Born in Chicago in 1951 and raised mostly on the East coast, Speed dropped out of art school early. After a period of travel and intermittent employment (house-painter, horse-trainer, waitress, stock boy, farm worker, etc) she landed in Austin in 1978. Since then she has devoted herself full time to working in her studio and teaching herself to paint. In her words, I keep hours just like a real job, only longer, and in my spare time I read books, drink tequila, garden, and drive around West Texas. In 2006 she decided that just driving around West Texas wasnt enough so she moved from Austin to Marfa where she has a studio downtown.

More information about the artist can be read in this Austin Chronicle article.

web site: juliespeed.com