Oil on wood panel

Intricate contemporary surrealist portrait by Texas artist Julie Speed. The work features a naturalistically rendered woman holding a white flower with a red frog perched on her head set against a green background and surrounded by a swirling pattern of tadpoles. Signed by the artist in front lower right corner. Currently hung in an ornately carved brown wood frame.

Born in 1951, Julie Speed is a Texas artist whose work includes paintings, constructions and works on paper. She attended the Rhode Island School of Design, but unable to study classical oil painting she dropped out and taught herself instead. She lived in Austin and in 2006, moved to Marfa in West Texas, an area she likes to explore. Some of her images seem surreal, filled with third eyes, dismembered body parts and strange sightings. She is influenced by the work of Bellini and Botticelli as well as fairy tales, Russian icons and Australian Aboriginal art. Her painting process starts off with a charcoal or pencil underdrawing followed by gray or white acrylic to build values. Finally she layers color with oil paints which she sands between layers. Each painting takes a month or two to complete.

H 36.75 in. x W 42.88 in. x D 3 in.

H 29.5 in. x W 35.5 in.