Julia Cairns is an English artist who began her painting career in Botswana, Africa where she painted landscape and had the opportunity to design postage stamps and paint a portrait of the President. When she moved to the US, she developed her more whimsical style, which has lent itself perfectly to children's book illustration and has been licensed on many products, from jigsaws to shower curtains. Julia recently moved to Santa fe, and continues to paint and illustrate books for …
Julia Cairns is an English artist who began her painting career in Botswana, Africa where she painted landscape and had the opportunity to design postage stamps and paint a portrait of the President. When she moved to the US, she developed her more whimsical style, which has lent itself perfectly to children's book illustration and has been licensed on many products, from jigsaws to shower curtains. Julia recently moved to Santa fe, and continues to paint and illustrate books for children.
Her artist's statement: "Africa was my home from many years. It remains in my heart and my mind's eye, despite the distance between us. There is a certain joy that transcends hardship in Africa, and it is that which I seek to capture in my paintings. The light, the landscape , the people, the colours, are all part of the dance that is Africa. I have a deep respect for the women, especially, for they are the Mothers of Africa, they grow and nurture and love, and bear the burdens of a continent not often universally understood. I hope that one day the rest of the world will dance to the same drum, and share that burden."
