First, Second and Personal Best

Title: First, Second and Personal Best
Author: Julie Ellis
Media: Bronze
Size: 13 x 10 x 15 inches - Ed #100

Racing requires self discipline, dedication, perseverance, and personal sacrifice. A marathon is the ultimate test of endurance for a runner. There's a feeling of oneness when athletes from around the world come together to focus on doing their best. Julie express the dramatic force of the race in her sculpture, "First, Second, and Personal Best". This beautiful bronze captures the imagination as well as capturing the moment for the viewer.

Biography of the Artist - "I am a self-taught sculptor. I live in Lander, Wyoming, a particularly beautiful part of the USA. Lander, situated 10 kilometers from the mountains, offers country lanes and rural roads for running or walking. Many types of wildlife can be seen while running in the area: pronghorn antelope, hawks, eagles, big horn sheep, deer, even occasionally a big cat, cougar. While growing up in the Wyoming Rockies, I developed an appreciation for art at an early age. My twenty years of experience in the art arena has solidified my expertise and professionalism. The story-telling aspect of creative art is particularly appealing to me. All of my sculptures depict stories of their own – stories created for the viewer to be a part of. I try to capture the emotions, body language and expressions of each person or animal that I sculpt. It helps me to be a part of the sculpture to feel or understand the story being told. So please come and view my sculptures and become a part of the story".

Notable Achievements - Selected to display runner sculpture in conjunction with 1995 Boulder Boulder, featured and interviewed on the New Pre-Race Highlights. Selected to show in the Fourth International Women Artists of the West juried Art Show in Biloxi, Miss., 1997. One Woman Bronze Sculpture Show – Petroleum Club, Denver, Colo., November 1995-September 1996. Awarded first place in the sculpture division – Wyoming Artist Association Convention for "Lone Wolf" 1995.