Life & Work with Julia Barrett

Today we’d like to introduce you to Julia Barrett. 

Hi Julia, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I–like many artists–have been creating my whole life. One of my first memories of making artwork is sitting at my dinner table painting watercolor Bob Ross-like trees and waterfalls with my mom. Another big reason for being an artist is finding my mom’s late fiancé’s (a man she knew before meeting my dad) sketchbooks and hiding them in my room, going through them, and re-sketching all the beautiful nude women sketches that were in the book in my own sketchbooks…I always say this is how I got my obsession with creating nude figurative artwork! 

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I think for most artists, it’s not a smooth road…it’s not like we, as artists, have picked an easy path like accounting to go down. Even the idea of becoming an artist can be very daunting for family members of the artist. I had a lot of pushback from my dad when I was trying to pick where to go for my higher education. I wanted so badly to go to an art school, but the idea of me going into art seemed to scare the crap out of my dad…needless we had a lot of arguments when I was a young adult about how I will make money, how he didn’t want me to be broke or have to rely on him for money and I would respond saying I wasn’t going into the arts to make money…he didn’t much care for that response nor do I think that response gave him assurance that I would be safe and secure, but eventually he relented and started supporting myself as an artist rather than worrying so much about my financial ability to be an artist. 

And of course, there are times when I am struggling to create, periods of depression where ideas don’t come, periods of anxiety where too many projects are overwhelming me, there’s plenty of rejection where I don’t get into an art show, or a client doesn’t like the work I made for them, or whatever…but that’s life. You have to roll with the punches, accept them, and keep moving…keep creating no matter what. It’s inside you, and it wants out. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am an oil painter, mural artist, digital artist, video creator, sewer, and sculptor…I love getting my hands on different ways to create and believe that certain subjects of work are best presented with specific ways of creating. In essence, I am a mixed medium artist, and my true love is painting. 

I known for: 

– painting realistic nude oil paintings of life-sized people which explores how we see others and ourselves. 

– street art which calls out gun violence/police brutality/murder/femicide and emphasizes who the victims of these crimes are and how their lives and stories are much more than their endings. I have had my street art up here in the US and in France. 

– my pussy pillows and sex educational artwork which are sold in stores across Ohio (including Urban Handmade and Wild Cat Gift and Party)…these are made to talk about sex education and to uplift people through body positivity and social change. 

– illustrating a novel written in 17th-century style French (including having to read and translate it in order to create the work) for an OSU professor. 

– creating Hocus Pocus Spellbook Pillows, selling them on Etsy, then being discovered by Disney and having them featured in the new Hocus Pocus 2 movie 

I am most proud of how far I have pushed myself from starting to get a few commissions from family and friends of their houses or animals to getting commissions for my own art style, working with clients such as OSU and Disney, creating bigger and bigger artwork, having my artwork be featured in galleries both here in the US and abroad, and working with several galleries and business owners to curate several art shows around Columbus. 

I would say what sets me apart from others is my strength and willingness to keep going, to keep pushing myself, and to keep setting higher and higher goals for myself and my artwork. Being an artist is not easy, and a lot of the times it is so appealing to give up or to put your own artwork on hold while either working or doing artwork for others…but at the end of the day, I remind myself that I am creating for myself and that I need to constantly and continuously put my artwork out there in the world. And I hope I can encourage and inspires others to as well! 

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I have lived in Columbus all my life for the exception of living in France two separate times in my life. The first time I was studying abroad in Paris, and the second, I was living and working in a city called Rouen (which is 1 and half hours north of Paris). I was living in Rouen for about 8 months up until the pandemic hit and then did another month of living there in quarantine until I forced myself to come back to Columbus. Living in France impacted my life and work greatly and will forever have a hold on my heart, and surprisingly it has made me admire Columbus even more…to see what a wonderfully impactful and creative community we have here, and this makes me want to strive for the best for the Columbus arts scene/community. Right now, I am living at Milo Arts and plan on staying here in Columbus and making it an even bigger, more badass arts community than ever! It is my idea that the art world is hard enough, so why not uplift and show off your fellow artists, so if there is ever any artists out there who want to show their art, need help with their creative process, or want to know of opportunities here in the Columbus art world (or art world in general) then please reach out! I may be busy, but I’m always happy to help. 

Pricing:

• pricing for murals: $15/square foot- basic color blocking/basic design. $25/square foot- normal mural design. $35/square foot- advanced/detailed mural
• Pricing for oil paintings: 5×7 inch…$100 10×10 inch…$200 11×14 inch…$240 12×12 inch…$250 12×16 inch…$260 16×18 inch…$300 18×20 inch…$350 20×24 inch…$400
• Pricing for pussy pillows: mini pussy pillow…$15. small pussy pillow…$25. medium pussy pillow…$40. large pussy pillow…$60

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jlbart.com
• Instagram: jlb.art
• Other: www.juluncensored.com