An Interview with Local Artist Gina Julian

photo credit-Gina Julian

Gina Julian is a Franklin resident and local artist who sells her artwork almost instantly through her Instagram account. Though art was a hobby it’s now a full-time endeavor and collectors can’t get enough of her pieces.  We sat down with Julian to learn more about how she got started and what inspires her.  To see her collection visit her Instagram account or Gina Julian Art website. 

Tell us about yourself?

I’m a full-time artist based in Franklin. My work is mostly abstract, although I’ve been known to create figurative works as well when the mood strikes. I work in my home studio with my greyhound Eric as my muse.

How did you get started in art?

I started painting in kindergarten when I was five years old and it has been in my blood ever since. No matter what type of job I’ve had throughout the years, I’ve always kept fine art as a personal hobby. I landed a job as a typesetter while I was in college and taught myself graphic design from that experience. Since then I’ve worked at ad agencies, magazines, and eventually came full circle to start a career in fine art.

As an artist with a studio in your home, how do you separate work and home?

I actually don’t even try to separate the two. I enjoy my job so much that it really doesn’t bother me to work at any time of day. I think it helps to be able to work for an hour, then take a break and walk the dog or do house work, then come back to a painting with fresh eyes. Sometimes it can help me see if there are any unresolved parts that need more work.

Living in Franklin, is there one thing in the area that inspires you?

I wouldn’t say that living in Franklin provides direct inspiration for my art, but the community has definitely been very supportive of my work. The fact that our town has a regularly attended art crawl says a lot about how much Franklin values the fine arts. It’s good to see lots of people out on the town enjoying our art scene.

What would you say is your signature style?

My signature style is technically considered “hard edge abstraction” or “geometric abstraction”, but I prefer to call it Op Art (or Optical Art). I paint fields of flat color that give the optical illusion of bending at certain points to create a three-dimensional shape on a flat canvas. I have a bit of a fascination with straight lines. I also use straight lines to create my pop art portraits which are computer illustrations. I stack blocks of geometric color to create the portraits and there is not a single curved line in any of them.

Your last collection sold out almost immediately, what do you think drew collectors to the pieces?

I think collectors are drawn for a few reasons. My op art paintings are quite different from what most other abstract artists are painting. They are very clean and graphic, and they tend to work well in both modern and traditional spaces. Another reason could be the bold and playful color combinations which I’m known for. And lastly, I always try to show collectors what a piece could look like in their home. Many people have trouble visualizing this, so I do my best to showcase my work in this way.

gina julian artThe latest release is different from the pop-art pieces, why the change?

I have such a love and appreciation for many styles of art, and I think it’s important to exercise all my creative muscles so they don’t atrophy. After doing hard edge painting for several months I find myself longing to paint loose, bold brushstrokes and to just be free to see where it takes me. It truly does exercise a different part of my brain when I switch things up. I also love painting figurative works so you’ll see some of those in my portfolio as well. Variety is important because it allows me the opportunity to come back to a subject matter with a fresh perspective, and that is how my work will continue to grow.