Beck-ing Call For An Amazing Painter

I feel so horrid, i havn't written about anyone in a while. My excuse, although not a brilliant one is the Holiday rush. On the bright side, i interviewed Julie Beck, from Julie B Creative ages ago. I found her incredible talented and her work makes me wish i could paint. Looking through her work now, a month or so later, i can honestly say, i am even more impressed then i was the 1st time i saw her paintings. It's even more incredible then i remember!



1) How long have you been crafting?

I have been painting for about 5 years, but as with most people on Etsy, I have been artistic most of my life. Not very good though. I think my drawings as a kid were actually better than some of my first paintings. I'd have to say that only in the past 3 years has my work been "up to snuff."



2) Did you always craft in this genre?

Not at all, I started in acrylics, went to oils, and then back to acrylics. I have absolutely no patience, so the oils were definitely the wrong medium for me. I like the immediacy of water based.



3) Who or what inspires you?

There may not be enough room to list them all but the top few include: books, old trains and railroad tracks, the bins of old photographs that are abandoned and end up in an antique store, flea markets, numbers, ghost stories, The Dark Tower series by Stephen King, farms, bold color combinations. In my daily life, the one tings that always stops me in my tracks is a really good color combination that’s just exisiting...it wasn't planned, it just happened. It's kind of a chaotic natural pairing that makes it so beautiful.




4) What challenges have you found while taking your craft into the business world?

Time management. I work a full time job creating motion graphics. I started offering the custom paintings, which was a really good decision, because a lot of people look for personalized gifts for people...and for so many, like myself, their house is very important to them and it means a lot. It's a place that is somewhat sacred...which is why I started the series. However, each one takes about 8 or 9 hours to complete. This is forcing me to learn how I need to manage my time better so I have more than 4 hours to sleep at night. The nice part about this is I can really start making painting my part time job and cut back my hours at work. It's the one benefit to being a freelancer.




Misc Information:

I took an abstract painting class one time, and I think it really helped my work...the funny part is that the hardest thing for me to do was to not painting "something." Interesting random fact about me: I was valedictorian of my college and have a degree in math.

So head over to Julie's Etsy account, tell her hello and drink in her creative spirit. Enjoy! :)