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Every artist discovers their own path to their preferred subject matter and media. For Canadian artist Julie Kraulis, that path started in her grandfather’s study and continues today as her drawings of watches grace the pre-sales watch exhibitions at auction houses, the boutiques of watch brands, and the homes of collectors.

Before a watch auction at Sotheby’s in London last week, the auction house exhibited four of Kraulis' works alongside the watches heading for the sale room. The four works on display were drawings of a Lange & Sohne Datograph, an Omega Speedmaster, a Rolex Submariner, and a TAG Heuer Monaco modified by watch customizer George Bamford . The drawings were on display in Sotheby’s London galleries from Sept. 20-23, before the Sept. 24 auction.

The auction itself showed the enduring appeal of vintage watches. An Omega Speedmaster from 1968 fetched US$90,045, exceeding its estimate by US$53,000, while a yellow gold Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar with Moon Phases circa 1973 brought home US$170,775, roughly US$20,000 above estimate.

It was unusual for an artist’s work to be featured alongside an auction, but Kraulis is a rare figure in the watch world. Following graduation from the Toronto School Of Art And Design in 2008, Kraulis wrote and illustrated children’s books, most notably a series about a globe-trotting armadillo. Then, after reading an article about classic timepiece designs, she began drawing watches.

“I drew my first watch in fall of 2015, but started focusing on the collection full-time in 2017,” she says. “The watch pieces prior to then are what I consider my sandbox pieces, where I played around to see if it was an area I wanted to focus on in depth.”

Kraulis, 35, decided to commit her time and energies to watches because of her profound curiosity about one aspect of their creation.

“My initial interest in timepieces was to study and explore what makes timeless design,” she says. “There are these cult classics that have hashtags and followers and tribes that follow certain iconic designs.”

After reading an article about classic timepiece designs, Kraulis began drawing watches. Here, an Omega Speedmaster. Sotheby's

Some of those iconic designs that Kraulis has drawn include the Rolex Submariner, the Patek Philippe Nautilus, and the Cartier Tank.

Individual commissions always start with a conversation leading to a determination of the time needed to complete a work and the price. (She declined to discuss price estimates.)

“It’s just this mystery to me what makes something last, whether it’s architecture or industrial design or a mechanical wristwatch versus others that are trendy and fashionable and of the moment and that just fade.”

She has just completed a set of drawings for a Sotheby’s sale in London, and from watch brands she recently spent between 400 and 500 hours on a double-sided portrait of an A. Lange & Söhne Datograph for their New York boutique. She relishes working with collectors of vintage watches.

“I love the soul of a vintage watch and that it’s been the witness to someone’s life and adventures, and the memories it’s made while on the wrist. For me, there is also the added challenge of the marks and the patina. I often work with collectors who are very attached to those marks and to the stories behind them,” she says.

“My grandfather came from Latvia, and in Toronto he worked as an engineer. In his home, I would see all these pencil stubs lying around and somehow I was taken with them.’

Like her grandfather, Kraulis’ pencils of choice are Staedtler Mars Lumographs.

“I’ve used a variety of media throughout the years—oil paints, watercolors, pen—but I took to drawing very early on. For me, the pencil is something that is so lively,” she says.

“When you remove the distraction of color, you get to see design more clearly. Because I am working so large”—most drawings are 26 inches by 40 feet—“removing color has even more of an impact,” she says.