Biography

Artist Biography

Julia Trops Artist

Short – Julia Trops is an international artist having sold over 1000 artworks worldwide since 2004. Retaining the discipline, work ethic and integrity from her 12 year career in the military, this decorated artist strives on the upward curve. Her work is vibrant, dramatic and expressive. While other writers have selected her artwork numerous times for publishing, Julia is close to completing her sixth book. Julia is one of the original organizers of the Okanagan Erotic Art Show and has carried on the event on her own since 2009. In 2011, Julia was nominated for the Visual Artist Okanagan Arts Award, and shortlisted for the City of Kelowna’s Honour in the Arts. Julia shows at Gallery Odin at Silver Star Mountain, at Creatio Ex Nihilo, and is actively pursuing other gallery interests.

Biography – Long

Being an artist is Julia’s second career, but first love. Trops left Calgary at the age of 22 to join the military. At the time, this seemed to be a drastic ticket out of Calgary, since, Calgary really wasn’t all that bad. Julia spent 12 years in the Canadian Air Force and living across Canada, including serving a peacekeeping mission in the Sinai Desert. After her retirement in 1997, Julia received a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a focus on Studio Arts, Great Distinction, in 2001 from the University of Lethbridge.

Upon moving to Kelowna 2002, she has taught, trained life drawing models, and was the sole founding organizer of the weekly Life Drawing sessions at the RCA. These sessions began the development of a the non profit life drawing group, incorporated two years later, known as Livessence Society of Figurative Artists and Models. Most recently, Trops continues to be a leader in the development of the annual Okanagan Erotic Art Show, which she founded with two other artists who have since followed other paths. In January 2010, Julia opened her studio to three other artists and the Studio 113 Cooperative was formed.

Heavily involved in the arts community, a museum board director, a founder of Livessence, Okanagan Arts Awards (as part of the Arts Council of the Central Okanagan), and the Okanagan Erotic Art Show, Julia keeps pretty busy in her studio, having sold over 1000 works worldwide since 2004. Trops is a contributing artist in Harold Stone’s book “Exploring Life Drawing”, and in Woodlake Books “Spirituality of Music” and “Spirituality of Sex”. With a love of books and working on encouraging other artists to get their name in print, Julia compiled the 2009 & 2011 Okanagan Erotic Art Show Catalog and the 2010 Simplicity in Mind for Livessence. She is also working on a series of books based on her own figurative work over the past six years. Julia shows at Gallery Odin at Silver Star Mountain, the Gallery Director at Creatio Ex Nihilo, and is open to other gallery interests.