JULIE SCHNATZ RYBECK was born in Buffalo, New York.  At a young age, she began art classes at The Albright Knox Art Gallery and Buffalo State Teachers’ College which is home to The Burchfield Penney Art Center. While at the Nichols School, she studied art with Frank Sacheli, Gary Stanton and painting under the late Grace McKendry.  Following life in Buffalo, Julie received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Smith College and her MFA/painting from The University of Chicago. As a recipient of The Harriet Hale Wooley Award, she painted and exhibited in Paris, France, while studying with the late Stanley William Hayter. Color permeates her abstracted landscapes that have also appeared in solo and group exhibitions, private, corporate and nonprofit spaces. She has been painting and exhibiting in the Hartford, CT area since 1990.