We are so excited to get to know a bit more about Julian Hyzler, one of our wonderful collaborators on retreats throughout the year. We have had the privilege of working with Julian through his company EASEL&LENS for years now and he is not only a truly talented painter, but also as anyone that has been on retreat with him knows, and absolute fount of knowledge! He graciously sat down with us and allowed a peek into his history, inspirations and the things he looks forward to in the upcoming year…
Hi Julian! Lets start off by getting a little background on you… how did you get your start, where are you based and what are some of your biggest inspirations for your work?
Julian: I'm a painter and art teacher based in Italy on the border between Tuscany and Umbria, I've been teaching now for about 30 years, from high schools to colleges, and in the last 15 years, almost exclusively to adults at all levels.
Personally, as a painter, I have always been inspired by buildings; not just as a way to identify or get to know a city, but also as a visible patchwork of colourful stories and personal histories behind every door and window. For their power, elegance, beauty, security, and probably a lot more...
I moved to Italy 15 years ago to be in a place where I felt at home, to learn a language and, most importantly, to be able to share my love of art and art history with as many people who will listen! I run painting courses both in person and online, and spend my spare time making paintings, mostly in oil, in a realistic style, and normally on quite a large scale. They take ages!
How did you get started leading retreats and how did that lead to collaborating with EPM?
Julian: I have been running painting retreats here for all that time, but I collaborated with EPM on their first (and second) ever retreat here in Italy, and we have been working together on and off since 2009. It's an almost seamless pairing as the two practices go so well together - in fact, I often find that I can easily use almost all the language from Erin's morning yoga class and adapt it to my creativity class the very same day. There is so much in common and that is, I think, why our guests often find that the 'creativity' part isn't as intimidating as some fear or, indeed, that difficult.
How do you choose locations and which retreats will you be on this year?
Julian: I like to choose the locations which instantly make me excited to draw and photograph, and this year we will be in Marrakech, Japan, Spain, Scotland, and more locally in locations in Italy too. Every one of these, and the many more we have done together, are places of pure visual inspiration and they make my job very easy indeed...
Do you have any intentions moving into 2023?
Julian: As regards my intentions for 2023, I would like to continue getting to know familiar places, but also refamiliarise myself with Japan after a long break from that wonderful country, whilst also looking for new and exciting locations in the South of France and Sicily. Finishing half a dozen large scale paintings would also be an important goal for this year.
Okay, one more question… one of the awesome things you teach us while on retreat is how to keep a travel journal, what is in your travel kit as an artist?
Julian: My travel kit is quite simple - I usually travel with an A5 Moleskin watercolour travel journal. I prefer the ones which open into a wide landscape format as they can create stunning panoramic landscapes. To draw with, I use HB pencils and pens. I like the cheap water soluble pens which give a lovely smudgy and expressive effect when watercolour is added, as well as the more expensive pigment pens. My favourite brand of those is Pigma Micron as they come in super fine black but also a terrific shade of brown which always looks a little softer and works wonderfully for certain drawings.
I carry a small traveling set of watercolours with me, a couple of synthetic brushes and a small tube of white gouache, which is great for giving opacity to your paintings when required. That's about it!
Thank you so much Julian! We look forward to getting to grow creatively alongside you this year!
XOXO,
The EPM family