We recently connected with Julie Crone and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Julie, thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

Since I picked up a paintbrush and oil paint at age six, I immediately fell in love. I have been creating in some form or another ever since. Creating art was always my “happy place” but it wasn’t until my adult years I learned to express myself in an abstract way. When I was young I loved dolphins and would copy the artist Wyland’s work until I got it right, then I had my Picasso phase, Seurat phase, Van Gogh phase, this list goes on. I would copy the famous artists I loved and their styles until I was in college studying art and essentially finding my own style of expression. I always took art seriously and received a BA in fine art from the University of Arizona. After graduating and fearful of becoming the “starving artist” stereotype, I furthered my education at FIDM and became an interior designer for decades. I was fortunate to have a successful career in interiors, but I realized the passion wasn’t there anymore.

After my dad suddenly passed away I have been reflecting on my life, my values, and my priorities. Both of my parents were my biggest fans, but my dad took the love of my art to the next level and kept every one of my childhood artworks, not allowing me to sell them! His sudden death hit me hard and through my grief I started painting again and decided to put all of my energy into living my dreams of becoming a professional artist. It’s a little secret but I have his vintage Vans sneakers in my studio, reminding me how proud he would be if he could have seen this stage of my life.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

My artwork is as layered and detailed as the many experiences that have made up my life. I aim to create emotional, intuitive paintings that give viewers the opportunity to see themselves reflected in art. I believe abstract work resonates with everyone and meets people where they are. I was drawn to the movement and motion I could create with acrylic pours. This style challenged me to reimagine the layers and texture that have always been central to my work. I work on both canvas and wood panels, and finish each piece with multiple coats of resin, which is smooth and shiny. I hope viewers take pause and look inside themselves when they catch a glimpse of themselves reflected on the surface. I love that interpretations of my work can change over time depending on mood, life circumstances, and viewpoint. This allows the same piece of work to be new over and over again. At a recent exhibit I participated in it was brought to my attention by multiple different collectors that the work took on characteristics of gemstones. This is not something that I had recognized, as I see them on a more emotional level, but was thrilled to see this viewpoint from others. The beauty to me is that we all see something new and different to constantly have a fresh outlook.

What do you find most rewarding about being creative?

I get to be me. I’m private, quirky and somewhat introverted, so this is me at my rawest form. Not everyone gets the same thing out of my work and I have lived enough to appreciate that, without being hurt or offended. I’m fortunate to be able to express myself in a creative manner that is free and speaks to me. I hope to evoke an emotional and positive feeling to the viewer to reflect on a feeling or memory in their own lives.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

For non-creatives that struggle to understand, my advice would be to try to let yourself be open and vulnerable to see things in a new light. We can all learn from seeing things in a fresh way.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.juliecronefineart.com
• Instagram: @juliecronefineart