Julie Speed is an American artist, born in Chicago, IL, 1951. After dropping out of Rhode Island School of Design at age 19, Speed spent her twenties moving around the U.S. and Canada working pickup jobs (house painter, horse trainer, ad writer, farm worker, etc.) until moving to Texas in 1978, where she settled down and taught herself to paint. She switches back and forth regularly between oil painting, printmaking, collage, gouache and drawing, often combining disciplines. Two large volumes of her work, Julie Speed, Paintings, Constructions and Works on Paper, 2004 and Speed, Art 2003-2009 have been published by the University of Texas. In her words, “I keep hours just like a real job, only longer, and in my spare time I read books, drink tequila, and garden.” She is also known for painting the album cover for the Shawn Colvin album A Few Small Repairs. She lives and works in Marfa, Texas.