Out of doors, standing before an easel, paint brush in hand. That’s where you’ll find Julie Riker almost any time the weather is fine.
Yes, she paints indoors, as well inside the studio of her Camp Hill home. But she prefers nature to a room, among birds and trees and most especially, along the Susquehanna River.
“I do love painting around water,” she said. “I do a lot of my work from West Fairview (west shore) side of the river.”
Not that she discriminates too much. Riker sets up her easel in Riverfront Park in Harrisburg, as well, and has a series of landscapes from Wildwood Lake, from area parks and from Chincoteague Wildlife refuge in Virginia.
One of her scenes from Wildwood—“Lotus on the Lake”—graces our cover this month. It can be viewed, along with 20 or so of her other works, at Gallery@Second in Harrisburg in an exhibit that opens June 7.
Riker has spent much of her life making a career of art in the Harrisburg area.
A native of Hampden Township, she returned to the area after graduation from the University of Arts in Philadelphia to take a job at the state Capitol, where she stayed for five years to aid in the extensive restoration of the building’s numerous artistic treasures.
Since then, she’s had her own decorative arts business. Churches, homeowners and businesses have all hired her to do murals, decorative paintings and even to paint furniture.
The housing boom of a few years back kept her very busy, but, since the bubble popped, she had more time to work on her true love, fine art painting.
“It’s a nice balance now,” she said, adding that she also peppers in commission work of pets and people.
While it’s her love and her career, painting can be a lonely affair, so Riker has become an active member of several local groups like the Daily Painters of Pennsylvania and especially, the Susquehanna Valley Plein Air Painters, where she has served as president.
The Daily Painters provide feedback and support for works that posts online, while the Plein Air Painters offer a great deal of social interaction, as groups often head off into nature to pain outdoors together.
“It’s a nice way to interact with other artists,” she said. “You might have five people painting the exact same view—and everyone’s painting is completely different.”
Riker’s exhibit at Gallery@Second came about because she has shown works on the gallery’s second floor group space. Owners Ted and Linda Walke then asked her if she’d like to mount her own show.
“She’s such a natural plein air painter. There’s nothing forced at all about her work,” said Ted Walke. “I’ve admired her art for a long time.”
Juile Riker’s exhibit runs June 7 to July 14 at Gallery@Second, 608 N. 2nd St., Harrisburg. She will share the exhibition space with local artist and photographer David Pringle.
