We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Julie Snidle a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Julie, thanks for joining us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

My parents were teenagers in rural Minnesota during WWII. Howard and Shirley were good kids who graduated from the same high school and married in their early twenties; I came along in 1955 as their first born. Throughout my childhood my parents provided me with the supplies and materials needed to make paper dolls, sewing projects, and little cardboard houses. I remember receiving my first camera from them in third grade.

Mom encouraged my creativity by enrolling me in a community art class when I was 10; Dad entered my oil painting into an art contest at Medtronic, where he worked. I was 13. I dont remember if I won or not but his belief in me left a lasting impression. My parents were resourceful, thrifty, and handy. Dad could build or fix practically anything and Mom’s sewing skills were extraordinary. She won awards for her floral arrangements, too. Together they did all the finish work on the new house that our family of 5 moved into in 1964. Dad continued to work as an engineer and Mom raised us kids and did volunteer work. Although I didn’t realize it at the time, supporting myself through college helped me appreciate the value of a dollar and how to do more with less. I was fortunate in that I grew up with everything I needed rather than everything I wanted.

Our family vacations centered around camping. Tent camping at first, and then graduating to a pop-up tent trailer pulled by a station wagon as we explored Minnesota’s State Parks. We eventually took road trips throughout the Western states and Canada; hiking, swimming, canoeing, and most of all appreciating the beauty of nature and the simple things in life. I am forever grateful to my parents for nurturing my love of the outdoors and my passion for travel. These themes continue to inspire my work to this day.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

People describe me as organized and creative; someone who is both detail oriented yet able to see the big picture. I was a teacher before I was an artist. My years as a school teacher, corporate trainer and administrator helped me realize that I didn’t need an art degree to be an artist. Since I could teach others, I could surely teach myself by reading, drawing and painting regularly, and taking workshops from artists whose work I admire. The other good news is that the art journey has no end, so I can continue to learn and create for the rest of my life.

In 2004 I took an Encaustic workshop in Cleveland, Ohio. (Did you know that humans have been painting with wax for over 2000 years?! The Greek word Encaustic means “to heat” which refers to the process of fusing the molten wax paint with heat after each layer of application.) Anyway, this workshop opened up a world for me! Imagine working with a paint that can become 3-dimensional, or carved and scratched into. Even the surface quality of a wax painting is dreamy, ethereal, sensual. I was smitten.

For ten years I worked primarily with encaustic, exploring its potential and teaching it to others. In 2014 I was invited to become one of six Artist/Educators for R&F Handmade Paints, the folks who make these high quality encaustic and oil paints. Painting with oils soon became part of my art practice, too, as I learned to combine cold wax medium, a thickening agent, to my oil paints. Both mediums allow me to work in layers, scrape back through, adding and subtracting, until the painting feels complete.

Now, with my sixties in the rear view mirror, I am more focused on painting authentically to create my best work. Having the memory of places I’ve visited or the colors from a hiking path as my muse, my hope is to make the world just a little bit more beautiful one painting at a time.

Here is my Bio:

I am a full time abstract painter with classroom teaching experience and a background in corporate training and administration. I was introduced to wax-based media in 2004 and have made it my primary focus since then. I am one of the original six Artist/Instructors for R&F Handmade Paints and an Artist Ambassador for Ampersand Art Panels. I am proud to be represented by Canary Gallery in Birmingham, AL and Kolman Reeb Gallery in Minneapolis. My abstract work has received numerous awards and can be found in private collections and public spaces nationwide, Italy, and Portugal. I have taught at Penland School of Craft, Bennington College for North Country Studio Workshops, and continue to teach at many other fine venues throughout the U.S.
Originally from Minneapolis, I currently live in Fairhope, AL where I offer private painting workshops in my studio.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I’ve been asked, “So, how long did it take you to paint that picture?” This seems like a reasonable question for someone, perhaps whose own work is measured by quantity of time or in reproducible products. But to an artist, this is a difficult if not impossible question to answer. Although I may have worked on a particular painting for several weeks, it actually took several years or even decades to master the skills and develop the creative abilities necessary to render the piece with confidence and clarity. My journey as a creative evolves as I become less attached to what others think of my work and instead become more engaged with how I want my art to be. I think it’s important to remember that each creative journey is unique; one size definitely does not fit all. Every artist is an individual with their own story to tell and with their own way of telling it. It helps to look at visual art as another language, something to be appreciated rather than measured.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Since my creative journey is one of my own making, I found many sources to be useful along the way and continue to work well for me in my art practice. First of all, I keep all of my finished paintings in an online database called ArtworkArchive. I have been using it to track the location and sales of my work for years – I highly recommend it.

Art history books are enlightening and help us understand the significance of the creative journey we’re on. I enjoy reading about the lives of my favorite artists. It’s fascinating to find out more about who they were and how they lived and worked. I just finished “Ninth Street Women” by Mary Gabriel – a must read.
Other favorites include: “Steal Like an Artist” by Austin Kleon (all of his books are gems); “Big Magic” by Elizabeth Gilbert; “All it Takes is a Goal” by Jon Acuff (and other goal setting books by Jon); “Daily Painting” by Carol Marine; “Expressive Drawing” by Steven Aimone; “Still – the Art of Noticing” by Mary Jo Hoffman; “The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain” by Betty Edwards; and “The Creative Act” by Rick Rubin.

There are archived episodes of The Messy Studio podcast with Rebecca Crowell which I found helpful as well as
Alyson B Stanfield, podcast host and founder of artbizsuccess.com.

We are so fortunate to live in a time with so many resources available.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.juliesnidle.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/juliesnidle
• Facebook: Facebook.com/julie.snidle

Image Credits
Julie Snidle