Life & Work with Julie Gilbert Pollard

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Julie Gilbert Pollard.

Hi Julie, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. Before we get into specifics, could you briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Most artists I know begin their stories the same way, which is also mine: I always thought of myself as an artist, even as a child.

My parents nurtured this creative spirit while, at the same time, being concerned that art wasn’t necessarily a practical means of supporting myself as an adult – and that concern is unfortunately extremely valid.

The road for most artists is not particularly smooth. Only the fortunate have the wherewithal to be able to pursue art on a full-time basis. As we start out, we either have the energy to hold other income-providing jobs or have financial (and psychological) support, until such time we are able to first, grow our art to a professional level – and then, as a business, for the business to survive long enough to turn the red ink to black. Art supplies are expensive and sales unpredictable!

As a young mother, I pursued motherhood as my passion rather than art for many years and worked at various outside jobs. When my children hit the teens, I had an opportunity to get serious about my art and fell into it headlong with generous spousal support – that support cannot be over-emphasized!

My earliest formative years were spent on a farm in central California. Our family “vacations” usually meant camping trips in the nearby Sierra Nevada Mountains among the Giant Sequoias, often along one of the park’s rivers, with side trips and hikes to the park’s waterfalls. I can’t even remember a time when I wasn’t charmed and fascinated by the tumbling water and longed to paint it.

I’ve always been influenced by the natural world that I love and seeing how my favorite painters have been able to portray our magnificent landscape in paintings that interpret the scenery in a way that echoes how I feel about it, not necessarily what it looks like. The painters whose work speaks to me the loudest are truly numerous.

To name a few who are no longer living: John Singer Sargent, Richard Schmid, Nita Engle, and Charles Reid. There are simply too many amazing and brilliant painters, both living and deceased, to list. In fact, inspiration is all around, from the natural world to the individuality of the artists who paint it.

“The Arts” are critical to society – the art community supplies a social service and I’m happy and grateful to be part of that community. On a personal level, art is of high importance as to how I see and interact with the world. I’m on a quest to be able to say without words what I want to express about the wonders of the natural world and its importance to us all.

It’s a lifelong journey – I will never “get there” – I will always be reaching. I believe that people who paint thrive on challenge!

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
My great fortune is that I love to paint and that I also get immense pleasure from sharing what I have learned in my classes and workshops.

The ongoing struggle is that time and energy available never quite cover the many hats that must be worn to get everything done that needs to be done. Since there are only so many hours in the day, I have found the many chores extremely difficult to stay on top of.

My husband now serves as my business manager, which helps immeasurably. The administration of the business, conducting, scheduling, and promoting classes/workshops leaves very little time to actually paint, which is supposed to be my PRIMARY job!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe you can tell us more about your work next?
Watercolor, oil, and acrylic are my mediums – my favorites being the first two – and I would not be able to choose between them.

Watercolor and Oil have many differences, but I feel that the similarities outweigh the differences and that moving between the two continuously teaches me more about each. Acrylic is its own medium and can be used – more or less – like both oil and watercolor, so there are times when it is my medium of choice or an adjunct to either watercolor or oil.

Our scenic environment continues to enthrall my artist’s eye, with landscape, animals, people, florals, and still-life. My very favorite scenes to paint are creeks and streams, often with overhanging flowering foliage.

I conduct painting classes and workshops – both online through the Zoom platform and in-person “destination” workshops in various locations throughout the US and abroad.

I have authored and illustrated three North Light Books: Discover Oil Painting, Watercolor Unleashed, and Brilliant Color, plus nine videos for North Light Shop/ArtistsNetwork.tv. Additional publications include various articles and book inclusions including most recently Watercolor Artist – Summer 2024 issue.

My work is represented in Arizona by the Raku Gallery in Jerome and the Sedona Arts Center Gallery in Sedona.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.juliegilbertpollard.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/juliegilbertpollard/
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/juliegilbertpollard