Today we’d like to introduce you to Julianne Prior.
Hi Julianne , thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My grandmother was a watercolor artist, so as long as I’ve been able to hold a paintbrush I have been painting. I would sit at her side while she painted and she taught me all about color mixing, composition, and the techniques of great artists in history. As I got older, I forgot a bit about painting- I dabbled in photography and fashion illustration which led to a Fashion Merchandising degree at Virginia Commonwealth University. I came back to Old Town, Alexandria and worked in small businesses helping with everything from merchandising & managing to buying which I still do with Monday’s Child Classics (the BEST children’s store) on Fairfax Street! I eventually got a great opportunity to work as a graphic designer full-time for a print shop in Springfield, learning many particulars about how to design for print ready work. Unfortunately it was only about 2 years until COVID hit and there simply wasn’t enough work for a full-time designer to stay on staff. I had started experimenting with printing a small line of notecards with tiny watercolor illustrations on them in December of 2019, Stuck at home, I pulled out my paintbrushes and created more and more- with the support of Best Impressions, I had officially started a stationary line! Right around this time Made in ALX started doing pop-ups and selling online and it was the perfect timing. I joined up with them and painted denim jackets (which I also sold at Del Ray Vintage & Flea once a month), made jewelry, and slowly expanded my watercolor offerings. Now I have a full line of Old Town themed watercolor cards and prints, as well as a full collection of scenes that make me smile and abstracts.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It hasn’t been smooth, but I’ve always managed to stay on the road in some way! After getting my degree, working for small businesses around Old Town- I was always puzzling together an income. I’ve worked for boutiques in every area of the fashion industry, and for the oldest shops in town, most of the time 2 or more at a time. I learned so much hustling from sun-up to sun-down, running to get things ready and manage stores during the day and often working events at night! I joked at holidays with my family about how many jobs I had at the time- maxing out at I think 5 one Christmas. When I decided to opt for security that was sitting at a desk doing design work, COVID told me that wasn’t going to be my path and I got thrown back into the mix. All the hustling and early mornings and late nights felt different this time though- it was all for something I grew myself. Putting myself out there has been scary but I’m getting better each year at it!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I specialize in watercolor painting right now. I have been working on an Old Town Series which includes many places around town that spark a memory. It may be a restaurant you enjoyed with loved ones, the coffee shop you sit at each morning, or a historic landmark- but each one brings you back to a place in your memory. This has been an incredibly popular series, but I have done some large scale acrylic commissions I am very proud of. In Era on North Fairfax Street, there’s one of my first large-scale commissions that was so scary to take on and even scarier to let go of!
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
I believe the most important lesson I’ve learned is to keep going. It sounds so simple but the most successful people I know have embraced “failure” in such a way that it has reframed into learning! Not everything is going to work, and the risks you take need to be calculated and considered very carefully. If something doesn’t work the way you expected it to, finding the strength in yourself to shore up and take on the next opportunity with what you’ve got left could truly lead you to unexpected success! It doesn’t feel great everyday but to keep going when it doesn’t makes all the difference.
Pricing:
- Commissions start at $175
- Live Illustration starts at $1000
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.juliannewoehrle.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julianne_makes_art?igsh=OG9nZTB0Nm9rZW52&utm_source=qr
