Zora Neale Hurston

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I’m so excited to share my conversation with Juliet Gilden. Juliet is a passionate post 50 female artist. You’ll see what I mean when you view her paintings.

Her paintings make me smile and I think they will make you smile too. Plus, I’m beyond thrilled that Juliet has agreed to offer a giveaway for one of her prints. Be sure to read all the way to the end and enter this fantastic giveaway.

As she says, “It’s my destiny to speak to all women through my paintings. With optimism, humor, and a bit of firsthand knowledge, I capture the experiences that make us feel happy, confident, and loved – and the ones that are nearly impossible to understand.” Like her mother, she believes that “women and dogs rule the world” It’s so empowering. I think I agree with Juliet and her mom. It’s this philosophy (and her captivating paintings) that made me want to learn more about Juliet and share her story with others.

Audrey Hepburn image

My fav actress Audrey Hepburn

A Passionate Painter

Juliet paints mainly women with themes such as love, zodiacs, yoga, beauty, beach, and more. She also creates portraits of iconic figures and current events. Her portrait of Ruth Bader Ginsburg was featured in The Washington Post shortly after her death and in her recent editorial paintings she has highlighted women and the pandemic.

Juliet sells copies of her paintings on her website and does custom work for those who commission her. Some images are available on printed and hand painted bags. There’s even a tarot card deck. Her paintings make great holiday or birthday gifts for females young and old.

Let’s hear more from Juliet…

Juliet Gilden

Juliet Gilden is a post 50 female artist and painter

Tell me about your background, have you always enjoyed painting?

Juliet: “I grew up in a creative family. My mother was an artist and my father had studied acting and spent about 10 years in New York city doing acting work in theaters. Once my parents married, they left NYC, came back to Baltimore, MD and opened an art gallery together. They ran the gallery for over 45 years. I spent my childhood in that gallery, meeting artists from all over the world and going to art galleries and museums with my mother. We talked about art as a family and just about anything creative – great books, plays, art and music.

I loved drawing and painting and making collages ever since I can remember. And when I was 7 years old, my mother displayed some of my collages in her art gallery and actually ended up selling them to an interior decorator. It was my first sale!”

How did you turn your passion for painting into a business?

Juliet: “It was not until my sophomore year in college that I realized I wanted to study painting. Once I graduated college, I briefly tried to sell my artwork instead of getting a full-time job in an office. But, after a short time, a friend asked me if I wanted a part time job. I took it for extra money and it quickly turned into a full-time job. Before I knew it, I was a part of the regular office workforce and my dreams of making it as an independent artist were put on hold.

A few years ago, a lot of big changes happened in my life without me planning for them to happen. These changes slowly opened up my eyes to the fact that I was not following my professional passions in life. And it was then that I decided I would try to make my living and my day to day life all about art. I started by posting my artwork on Instagram and Facebook and by making sure to paint every day.”

Yoga on the beach image

My two loves – yoga on the beach

You have an interesting philosophy about your art. Can you explain those BIG EYES on your bodies?

Juliet: “My paintings are mostly about emotions. I try to convey feelings through long limbs, feet and hands and especially through the eyes. Expressions captured in a look convey so much about a person. Even without speaking and without very much body language, you can determine many things about how someone feels just through a look in their eye. I am always trying to bring that through in my paintings and the larger the eyes – the more space I have to get across the particular emotions.”

You mentioned that your painting of Ruth Bader Ginsberg appeared in The Washington Post after she passed away. Have you always painted iconic women? Who are your favorites?

Juliet: “I have always painted women. Sometimes the people I choose to paint are purely imaginative, sometimes they are combinations of people I know in everyday life, at times they are people I admire and also people in the public eye that I’ve never met but that I am enamoured of for one reason or another. I especially like the painting that I did of Hattie McDaniel. I was really trying to capture the pride she must have felt on the night she won the Oscar combined with the disappointment she surely must have felt as well due to the racial rules and perspectives that were going on in the country at the time.”

Hattie McDaniel

The iconic collection features Hattie McDaniel and her Oscar

What other themes do you like to paint?

Juliet: “In addition to iconic women, I also love to paint everyday events as well as emotions we all experience. I tend to paint a lot of current events as well – especially if the event has deeply touched me for one reason or another. And, I do a lot of commissioned paintings for people. Many of these pieces are for gifts such as birthdays, anniversaries, Mother’s Day, or just special gifts of love.”

How can people purchase your artwork?

Juliet: “People can purchase my work at  https://www.julietspaintings.com. Also, people can email me at julietspaintings@gmail.com.”

Anything else you would like to add about being a post 50 female artist or suggestions for other post 50 female artists who want to start a business?

Juliet: “Starting a business in your 50’s is a great time to do it. I think women are at their full confidence at this age. It is really a time in life to fully embrace yourself and to feel good about who you are and what you have to offer the world.”

A best-ever giveaway for one of Juliet’s prints

As I mentioned, Juliet has agreed to collaborate on a giveaway for one of her 8×10-inch prints. The winner can choose whichever image she would like for the giveaway! To enter, leave a comment about what creative activity brings you joy during your life after 50 and/or enter the Rafflecopter below. (The giveaway is open to USA residents only.)

Ooh, ooh, ooh, if I had to pick a Juliet print it would be so hard to decide. I love them all. Ooh, ooh, ooh, I think I would have to choose one of my fav actress, Audrey Hepburn. Ooh, ooh, ooh, the yoga print is also a fav.

Judi

a Rafflecopter giveaway