LOS ANGELES BLACK EMBER

Refined stone pigment collected in the Pacific Palisades, California, charred bone, oil on canvas

Created in early 2025, Júlia’s BROTO COLLECTION took on a profound new meaning as the fires swept through Los Angeles. Each painting is made with pigments sourced from stones collected before the fires in the very landscapes that later burned. From the Santa Monica Mountains, to the Pacific Palisades ridge line, and the Angeles National Forest, these materials now hold the memory of both absence and renewal.

Júlia believes the earth holds its own sense of memory, an ever present record of transformation. Her handmade pigments undergo a process she calls blooming, where they shift and settle as they dry into distinct patterns, much like the landscapes they come from, constantly evolving yet carrying the past within them.

In BROTO, the natural pigments echo the land’s resilience, capturing the cycles of change and regrowth that shape both nature and our own lives.

BROTO—Portuguese for "bud" or "sprout," a stem that puts down roots; symbolizes growth, regeneration, and the power of transformation, honoring nature’s ability to rebuild and thrive.

Size: 24 x 24 inches | 61 x 61 cm

Unframed