Julia Naurzalijeva

Professional experience

Freelance Illustrator Russia, Estonia, USA, Canada (2011–Present) Illustrating children’s books for publishing houses and private commissions Independent Artist Russia, Estonia, USA, Canada, (1994–Present) Creation of an extensive range of drawings and oil paintings exhibited and sold in galleries. Participation in public and private exhibitions and charity auctions. Work on the original projects of costume design for theaters, movies, individual weddings.

Mural painter for private and commercial spaces Chicago, IL, USA (2008–2012) Creation of mural painting comprising walls, windows, and doors in upscale residences and commercial spaces. Among them representations of known fairytale stories and personalities in illustrative manner.

Assistant Commercial Costume and Stage Prop Designer Cookie Gluck, Evanston, IL 2006 Creation of cartoon and fairytale’s characters.

Costume Designer Mosfilm Studios, Gorky Film Studio, Central Russian TV 2 Companies, Moscow, Russia. (1995–1999) Design of special costumes for movies, commercials, and various programs Designer and Illustrator Publishing House Sovershenno Sekretno (Top Secret), Moscow, Russia (1995–1998) Designing and illustrating books of detective stories for children. Illustrator Publishing House Koolibri, Tallinn, Estonia (1995–1998)

I like to focus at the intensity of my gaze and the severity of the mind as it attempts to see and somehow grasp the essence of the object before us is one of the most moving and revelatory struggles in my life of art. Out of it comes the mixture of realism and abstraction.  The works I would like to show were produced to present a mythical unity and increasing concern of more and more actualised images.  My work is inspired by the system of representations of the real and magical realms. In order to pass to readers a richness of fairy-tales worlds I use Anthropomorphism, attributing human characteristics to forces of nature, animals, mysterious creatures, deities and non-living things. 

My inspiration is my upbringing in a family of different and mutually enriching cultures and religions, both European and Asian. My personal and artistic journey is informed by the ideals of openness to otherness, tolerance, and the drive to understand better and more deeply history, culture, literature and different styles of thinking, sensing and expressing the human spirit and intellect.  My education I received in Estonia, the Baltic country, where I was born and in Moscow, where I get the higher education, and my professional experience in a variety of artistic techniques and theatrical arts enables me to adapt historical materials to new artistic concepts and compositions that visualize narrative ideas. My highly detailed drawings use vivid narrative and illustrative imagery to merge the aesthetics of old cultures with the sensibilities of a present-day artist.

Professional highlights

• Exceptionally skilled in a variety of artistic techniques, including oil and acrylic paints, watercolor, pen, ink and pencil drawings, sketches, and in the combination of different media.
• Work demonstrates brightness of palette and refinement of line.
• Creates unique compositions, accurate historical flat patterns, and artistic representations that visualize narrative ideas.
• Vivid narrative imagery in highly detailed drawings.
• Member of Council for the Arts in Ottawa.