Intimate and joyful, Julia Sutliff’s plein air paintings capture fleeting light dancing across grasses, flowers, trees and water. In her show, The Peace of Wild Things, on view in the Adkins Arboretum Visitor’s Center through January 1, 2027, she explores natural landscapes throughout the seasons. There will be a reception to meet the artist on Saturday, November 14 from 2 to 4 p.m.
In these small works painted in oil or acrylic, cattails stand sentinel in a snowy marsh, lily pads float in water reflecting the blue of the sky, and the pinkish white flowers of a star magnolia hover in the soft air of a spring evening. True to the long tradition of plein air painting, Sutliff prefers to paint outdoors. Although she acknowledges its challenges—changing weather, shifting light and the tricky business of finding scenes that inspire her, it’s the experience of being out in nature that gives her joy.
“I’ve felt for years that I do my best work outside,” she explained, “that being outside gives me a greater appetite for risk, more emotional strength. More and more, I realize that for me, the painter Robert Henri was spot-on when he said, ‘It’s all about your state of mind.’”
When Sutliff first showed her plein air paintings at the Arboretum in 2005, they were already fresh and immediate, but she continues to push her boundaries in order to grow as an artist.
“I still try to capture what I see,” she said. “but I keep trying to go further with that idea. I pull out more stops on the way to achieving that. Pushing myself past my comfort zone feels like the right approach.”
Painting in parks and other natural areas near her home in Cockeysville, Sutliff generally uses oils but also experiments with other media.
“I’m painting in acrylic quite a bit these days,” she said. “I like how the fast-drying nature of acrylic helps the colors stay clear as you create layers. But I don’t like how that same quality can sometimes inhibit the accurate mixing of colors. There are strengths to every medium, though, and I like experimenting with different kinds, including watercolor and pastel.”
Sutliff has exhibited in Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and North Carolina and her work is in numerous private collections. She has taught painting in person and in on-line videos and earned a BA in Modern Culture and Media from Brown University, an MA in English from the University of Maryland, and an MA in Teaching from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland. She also studied painting at the Rhode Island School of Design and the Maryland Institute College of Art.
This show is part of Adkins Arboretum’s ongoing exhibition series highlighting regional artists whose work engages with natural themes. The Arboretum, located at 12610 Eveland Road near Tuckahoe State Park in Ridgely, is a 400-acre native garden and preserve offering exceptional experiences in nature.
For gallery hours or more information, contact Adkins Arboretum at 410-634-2847 or visit adkinsarboretum.org.
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Ridgetop Milkweed by plein air painter Julia Sutfill. Image courtesy of Julia Sutfill.
