emerging from somewhere just beyond the surface.  Smoke gives me a language for that.  Forms appear and disappear, edges dissolve, and what remains feels like a memory or a momentary revelation.  My work lives in that transition, from smoke to spirit.