We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Juliet Stockton. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Juliet below.

Hi Juliet , thanks for joining us today. Let’s jump back to the first dollar you earned as a creative? What can you share with us about how it happened?

The first painting I ever sold was a portrait I painted of Olivia Newton-John as ‘Bad Sandy’ in Grease, in 2020. I shared it on my Instagram page that I’d recently set up to share my work, with related Olivia and Grease hashtags and it was picked up and shared by an Olivia fan account with a big following. Being new to Instagram I was absolutely thrilled that this had happened! Then, that same day I had dm’s from two people who had seen my painting on the fan account asking to buy it! I couldn’t believe it!! I sold it to the first person that messaged me, which turned out to be James King, well known writer, broadcaster and movie critic! I was over the moon. It was just the best feeling!! because I felt that this was a real sign that my work was valued and could potentially be commercially viable as a full time career, which was my dream. Also James King has been a wonderful supporter of my work and I have become great friends with Kerry who runs the fan account @olivianewtonjohnpics

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 back background and context?

I was constantly drawing faces and people as a child and teenager, my grandad had been an award winning artist in the 1920s/30s and he was a great influence on me. He’d mainly done landscape etchings but there were some life drawings of ladies from the 20’s – flapper style, which I was really drawn to. His work was kept in a spare bedroom upstairs and my Nanna always tried to get up the stairs before me to stop me looking at the rude drawings, but never made it in time! I wanted a creative career and at 18 was offered a place at art college, however, that meant continuing to live at home, I wasn’t unhappy at home but at that age I was desperate for the party life, plus everyone said in those days that there was no money in art, so I moved away to party and study communication and marketing studies at university instead and after that somehow ended up following the corporate pathway. I had a varied 25-year career in Human Resources and worked at a senior level and for several different organisations.

I always knew something was missing, but it wasn’t till my children were growing up and becoming more independent that I finally realised I had been denying my instrinsic creative spirit for far too long. So, I starting drawing portraits again, initially painting them in black and white tones and then taught myself to paint in colour from you-tube and by following other artists I admired whose work resonated with me, During lockdown, I loved taking part in the Sky Arts online portrait artist of the week competitions every Sunday, where you painted a celebrity sitter in 4 hours and I think working at that speed really helped me to develop my own distinct style. I took part in NHS Portraits for Heroes and my portrait of Natalie and her dogs was chosen to be published in the Portraits for NHS Heroes Book, by Bloomsbury. Also around this time, I was shortlisted for an award, my paintings were starting to sell on Instagram and I had a long list of colleagues wanting commissions, all of which encouraged me that my dream of being a full time artist might actually be a real possibility. I took a brilliant 6 month online business course for artists by Amanda Heath called Passion Into Profit and in 2021, I decided it was time to take the big leap, I resigned from my job in HR and jumped in with both feet determined to work hard and follow my passion and dream to become a full-time artist.

I paint portraits in a distinctive, vivid style, with vibrant, acrylic paint and bold, energetic brush marks to capture the very essence, personality, and life force of the subject, aiming for the painting to almost leap off the page. My inspirations are pop culture, fashion history and the rich, tropical colours of my childhood growing up in Papua New Guinea.

I bring my clients vibrant, pop-culture portraits bursting with energy, life, joy and nostalgia. Taking them back in time to relive the magic of their favorite moments! evoking blissful memories of simpler, carefree days.

I’m now represented by several galleries, sell my work online from my website and undertake regular portrait commissions. My paintings and prints sell internationally and I am collecting celebrity clients. My artwork has been featured on BBC Radio, in Cheshire Life, The West Australian and I have been lucky enough to work with the iconic, wonderful cast of GREASE from the original 1978 movie (with my Grease collection) and Koalabair Promotions as their resident artist. Last year I presented Gino D’Acampo with his portrait in collaboration with Gino restaurants. and one of the things I am most proud of is that my painting of Olivia Newton-John ‘Love and Light’ has been donated to hang in her Wellness Centre, in Melbourne.

I’m based in Cheshire, UK, with my family and work from my new studio at Brimstage Hall, a beautiful grade 1 listed building on the Wirral, with Cassie my labrador as my snoozing studio assistant.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist for me is when I get to spend time painting and immersing myself in the creative process. Running and managing my business in order to make a living as an artist takes up the majority of my time. As a self representing artist you wear many different hats including; marketing, sales, website management, social media, promotion, accountant, packing and shipping etc.

I try to work on the business/admin side of things in the mornings so I can paint in the afternoons, however, often it’s already going dark by the time I get to move off business tasks and to think about starting painting and it doesn’t happen. Therefore the time I get to spend creating is very precious and I’m currently trying to work smarter by automating some of my systems so I can spend more of my time creating and painting.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Networking/working with other artists and learning from each other has been really beneficial for me, I wish I had known how to go about this earlier on and known where to find artist groups/collaboratives etc. Artists are generally a really friendly bunch keen to share knowledge, opportunites and support each other. The Visual Art Association has been a great source of resources and knowledge for me, they offer mentoring opportunities as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://julietstocktonart.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julietstocktonart/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/julietstocktonart/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliet-stockton-352695246/
• Twitter: https://x.com/StocktonJuliet

Image Credits

Be Bold (Photography)