In Conversation with Local Artists: Julie Walker
Share
For our current blog series we have been highlighting artists from Bournville, Birmingham and the surrounding areas through a set of interview questions on their creative processes and inspirations, their views on Bournville and its community and their upcoming projects and exhibitions. Selly Manor is keen to spotlight local artists who make our community a vibrant and interesting place to live.
This week our interview is with local painter Julie Walker, who is inspired by Birmingham's natural beauty and the memories she treasures from spending time in its green spaces.
Artist Julie Walker
Q1: Could you tell us a little about yourself and your work as an artist?
“I’m a self‑taught painter, recently turned professional, working primarily in acrylics. Born in Birmingham and though now based in Marston Green, I spent most of my life in and around beautiful Bournville, a place that will always be special to me. After studying Plant Biology at the University of Birmingham, much of my career was in horticulture, working for Birmingham City Council at Cofton Nursery and Kings Heath Park, and eventually running a nursery near Evesham, which even had a small outlet on Maryvale Road. About ten years ago, a period of ill health forced me to give up full‑time work, but it rekindled a childhood passion for painting, an experience that has opened a new creative chapter and brought renewed purpose to my life. Plants, woodlands, and green spaces became central themes in my work, and around that time I also discovered family roots in Cornwall so that quickly became another favourite subject. Today, my paintings celebrate the beauty of gardens, woodlands, and familiar landscapes, places which nurtured me and where I feel most at home; I aim to capture the sense of peace and connection that these spaces give me.”
Q2: How does Bournville (and/or the surrounding areas) inspire your work?
“Bournville shaped me, I spent a lot my teenage years living in Bournville lane and it will always feel like home. Places like Bournville village and the Green, the wonderful carillon and of course Selly Manor (where my son held his wedding!) are just so unique and special. When I paint places in and around Bournville it comforts and reconnects me.”
'Selly Manor' by Julie Walker
Q3: Bournville is surrounded by both green spaces and city scape – how do each of these influence your work?
“I'm passionate about the value of green spaces in cities and these feature in a lot of my work but I also appreciate the fascinatingly varied urban landscapes of Brum so I'm often inspired by the contrast between nature and the city. The University of Birmingham, and the canal and railway networks in particular have some amazing architecture I'm often drawn to paint.”
Q4: Is there a particular piece of local history or heritage that you find yourself drawn to? Why do you think this is?
“I walked up Bournville Lane every day for many years to catch the outer circle bus on Linden Road to school and grew to love Cadburys, and the connection to my late grandfather who had worked there so I've always been interested in the Cadbury's history. To this day I love the vision of George Cadbury, his social responsibility, his belief that a business should benefit its workers and that they should live in a beautiful environment. I think today those values are even more important to try to preserve.”
Q5: Why do you think art is important to the local community?
“I think art can bring communities together and bridge divides, especially important now as society can feel so fractured and partisan.”
Q6: How do you feel your art connects with the people of Bournville/Birmingham? Or how do the people of Bournville/Birmingham connect with your work?
“I hope people of Bournville and the city in general will feel the same love and comfort that the familiar spaces and sights bring to me. Earlier this year I did two paintings of an old Victorian railway bridge over a stream near where I live. The daily walk along the stream became my lifeline during Covid lockdown and remains very special to me. I posted the painting in a local Facebook group and was amazed at how much love it received and how many people reached out with their own stories and special memories of the location.”
Julie's painting of said stream and railway bridge
Q7: Do you have a favourite artwork that you’ve created that you could talk us through?
“Despite doing well at grammar school, I was a somewhat wayward child and left without taking my exams. Later in life I came to regret this, so at 31 with two kids, I enrolled on an access to life sciences course at Matthew Boulton College to try to go to university. Miraculously, after an interview that almost broke me, I was accepted to read Plant Biology at the University of Birmingham! I had crippling imposter syndrome, especially when the first-year exams were coming up. It was then I discovered Winterbourne, the University Botanic Garden and the magical benches there. Tucked away in calm, green, quiet places, just sitting, breathing in the peace, chilled me out completely. They became my sanctuary for three years, my pre-exam stress buster, they must have worked their magic as I managed to get a 1st class degree! The benches changed my life, so this is a favourite piece of my work.”
'Winterbourne Bench' Julie Walker
Q8: What is next for you – do you have any upcoming projects or exhibitions that you’re excited about?
“I currently have some of my work in an exhibition at the amazing Purple Gallery on Maryvale Road, Bournville, including one of Selly Manor - it's my first exhibition so it's all very exciting! Right now, I’m working on a series of paintings called "The Perfect Day". The first painting is of a very special corner of Cornwall, Bossiney Haven, a place that means a great deal to me. It ended up being the setting for my last holiday with my mom before she passed away, and that time together has stayed with me ever since. Another piece takes me back to the University of Birmingham, to the wonderful Mermaid Fountain by William Bloye outside the Guild of Students. I can still picture myself sitting there with my friends all those years ago on the day I got my first‑year exam results. For the first time, I felt like I truly belonged. These scenes come from very personal moments in my life, but I hope people will find their own stories in them, their own perfect days and treasured places, an invitation to pause for a moment, to remember, and to hold on to the memories that stay with us.”
Our thanks to Julie for sharing the special places and memories that inspire her to create her beautiful paintings. To see more of her work, head to her Instagram page @julieawalkerart
Written by Niamh Reid, Museum Assistant