We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Juliet Gilden a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Juliet, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you take us back in time to the first dollar you earned as a creative – how did it happen? What’s the story?
My mother was an artist and she and my father owned an art gallery together for over 45 years. A great deal of my childhood was spent in their gallery and making drawings, collages and paintings. My mother always had these great small books on hand that were filled with samples of the latest wallpapers – it was the 1970’s. My mom would let me make collages from these beautiful papers and I enjoyed it so much that I’d spend hours creating. One day when I was about 7 years old, after a long day of cutting and pasting, I left my latest creations in the gallery and went home for the day with my parents. The next morning, my mother decided to frame each of my pieces and display them. About a week or two later, an interior decorator came in and purchased all four collages! That was my very first sale.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I paint with acrylics on paper and canvas. My studio is located in Baltimore, and I was trained at the Maryland Institute College of Art. My style is free-form and reinterprets reality in my own loose terms, showing the world I see as sunny, hopeful and optimistic. I’m Influenced by an eclectic mix of styles and artists – everything from surrealism to realism, Botticelli to Botero. Mostly, however, I am inspired by the works of my mother, Miriam Bransky Gilden, a respected professional artist of more than 60 years before she passed away in October 2013. My subjects include women at their most vulnerable and powerful, animals — both domestic and wild, astrology, and social justice.
My parents introduced me to all of the arts and I knew right away as a young child that I was in love with drawing and painting.
I sell my original acrylic paintings on canvas, commissioned pieces, and prints of all of my work. When providing a custom painting, I work closely with the client to really get to know the people that will be portrayed as well as the scene – many times it is a very fond memory for the customer. Then I create a painting through my eyes and in my style. In the end, it is a true collaboration between the customer and the artist.
I am most interested in emotions and attempt to convey them through highly expressive eyes and elongated limbs in my work. I created a portrait of Ruth Bader Ginsburg a year before she passed away. I wanted to develop a portrait that revealed the justice’s strength juxtaposed with her femininity while also conveying her small stature that is intertwined with her larger than life presence. The image of the painting was published in The Washington Post in a special section about RBG. This was definitely my proudest career moment to date!
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding thing for me about being an artist is getting the ability to communicate my viewpoints. Art has a way of disarming people in a way that regular conversation can’t always achieve. Creating work that prompts people to see different perspectives can be incredibly rewarding for several reasons., it challenges the status quo and breaks down barriers, fostering a sense of openness and curiosity. Secondly, it prompts meaningful conversations that encourage critical thinking and empathy, fostering a deeper understanding among individuals. Lastly, witnessing the impact of one’s art on others, as it broadens their horizons and sparks dialogue, can be immensely fulfilling, reaffirming the power of artistic expression to drive positive change in society.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
The building of my social media has been a long and steady process. I started on Facebook and Instagram and began by only posting completed paintings with titles. I slowly started to incorporate posts about my process and inspirations. Eventually, I began to include the backstories to a lot of my pieces – even the super personal stories. I think that adding in more and more of these types of elements allowed people to relate more to what I was doing and ultimately to becoming more interested in my work. I even posted fashion choices for a big art show that I had in L.A. I wanted followers to experience as many aspects of the show with me even if they couldn’t be there in person.
Within time, I started posting on LinkedIn, Youtube and TikTok as well. And every once in awhile, I even tweet a painting out to the world. All of social media is a bit of an intimidating process for me. I often times feel vulnerable since I am sharing my work and personal stories. I know there are always possibilities of mean comments coming my way and a lot do! But I also receive a great deal of positive feedback and I have connected with many people from all over the world and have had fascinating conversations. The whole process is very energized and dynamic for me and I love it – even with the bad parts.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.julietspaintings.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliets_paintings/
- Facebook: Juliet’s Paintings
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliet-gilden-8292766/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/julietanddiego
- Youtube: @julietspaintings