Portfolio Oomph - Julie Read

Are you still working from photos? I know you’re probably thinking that it’s easier to work from photos and it might be much more convenient too. However, a testimonial that I received from a student’s Mum said:

“Before Portfolio Oomph came into our lives Emily was happy drawing, painting but she was not creating. She clearly had the skills but was copying from photos, paintings etc. Although her teachers were very encouraging they weren’t helping her think for herself.”

Read more.....

Are you still working from photos? "Before Portfolio Oomph came into our lives Emily was happy drawing, painting but she was not creating. She had skills but was copying from photos, paintings". The Colleges and Unis are looking for creative thinking, creative solutions to ideas and problems. When they see your folio they want to fee...

I grew up at school looking at David Hockney's art, admiring the realism in his paintings.

Over the years its been more his recent work, pushing the boundaries, using new materials and challenging our perceptions of drawing and painting are.

RIP 1937 - 2026

Making art until the day he died.

What a super afternoon at the Edinburgh College of Art Graduate Shows and meeting one of my former students from 4 years ago - whom I only met on Zoom whilst working together!

Natasha's show was amazing, as expected and it was such a privilege to get some insight into the context behind her ideas and interests expressed through her work.

A well deserved first class honours degree and 5 awards no less!!! One being a studio awarded for 3 months, a solo exhibition, others were financial.

This is huge as an artist. When you graduate everything kind of disappears, your studio, the discipline and structure, the funding (loans or whatever) and your peers right next to you.

So having these awards in place really is a great support to enable her to continue her practice, in the short term at least.

Amazing 👌

*videos of her work in next post, can't put photos and videos in 1 post apparently 🙄

Open Days already 👀 get on down tomorrow, you might also catch the degree shows at ECA if you plan your time well.

They finish on Friday 5 June - I'm planning to attend as I have 2 former students graduating from Drawing and Painting.

Very exciting.

Edinburgh College of Art Open Day: 1 Jun Open Day Open Days 2026 Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (ESALA) History of Art Reid School of Music School of Art School of Design Shanghai College of Fashion and Innovation At our open day you’ll have the opportunity to:Attend a talk about your degreeTour our facilitie...

Are you coming to my online portfolio Strategy Session on 8th June? [link to sign up in comments 👇]

If not and you're applying next year then you really do need to.

I'll be sharing info on the assessment criteria's of the art schools. So, what they are assessing your work against - ultimately how they score your work.

Below is a preview of the DJCAD feedback received by a former student from a few years ago - we will have a discussion about this to give it context on the night.

I spoke with a student this afternoon who hadn't realised she could get feedback on her unsuccessful application this year.

But if you're going to re-apply then getting feedback is essential - else how do you know where and how to improve?

So join me, on Monday 8th June at 7pm. [link to sign up in comments 👇]

We'll cover all this and more.

I'm here to help, it's free so why not block out 1.5 hours of your evening to get organised?

It'll save you hours and hours come September when you start back at school and it'll reduce your stress once you start on your folio.

You'll then see how you can start to clear the muddy waters around art portfolios.

See you there....[link to sign up in comments 👇]

It's always, ALWAYS great to see students succeed with their portfolios for art school.

And I am so grateful for the flowers that I often receive. Yesterday was one of those days 💐

Seeing the students again after the dust has settled and offers have been made and accepted is always a pleasure.

In September Phoebe is on her way to Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts to start the BA (Hons) Theatre and Performance Art course.

Exciting times 🎉

If you have an ambition for next year and not quite sure about how you're going to get there, we need to speak.

Come along to my FREE Portfolio Strategy Session on 8 June at 7pm. I'll get you organised, motivated and ready to start your journey with as little stress as possible.

Link to sign up is in first comment 👇

On Tuesday next week I'll be attending the very first Base Network Event - organised by Loanhead Post Office with and Samantha-Jane Littlejohns.

Please come and join us and find out more about what I do.

It will be an evening focused on bringing local businesses and the community together through connection, collaboration and support - all welcome.

Event Details
Date: Tuesday 2nd June 2026
Time: 4:00pm – 7:00pm
Location: Loanhead Miners Club
Tickets: Free - link in comments

What to expect:
• Introduction from the Base Network Team
• Sponsor introductions
• Four keynote speakers
• Speed networking session
• Networking and mingling opportunities
• Meet local businesses and community organisations
• Resource table and networking opportunities
• Opportunities to build new connections and collaborations

We’ll also have a dedicated resource table available throughout the evening, where you can pick up business cards, flyers, leaflets or information about local businesses to you or services for you to browse and take away.

BASE stands for:
Build
Advise
Support
Empower

If you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch.