Julia Swaby

Julia Swaby

Contemporary Artist

Julia is an abstract expressionist painter based in Hastings, UK. Originally trained in watercolour, she later pursued an academic career, teaching Philosophy and Psychology for a decade before returning to painting as a form of pure, instinctive expression.

Working mainly in oils on large canvases, Julia explores the interplay of energy and light—both in the human spirit and in the physical world. Her style, which she calls organic expressivism, often leans toward soft, nebular forms that evoke calm, making her work a natural fit for wellness spaces and interiors. At other times, her paintings erupt with dynamic movement, reflecting the more explosive side of her nature.

Influenced by her years in South West France and now by the shifting seas of England’s south coast, Julia sees her work as a continuation of her philosophical interests—channelling complex ideas into visual form that seeks, above all, to awaken the sublime.