Chasing Santa Fe: JULIE SCHUMER & JAMES KOSKINAS

Julie and James moved to Lamy, New Mexico in 2002. Eight years later they decided to move to Santa Fe and went house hunting. They fell in love with this stunning contemporary home the moment they stepped through the door. It fit their personal aesthetic and they have filled each room with beautiful furnishings, found treasures and their signature paintings and sculpture.

T H E H O U S E

And each of these pieces, says James, tells a story, like the sculpture (below) that Julie bought from a gallery in Taos.

It seems that before Julie bought the piece she did a bit of negotiating with the gallery owner. "I told her that I'd buy the sculpture if she'd look at James' work," recalls Julie. The sculpture was purchased, the gallerist perused James' portfolio and these two very talented artist's have been working in tandem ever since.

T H E W O R K

J U L I E S C H U M E R

Julie is an abstract impressionist painter, but her road to becoming a successful artist was a bit circuitous. An admitted child prodigy in art - all her classmates drew neat little houses and happy faces - but she drew big, messy, drippy paintings and even painted her body green one day in class. "I painted my first oil painting when I was eight,"

explains Julie, who eventually went on to pursue law rather than art. But meeting James got her back on track. "He gave me paints," says Julie, and that began a passion for both of them.

Work at Selby Fleetwood Gallery - Santa Fe

Clearly she's come a long way from her 'first' painting with James below.

J A M E S K O S K I N A S

Work at Selby Fleetwood Gallery - Santa Fe

James describes himself as a wild gypsy and this free, artistic spirit, he says, took many forms as a kid. "I built rafts, tree forts, model planes, staged plays with my puppets, and painted for hours on the floor. His mom, says James, even allowed him to paint murals on the back of their house. Before meeting Julie he wore many hats - builder, actor, writer - all extensions of his early creativity and vibrant curiosity.

After meeting Julie his focus changed. They took art classes together and decided to move to New Mexico. "I remember one day I saw a Native American pulling a painting out of a truck," says James. "I decided that I wanted to be that guy. I got a truck, but didn't know yet if I had the talent."

He did!

T H E S T U D I O

James and Julie share a two-story loft studio. "We paint cheek to jowl, laughs James, " but it's never been a problem. We share a common language and respect each other as artists. But sometimes," says James, "you have to say that painting sucks, ditch it."