Julie Gowing Hayes creates oil and watercolor paintings of things and scenes found mostly in nature in a representational style sometimes with hints of impressionism. Growing up on a farm in Southwest Iowa was instrumental in her development of a deep-rooted love for the outdoors. Her father’s involvement in local conservation efforts through tree planting, watershed developments and improved farming techniques along with her mother’s love of gardening and bird feeding and watching taught Hayes a respect for the land and the wildlife it supports. Julie was introduced to plein air painting while working on her Studio Art degree at Salem College in Winston-Salem, NC. Through this shared love of painting outdoors she has met some of her best friends and is dedicated to this practice. During inclement weather she works in her home studio in the beautiful NW Arkansas Ozarks. Julie’s plein air affiliations include being a Charter Member/Co-founder of Piedmont Outdoor Painting Society (POPS), member of Plein Air Painters of the Ozarks (PAPO) and Missouri Valley Impressionist Society (MVIS). Hayes is an associate member of Women Artists of the West (WAOW), National Oil and Acrylic Painters’ Society (NOAPS).You can visit Julie's website to view more of her work here.