About
Spoops artistry is a magical orchestration of detailed complexity masterfully woven into deceptively simple renderings.
Born in Seattle, Washington to an artist mother in January of 1973 Julie “Spoops” Myrfors was destined to become an artist herself. She and her sisters, all exceptionally gifted, were encouraged to foster their creative spirits by creating their own fun. As a result, each sister possesses her own artistic talent. For Spoops that artistry emerged in the form of remarkably intricate drawings. At the age of twelve, Spoops began sketching and working with charcoal. She continued to work with that medium and fine tuning her drawing skills for years.
Though she pursued other career paths for a time, none was ever fulfilling and Spoops returned to her art in 1995 publishing under the name Julie Meyers. Pregnant with my twins, no longer able to work and “bored silly!” she picked up a paintbrush for the first time and turned her drawings into pieces of imaginative art. Finding the oil medium limiting and that it offered her little challenge, Spoops switched to watercolor, which ignited an all consuming passion for painting.
Her above and below underwater watercolors captured the liquid beauty of the waterways of the Puget Sound with such startling realism that they earned her the moniker the “Wyland of Watercolors”.
With focused determination Spoops poured her energy into her studio “Aspect Art” and with clients such as MacGregor Publications, Morgan’s Espresso, Off The Grid, Concept Card, Lucas Films, Seattle Art Museum and Pokémon she quickly earned notoriety as an exceptional graphic designer and product branding specialist.
In 2006 she purchased her first WACOM® pen tablet and began teaching herself to create digital and 3D artistry and was no longer limited by paintbrushes and pots of paint. Spoops soon soared to the top of her field and joined forces with her husband Jesper Myrfors, former Art Director for Wizards of the Coast, game designer and artist in his own right, to found Hidden City Games and create illustrations for the company’s first offering Clout Fantasy®.
In 2008 Spoops became the Senior Artist for HCG and created the iconic characters and images for trading cards, clothing, packaging, video, television, storybook and web elements that branded the company’s next offering Bella Sara® and earning her 3.5 million loyal fans.
“I love it when people look at my work and think that they have seen everything and then have that moment of surprise when they see something new that they had previously overlooked.”
Within her intricate drawings you will often find hidden images. For Spoops creating that moment of discovery is magical. “I love it when people look at my work and think that they have seen everything and then have that moment of surprise when they see something new that they had previously overlooked”. It is the detailed complexity of her illustrations that made her one of the favorite and most beloved artists of the Bella Sara® brand. Though no longer illustrating for Hidden City Games, the Bella Sara® property remains near and dear to her heart.
Some of Spoops many accomplishments include Harper Collins Bella Sara® book illustrations, Bella Sara’s Nintendo DS and PC games imagery, 3D website backgrounds and product branding illustrations including clothing pieces for the Seattle Art Museum and Lucas Films. Spoops also maintains a digital art mentorship program for children and professionals.
Both Jesper and Spoops were laid off from the company they founded in 2008 and 2009 respectively. Though painful, this turn of events has allowed the couple to focus their attention to their own endeavors. 2010 will see the launch of “Pumpkin Castle”, a collaborative digital art and game studio dedicated to releasing a myriad of fantastical projects crafted by the team of wildly imaginative artists who reside onsite in her Seattle, Washington studio.
At the request of her fans, Spoops has launched “Spoops Art” to make available high quality prints of her numerous illustrations.
