Julie Jilek, a Wisconsin-based painter, had an epiphany while visiting Los Angeles.
Photo: Julie Jilek
“I was in L.A., and thinking of possibly moving there, and when I came back to Wisconsin, I had this urge to see as much of the state as I possibly could,” Jilek said.
“I went and started painting some of the parks, and then realized I wanted to paint all of the parks!”
And that’s what she plans to do. With the Wisconsin State Park Plein Air Project, Jilek is “painting her way” through all 57 state parks and forests. She began the project in May 2011 and has roughly 20 parks completed. At every park, she produces a “plein air” painting, which is a French term for “in the open air,” meaning she paints outdoors.
I caught up with Julie to talk about the project, its challenges and how odd family vacations spurred her love of the natural world.
So what does the project entail?
“I’m going to every state park and forest in Wisconsin and doing a painting there, and documenting the whole project. The goal is to have all the paintings framed and do a traveling show around the state, and then make it a book. I started in May of last year got my annual parks sticker and I’ve been painting ever since. I like a challenge, and I’m still going strong.”
It is an interesting project, but why do it?
“I love the outdoors … I grew up camping. My family never went to Disneyworld. My parents would drag us into Canada for two weeks. I remember they brought us to Boundary Waters, I think I weighed as much as my backpack at the time, and it rained for two days, we never caught one fish and I still enjoyed it.”
Do you have a favorite park so far?
Photo: Julie Jilek
“There are so many so great places that I went to when I was younger that I didn’t remember. They’re all so unique. Amnicon Falls is just really impressive. Most people think of Copper Falls for Wisconsin waterfalls, but you can’t get close to the Copper Falls. There’s not as many restrictions at Amnicon, you can even swim in them!”
How are you funding the project?
“I actually, just this week, got my Kickstarter together. The project is costly and I try to do the math, you never really know how much things cost until you do it. For right now, I just want to be able to finish it.”
You say you’re an environmentalist … is the project about awareness?
“It’s always a little bit about awareness. I want to get people involved and talking about environmental issues … it’s easy to forget how important these places are to our state. There’s the whole mining issue right now in our state, which gets me in a little bit of a panic. I hope this makes people put in energy to go visit the parks.”
It’s getting cold. Are you still visiting the parks?
“I’m still visiting. I’ve tried camping in the cold and it’s a little rough to say the least. Family and friends in certain areas have let me stay with them, which is awesome. I am still painting but it’s different to paint in the winter, paint gets tacky and I have to paint much quicker.”
What are some of the other challenges?
“I think just the magnitude of trying to get to every park. I was going to do it all in one summer. And a friend said, “I know you like a challenge, ‘but you don’t have to do all in one summer.’”
So, after this ends, are you still going to move to L.A.?
“I don’t know. I’m so torn. I love Wisconsin, but it’d be a good for me to go live in a bigger market. It could be the worst mistake, or could be the best decision ever.”
To follow the project and see Julie’s paintings, visit: Julie L. Jilek Fine Art