There will be an exhibition in memoriam of local artist Julia Wills (Julia Paul) who grew up in Edge and Pitchcombe.
The exhibition will be held from Lansdown Gallery in Stroud from May 24th – 28th at the Lansdown Gallery in Stroud.
Julia attended Stroud School of Art then The Slade School of Art in London, before becoming a tutor at Luton Art School in the 1960s. She lived in London, Oslo, and Portland, Dorset before returning to Stroud in the early 1970s. She later returned to the Stroud School of Art as a tutor, as well as teaching privately. She lived in Uplands until her death in May 2022 aged 85, and was creating art right up until the last years of her life.
Many of Julia’s paintings feature the local landscape as well as themes of nature and spirituality. She created art, both large and small, with watercolour, pastel, oil, acrylic and collage, as well as sculpture from found objects in nature. She leaves behind her more than 500 pieces of art in various forms. She loved to come into the town and catch up with gossip in Mills Cafe and knew many people locally.
The exhibition will include paintings and sculpture from the 1950s right until until the 2010s. It will be open from 10-5 Wednesday till Sunday. Entry is free and some artwork as well as postcards will be on sale. It has been arranged by her daughter, Ursula Wills-Jones.
