Julia Albo earned her Bachelor’s of Fine Arts with an art history minor from Sonoma State University in 2018. Soon afterwards, she sought out atelier training at the Atelier School of Classical Realism in Oakland, California. When the pandemic began, she decided she needed a more intensive work environment to develop her technical skills. In 2021, she moved to New York City to study at the Grand Central Atelier. Learning the foundational principles in painting and drawing has been essential in her pursuit to capture the human form.

”There’s a richness to the classical realism tradition, and atelier training instilled in me a deep appreciation for it. In my own work, I aim to build on that visual language and incorporate contemporary fashion.

“My choice of clothing serves multiple purposes, as high fashion constructed in ateliers has the ability to demonstrate technical mastery in its own right. I also use it as a subtle marker of our present era. The figure in my painting First Light is wearing a recent haute couture garment by designer Elie Saab. Using reference photos, I conceptually drape my figure in the gown. The model is painted directly from life and the background is created from imagination.”