Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Margaret Juul. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Margaret, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

I come from a long line of creative souls throughout my ancestry, Although, I am the only one that made it a profession.

Quick background: During my high school years, I was fortunate to be accepted to a three-year high school program that focused on graphic and commercial arts. After graduation, my freshman year of college was as a fashion design and illustration major before deciding to move on to a Fine Arts Major.

Eight years after receiving my BFA I went back to school to earn 60 credits and enough education to be certified as a licensed interior designer in the state of Florida.

As I worked as a designer, equally, I cultivated my career as a painter. My work was displayed and sold in galleries.

In 2014, after years of upward success I began working as a fine artist and textile designer full time. It’s a challenge; literally a hustle, but I wouldn’t want to live any other way.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I started painting very young. As a child I always had colored pencils in hand. I began with watercolors then on to pastel and finally oils by the time I was 12. My childhood art teachers were extremely supportive, generous, and enthusiastic. Often, they gave me tools from their own art supplies.

Many years after ‘formal’ schooling I explored new, innovative art styles and themes. During the late 1990s, I began incorporating emotion and memories as a method to communicate the direction of my art. By the early 2000s, I was exploring coastal landscapes, with a goal of finding an artistic voice to help the viewer connect and enhance a spirit of beauty, tranquility and relaxation.

I found that Nature was my Muse, with the element of Water as my guide. I view the world with the lens of a shimmering prism- glowing with potentiality. My ‘artistic voice’ – ‘all in all’ is creating and capturing visceral paintings of seas, rivers, lakes and the waves on and below the surface from images I have collected visually from my travels. All I want is for the viewer to dive in.

As a multifaceted artist; with a focus on painting, illustration, interior and textile design for more than two decades, l have cultivated an extensive list of devoted supporters. My work displays prominently in a wide variety of settings—from celebrity homes and corporate lobbies to commercial and hospitality sites internationally.

I have exhibited internationally from San Diego to Boston and London to Beijing. In 2008-2011 I was selected as the American Artist Representative for an exhibition in Baghdad, Iraq. My career has skyrocketed from there.

Over the years, I have shown at New York Hall of Science, Art Basel Miami, Las Vegas Art & Frame, Highpoint Market, Swiss Art Expo, Affordable Art Fair Manhattan, Museum of Arts and Sciences- Daytona, Foosner Art Museum and many other notable locales. My work has appeared in the Danish Magazine X-Ray, Aesthetica Magazine, Florida Design, Boston Yacht Club Magazine, Studio Visit Magazine, Influence Magazine, as well as many other publications, tv shows and commercials. In 2019 and 2020 I was offered the opportunity to participate in two Yoko Ono exhibitions; one in Canada and the other in Iceland.

Gratefully, I am represented by reputable galleries while my prints and textiles are sold by vendors internationally

I currently live and work in the beautiful Tampa Bay area, Florida where inspiration is at every turn.

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?

From experience I understand that non- creatives think artists are aloof and unorganized. I have found that being a professional artist requires laser focus and an incredible drive. Not only in a creative sense but in terms of time and dedication.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Thankfully I had a website by the mid 1990’s. During that period I was able to take advantage of three opportunities: one, being one of the first artists to have an online presence, two to sell my original art on eBay before Chinese reproductions kicked in and three to be one of the first thousand artists selected internationally in the launch of Art.com in the mid 2000’s. That combination was essential. I am grateful to have been in the right place, at the right time.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://margaretjuulpaintings.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/margaretjuul_artanddesign/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/margaretjuulfineart
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaret-juul-6216976/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsquA-NOdpBcJV82RmWk1Hg
• Other: https://www.mcgawgraphics.com/collections/margaret-juul https://www.turningart.com/artist/margaret-juul