Juli Fejer

Four years ago, after decades of ineffective treatment, unemployment and depression, I began painting to distract myself from the chronic pain of fibromyalgia. What started as a hobby quickly became an obsession as I reconnected with my childhood love of painting and drawing. Last year, I was selected for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and invited to take part in a BBC 2 documentary about the exhibition. My work was chosen for the prestigious ING Discerning Eye exhibition in the Mall Galleries, in both 2020 and 2021.

I have participated in art fairs and group shows. This year I have exhibited with the Society of East Anglian Watercolourists in Wells-next-the-Sea and in Ely, and with ArtCan. My first gallery show was held in Bury St Edmunds in April. It celebrated the mental and physical benefits of walking in nature and was a collaboration with photographer, John Martyn, at the Guildhall Studio. Fibromyalgia gives me an acute sensitivity to external stimuli such as colour and sound. This informs my painting. I seek to capture the mood of a place or a particular moment from sunset over the sea to a bleak winter field. There is always a story behind my pictures.

I work in watercolour, gouache, acrylic and also create digital artworks on my iPad. I love to experiment and, being a self taught artist, I feel free to break the rules and follow where inspiration leads. Many of my paintings are inspired by walks around Bury St Edmunds.