Growing up in Maine, Julie Scoma was surrounded by pine forests and sparkling lakes. With New Hampshire’s Mount Washington visible in the distance, she saw the seasons pass by watching the snow come and go in Tuckerman’s Ravine.  When the snow was gone in the spring she knew it was time to go swimming in icy Highland Lake. She recalls looking for the Indian pipe stems and lady slippers in the woods behind her house each spring. All day hikes up Bald Face Mountain and picking low bush blueberries by the pail on Pleasant Mountain were summer rituals. On no school blizzard days in high school she would pick up buddies for a day of skiing in virgin snow. Summer also meant water skiing, sailing, swimming and night fishing for hornpout (catfish).

Her first school was a two room school house heated with a Franklin stove. She moved through  Bridgton schools and graduated from Bates College with a greatly expanded world view.  She married a man from Chicago and moved here. It was at this time that she discovered painting.  It became an integral part of her daily life. Because of her two young daughters she even opted to paint with acrylic paint because there were no toxic fumes as in oil paint and turpentine. She recalls holding the easel with her legs while year-old daughter, Nicole, steadied her first steps. She often rose early to paint before the girls woke up.

Today, she lives in Highland Park.  After living in Chicago, she feels at home in this community, a nice blend of city and Nature.  She walks daily by Lake Michigan and often treks the ravines just for fun and inspiration. She paints weekends and summers and makes return trips to Maine for family, friends and swims across the lake.

Julie draws on the quiet inspiration from childhood in Maine. She has studied landscape painting at The Art Institute of Chicago. Her painting reflects her varied interests, but usually includes a strong sense of the natural. She continues to love painting her favorite images, but is currently exploring pure color and form in the abstract. She has shown her work in group shows in Chicago and at juried art fairs in Evanston.  She is in numerous private collections.