Visual Artist Julie Riley

Rodney is joined by Julie Riley, a visual artist & President of the Dayton Society of Artists' Executive Board, to discuss the importance of a business mindset in the art world, and how important it can be for artists to connect with their communities.

Follow Julie on all social media: @julierileyart 

Transcript

Julie Riley  00:02

My philosophy has always been, we have one chance on this earth to do what we wanted, and I've done that by traveling a lot, by learning different things, becoming, you know, this or that, doing an artist or being an artist. And it's just do it. A lot of people think about things, but probably 98% of them don't do it. Just paint.

Rodney  00:39

Well, hello, everyone. This is Rodney bill, the host of Rodney Bill's inspired by and today I get to talk to another one of my favorite people in the whole wide world, artist Julie Riley. She's a Dayton based artist who is, who does, I think, just about anything and everything, as far as art make in and it's just, and it's just such a joy and a pleasure. And I own several of her pieces of art in our house. And so it's, it's, it's a fan boy extravaganza for me. So Julie, welcome to the podcast.

Julie Riley  01:13

Thank you very much, Rodney, I appreciate being here. So I

Rodney  01:17

this the podcast is always kind of like, you know, I always follow this thing of, like, asking people their origin story. I feel like I'm asked. I feel like I'm talking to superheroes and saying, So, how did you develop your superpowers? But like, but like, like, how did it all begin? I'm like, were you always a creative person as a child? Or, how did this start? All this all begin?

Julie Riley  01:38

Yeah, I was. I started taking lessons, private lessons, when I was like seven years old, because I like to draw on my mom and dad really supported that. So I took lessons from David Smith and Lloyd Austin Dorf, who were well known artists back in the that would be the late 60s, actually, and took no,

Rodney  02:02

yeah, I didn't. I honestly, Julie, I didn't realize. I'm not saying

Julie Riley  02:09

I am that old.

Rodney  02:10

No, I can't. I'm shocked. Well, that's

Julie Riley  02:15

nice to hear. That

Rodney  02:16

was a total compliment. Oh, I was expecting, like you were gonna say late, late 70s.

Julie Riley  02:24

Okay, it would have been in 1968 to be exact, really. So, yeah, so I took private lessons from them for probably about seven years or so, and we spent a lot of time just drawing because back at that point and before that, you know, artists, you know, really believed that you had to get your drawing skills down really good before jumping into painting and stuff. So I appreciate that I was able to get that education, because it really has helped out. But then I went to Dayton Living Art Center as a kid. Oh,

Rodney  03:03

you did, yeah, which was I did not realize she went to Dayton Living Art Center. I did,

Julie Riley  03:08

yeah, yeah. I went there for a few years and took, they had me take a pottery class, which I really wasn't into. But then I took drawing and painting after that, which I love. But yeah, that experience was just something else, particularly for a little kid. I just thought, you know, I was on top of the world going into this old factory that had been converted to a place where there's so many performing arts, visual arts, just everything was there. And it was just so cool.

Rodney  03:37

Oh, it's every everybody who's talked to me about the Living Arts Center, I said it was just magical place. It

Julie Riley  03:44

was, it was just amazing. And I never saw any because I was in painting and drawing, I guess. But you know, some big celebrities for the time used to go there and would work with the performing arts kids and whatnot, and just really neat stories that come from there.

Rodney  04:04

I love it. I mean, so you so, like, you like you knew, like, this is your kind of, you know, like that thing, like, because I've talked to some folks, there was one matter of fact, the podcast just aired, just aired today, Mike Stankovic, who he his dream was to be a forest ranger, and he's now a restaurant tour and a cocktail mixologist. Yeah. I mean, did you, I mean, did you into a vision, like, I want to be something else, other than an artist, or did this? Was this, like, this, is it? For

Julie Riley  04:37

a long time, I wanted to be an anthropologist, really? Yeah, and I'm not sure where that came from, because I have no interest in that, and since I've been an adult, so I don't know where that came from.

Rodney  04:50

I mean, I mean, because, you know, obviously, you know, there wasn't, like, some famous TV show with some Anthropo anthropologists on it. No,

Julie Riley  04:56

no. But in the back of my mind, I always want. To be an artist, and after Dayton Living Arts Center, then I took classes at Dayton Art Institute, and moved on then to Sinclair and Wright State. I didn't major in Fine Arts. I majored in Graphic Communications, is what it was called at the time, which is now known as graphic arts, printing, pre press, all that type of stuff, really.

Rodney  05:25

So you just, I mean, did you pursue it in the with the intention of, like, I'm going to work in an office and

Julie Riley  05:31

kind of, yeah, I wanted, I originally wanted to major in fine arts, but I don't recall my parents saying anything. But I remember being concerned about making money, so I thought I better go into the graphic arts, which did provide me a really nice living. Oh,

Rodney  05:53

it's awesome. So where did you probably like, I mean, as with graphic art? I mean, where did you land with it. I mean, well,

Julie Riley  06:02

I actually I ended up doing really well. I first, I was working for some companies in Dayton, and I supervised departments and whatnot. And then I moved on to a company down in Cincinnati. I commuted between Kettering and Cincinnati for about 20 years, and, yeah, it wasn't that bad, you know, it's about a 40 minute drive, so okay, you are away, yeah. So it wasn't horrendous or anything. But the company I went to work for, they were really into the technology of printing and pre press and all that, and so I managed the departments. And then when this little computer came out in the 80s, Macintosh computer, I just couldn't get over it. I was just overwhelmed with what it could do. So I kind of changed what I was doing from the graphic arts and I went into building workflows for businesses, consulting for Apple and Adobe and I did it. We travel around the country, and we would teach different printing companies and marketing graphics firms and whatnot, first how to use a mouse. You show them what a mouse was, and then how to use it and teach them how to use the Macintosh in their workflows. So, yeah, so I did that for a long time. I had a business with a partner. It was called intermedia, and we actually built workflows for businesses that automated the entire pre press graphics process, and I did that, all that between going to Sinclair and working in these businesses and having my own companies and whatnot, that Took about 30 years to get through.

Rodney  08:01

Oh, my God. I mean, I had no idea that you were kind of in this other world. I've only known you as a as a fine artist, a visual artist, but this graphic world, I mean, with the fact that you said a Macintosh, but just tells you know, for those youngsters out there, it's not an apple. It was a Macintosh first. So it's like, yeah, I remember when that post came out. We were, oh, it was unbelievable. It was it was really game changing. And what excited you about this whole introduction of computer technology with Macintosh into your world.

Julie Riley  08:41

Well, just, just honestly, the technology itself, I found fascinating. I knew people years ago who had computers in their homes, but, you know, they were so basic. They weren't Macintosh computers, you know, they're all PCs. And it was just so neat, you know, to see the DOS languages pop up and whatnot, and it just once I saw what it could do as they came out with little more powerful software, and learned how it could affect my industry. Anyway, I just really got behind it and wanted to use it. And you know, unfortunately, that meant automating jobs, which was the unfortunate part of it, but it changed the printing industry. You know, just absolutely, completely

Rodney  09:30

it was, was the, I mean, because I forgive my naivete or lack of knowledge, but I kind of get the impression that printing was a big deal in southwest Ohio. Oh,

Julie Riley  09:41

it was. We had McCall's, which was the world's biggest printing company, and our Donnelly was in Cincinnati, which, at its time, when it was going big, it was the world's largest printing company, and just so many printers between Dayton. Area. It was just an amazing time for printing.

Rodney  10:05

Oh yeah. Oh my god, you were there. I love it. How did that also? How did that, like, introduction of technology? Because I don't necessarily see the influence, but it could be. But how did that influence the kind of work, art and work that you make right now. You know,

Julie Riley  10:23

it really hasn't. The technology itself hasn't, but knowing the business side of business really helped my art career move quickly in this past seven years. And you know, I've been back in art for seven years only, and it's really helped me speed up with selling and whatnot. So that's I had to sell. I spent 10 years caring for my parents. They both had dementia at same time, so I did that full time. So when I came out of that, I decided I actually was going to get back into developing websites for people, because I had done that a little bit too, and I had done like my fifth website, and this is after they both had passed away. And I was like, if, if I passed away right now, if I was dropping to the ground. What would I say? I wish I would have and automatically been an artist, came to my mind. So I finished the websites I had contracted to do, and I scraped up a little money I had left after not working for 10 years and started in the art industry, and have not looked back since, wow. I

Rodney  11:44

mean, you know, thing is, I've known you in that seven year window of time, and it is you have taken off like a moonshot. I mean, as as far as the business, and I because, and you and I have talked about like that artist and art making, yes, it's lovely. You know, it could be a beautiful, beautiful thing. But a lot of times I think that there's this mistaken belief that you don't have to have a business mindset to be an artist. And I feel like that's kind of a fatal flaw for most artists.

Julie Riley  12:22

Yeah, I agree with that. I do these workshops. I do them for locally and universities and colleges, and it's how to have a sustainable business in the arts. And I always make it clear at the beginning, not every artist is interested in selling, you know, artists that have a healthy bank account, or they have someone to help finance, whether it's a spouse or whatever, help finance their career. They don't need to worry about it. But for so many of us who don't have a second income, maybe we have empty bank accounts and whatnot, you have to put the business side of art first, and that's such an important thing to do. And it's even the business side of art, if you have to sell, or you want to sell, is, in my opinion, more important than how good you are as an artist.

Rodney  13:15

Oh, that is so true. I mean, because, well, that's, I love the fact how you talked about that, because it's like there are some people who can afford to just make art for arts. You know, they can make it the art. But then there's this, you know, there is this pragmatic side to it that I just always felt like, even with when I, when I got my degree back in the day, back in the 80s, I just felt like the business side was never mentioned. Oh,

Julie Riley  13:41

it wasn't, and it doesn't appear to be too much anymore. Now, I know universities are starting to pull away from, you know, art courses and whatnot, but I talked to so many people who are in school now, or they've recently graduated, and they wanted to become a freelance artist, but they don't have a clue how to go about doing it, because they weren't taught business or marketing in school. And at best, I met a young lady who had just graduated, might have been from UD, actually, and she took a class on marketing. And I told her, that's that's really not enough. You don't need to go get a degree or anything in business, but you've got to, you've got to know about it and understand business to be a successful artist.

Rodney  14:33

I'm glad you talked to her, because one of the things that you know coming out of he had all this, you know, this business experience 30 years in graph in the graphics printing industry, and then you're having to take care of your parents. It's like a lot of people don't necessarily understand that you're starting at at a different time frame in life than. Most artists and and I'm kind of curious as like we and I've talked about it, but it's like, how that impacts the kind of work that you make and why you make what you make. And it always seems to kind of, there seems to be this subtext to the work that it may not be readily available to others, just because I just kind of, I know you and you know, I just a fan. So talk about that to me. I mean, well,

Julie Riley  15:24

for me, when I first got into art, I was 57 and I really didn't think much of it, you know, I'm going to start art, and I just sat down and started painting, and then that's when I realized I had to run it as a business. I just couldn't sit there and paint. But as I've been painting, I've kind of thought, you know, now I'm 63 so I have maybe 22 years left to paint, you know, if things are going good, and I keep that in mind. But when I first started back to painting, I started with what I ended up as a kid painting, and that was a lot of representational work, so some birds and flowers and whatnot, which I love birds, I love flowers. But as I painted, I wanted to start changing some of the techniques I used. So I was moving into Impressionism and abstract and expressionism. I just decided that whatever I get interested in, I should pursue that and see how I like it, rather than I know, a lot of people say, Well, you should just stick with one technique so people recognize your work. But I don't think I have time for that, you know. So I'm going to do what I want to do and what I like to do.

Rodney  16:41

I love that. You talked about this. I don't have time for that. And I was talking with, talking to James Pate and, and he talked about, he wasn't interested. I mean, he has, he does series of art pieces, but he, he, he wasn't interested in it. As an art maker. He, he's more interested in, like, well, let me explore some stuff, you know? And I hear this from a lot of artists. I mean, it's like, why? But it's like, is it because you start it late? Do you feel like it's like, you know what? I don't I don't have to follow the formula. I don't have to follow the because I feel like, sometimes it feels like such a routine for younger artists, like, go to school, go to grad school, set up your practice, you know, follow these kind of sort of dogmas, but you kind of Buck all of that, just

Julie Riley  17:31

Yeah, I think, you know. And part of what happened to me, I was lucky where I shared some space with Mike Elsa when I first came to Front Street where my studio is, and I listened to him a lot. He's been an artist for 25 years, so he had a lot of good advice, and I really took it to heart in listening. And I think some of his advice really helped speed up my career faster, and then my experience in business over the past 2030, years, that also helped speed things up, too.

Rodney  18:10

Okay, so look, go ahead. Go ahead. No,

Julie Riley  18:12

I was gonna say to you know, I recognize the fact whether you're selling widgets or you're selling artwork, you know, you can't sit in your studio and wait for somebody to knock on the door, because that's just not going to happen. You've got to get out there and network. And I'm really an introvert and a half, and when I was working in the technology area, that was easy thing to be because we all were introverted. Nobody talked to each other. And now I really had to work hard at getting out and going to different functions, the art functions, and networking and what. And I I was so pleased I did it successfully. And it was hard at first, it was really hard, but doing those kinds of things really help speed up my art processes, and plus, I was introduced to new art, and you do get influenced by that too. So that helped a lot.

Rodney  19:11

Well, I I'm kind of curious, if, like, I'm wondering, because you know, Southwest Ohio, but didn't Dayton is so rich with artists you can almost art makers. You can't walk down the street and not trip over an artist. Oh, yeah. Like, how, I mean, what's what's that like within the early stages, what was that like? Like you, you're basically in this giant ecosystem that is pretty big.

Julie Riley  19:38

Well, it was a surprise to me, because I had been out of that field for so long, even though I was in printing, graphic arts, that type of stuff. But I had been away from artists for so long, so when I got back in it, and I just started meeting different artists, and I took a couple workshops, and they were artists who have become great friends there. Are moving into a Front Street here, you know, I've met a ton of artists, and then going, you know, to DSA, meeting more artists. I even at a certain point, started just posting on Facebook for if anybody's an artist, you know, come to the patio on a bar or something, and we'll talk about art. And that was real successful because artists want to meet other artists, although there's tons of us here. I mean, it really, it's just amazing to me. But they all want to meet each other and get, you know, get to know each other, and grow the artist community. And I think it's continued to grow that way.

Rodney  20:40

I think you're, you're, you're such a great advocate for that. I see you out and I didn't, I would never have picked you as an introverts, introvert,

Julie Riley  20:51

deep inside. I really not that deep inside. I should say I really am.

Rodney  20:56

I mean, I mean, I would never pick that because it just you seem to have navigated it so naturally, and that's why I'm kind of surprised by that, because it's like, oh, there's Julie. She's out, she's very gregarious and meeting people. And, you know, I'm in this business of, like, meeting folks and being out and being very extroverted, yeah, in that sense. And so it always surprised me, like I just, I would when I hear people say that, I go, huh? I've never that's not the vibe I get,

Julie Riley  21:24

so to speak. Yeah, I don't know if it would have been different if I started out young and in a career, I probably wouldn't have been going out to do networking and, you know, going into a gallery or something, seeing if I can get my art in there. But I think as you get older and a lot of respects, you have more confidence in yourself. And although I'm shaking on the inside, on the outside, I can do it.

Rodney  21:53

That's good for people to hear. Because I think a lot of you because it's like it is, you know, it's already fraught making art that you are exposing yourself in many ways, yeah, exactly to this very, you know, very personal experience, like, you know, creating. And so when you're in the creative process, what are you like? Because, like I said, you're like, I love the fact that you experiment. And there's no sort of like, Oh, I am only going to do this. And you talked about that. It's like, I mean, how, how liberating does that feel to you to be? Are you? Are you aware how liberating that is? Or, or, do you just say, Yeah, I miss age. You know, there's that thing there. You know that when turning 50, you just don't care. There's another word I'd use for that, but, yeah, but is that, is that, or is it just something else? Well,

Julie Riley  22:51

I kind of think it's something else, because I'm a private person, so it's taken me a while to get to the point where I want to paint with real, meaningful subjects. I want somebody look at a painting and really become emotional through it. Now, I have had that with even florals that I paint, couple kids, paintings that I've done that have been really emotional for people, but I want it to be more emotional for me. And I started that by doing a I was going to do a series of mental health because my dad's was mentally ill, and he was to had serious suicide attempts. And so as a kid, growing up with a parent that was like, that was really tough, but I found as I started painting those that I was going down a rabbit hole, because it was kind of a bleak black thing to paint about mental illness like that. So I decided I put that aside. I'm still going to do it, but I put it aside, and I still want to do things that are emotional for me, that I can't share with people. You know how it's sometimes hard verbally to share, and I want to do that. And I want my paintings, my forthcoming paintings, to show that

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Rodney  25:12

a part of of when you say very because you've been private, but then you've you've done things in support of charity towards, you know, Alzheimer's research, and you jump saying, like, you're never you're not one to shy away from that personal having an impact on the community. And I mean, talk to like, talk about why that's important for artists to do. Because I feel like sometimes artists think, oh, no, I can't, you know, but I think it's really important and necessary for art to be connected towards these things that we don't necessarily always attribute them to.

Julie Riley  25:52

Yeah, well, I think it's important because, one, it makes other people who aren't familiar with whatever is going on, whether it's dementia or leukemia or whatever, it kind of opens up their eyes a little bit to what's going on. And donating work for the artwork, for those causes, I think, helps a lot. Now, in probably the past four or five years, I try not to donate work, but I donate my time to come in and do life painting at these events, and then the paintings as I do them, I think it's, it's more on a level where people see the artist, they get to a little bit, you know, know the artist while we're Standing there painting. And that if I can explain the paintings that I'm doing to people, then it hits home, hits their hearts a little bit, and they're more inclined to purchase it, and the paintings more inclined to be more meaningful for them.

Rodney  26:55

Oh, wow. I mean, I love I guess I feel like I've seen you do that, and when I've seen you do that, which is a good advice for a lot of artists. It's like that sort of live. It's not plein air, but it's kind of live demo, I guess. Yeah, be a live demo. Well, live demo. And that's a way to give back without it being, feeling like it's some sort of, I must give my art, you know. Yeah, so do you think, I mean, I hope this encourages other artists to kind of go down that pathway, please, by all means, artists, yeah, I hope, yeah. I

Julie Riley  27:29

hope so. And I recommend that artists do that all the time, because it's something that I get a lot out of and getting to hear people's stories and whatnot. This is a little different, but I recently helped another artist with teaching a class, and we worked with neurologists, brain doctors and their patients, and their patients were all terminal, but we worked together on paintings that are going to be hung up at Premier in the ICU unit of the neurology department. And to be able to, you know, that's, that's one type of charity I like working, you know, when you're working with patients and whatnot. So to be able to work with the patients, their doctors, and the patients families, is just so emotional, emotional and enjoyable at the same time. It really means a lot. Oh, wow.

Rodney  28:29

That is wow. I because I always think about, you know, I'm I think about those kind of connective threads. Because there was a an artist that I when I went to grad school at Ohio State, who she was working with patients who had suffered traumatic brain injuries from the wars from any armed conflict. And she was working with them in their with technology to kind of help them regain motor skills through the usages of, um, sort of almost like infrared technology, wow, it was so powerful. I was like, oh, there's, there's a different sort, you know, like, there's a different way to get that kind of satisfaction.

Julie Riley  29:20

Oh, there is, there is. I worked for a couple of years for we care arts, and my job was to go to Miami Valley, downtown and south, and I would do art with the cancer patients who were receiving infusions. And then I would go do, I wouldn't do art with the downtown patients. They were terminal, but I would go and give them art and talk to them. We spent most of the time talking, and it's just they appreciated the art. The family appreciated the art, because for some of them, it's kind of like a legacy. And again, you just. Feel so different about your own artwork when you're working with people in situations like that, and it's just such a lovely feeling to be able to do that.

Rodney  30:12

Oh man, yeah, that was such a cool thing. So I've shifted gears just a bit, just a bit, but it's still in the frame of this conversation is like, when, because now, because I, because I remember, like, just recently, you just did a sort of a group talk, sort of one of those, the sessions I'm gonna look searching for words that you just do something at DSA, where you were dating Society of artists. Were you talking about the purposes of art. It was through

Julie Riley  30:43

DSA, and we did it at Wright State and talked about the business of art to students, and then adults, older adults and whatnot. Were there. We had a really nice audience. Yeah.

Rodney  30:55

So I have a question, what's the what was the number one thing that they had a misconception of about the business of art out of curiosity

Julie Riley  31:05

that they have to work to get their clients in. That you know when you paint and you're selling, you probably paint 50% of the time, and you market and do your business 50% of the time. You know, it's not as

Rodney  31:24

lovely, it's not as glamorous,

Julie Riley  31:27

glamorous at all. You know, you're not painting all day. But I think a lot of them were surprised by that. And another thing, and I just I've had several people tell me just two yesterday that they were surprised, that they should acknowledge people when they come into their studios or look at their art in a gallery. You know, their thought was they could say hello, and that was it. And, you know, wow, yeah. I mean, that's, that's a lot of people, and, you know, I'd explain to them that they need to kind of bring that possible client into the painting. You know, if they see someone looking at a painting, start discussing that painting and why you painted it with them, and ask them what that painting means to them. So it's kind of that communication stuff, or lack of it, is what most people come away with and are really shocked by it.

Rodney  32:21

They're shocked that that that's a, Oh, wow. I mean, I, I would never, I guess, huh? I mean, yeah,

Julie Riley  32:27

there's, well, like I said, there were two people just yesterday talking about it with me. And the one said she used to sit in her studio when people came in and maybe say hi, and now she goes up and greets each one and shakes their hand and talks about her art to them and kind of directs them to a piece of art, maybe, you know, they're interested in looking at and another one same thing she said she would just say hi when they walked in, but now, if somebody's looking at a piece of artwork, she goes over and talks to them about it And what made her paint it and whatnot. And just a lot of artists do not do that.

Rodney  33:05

I That blows my mind a little bit. Because, I mean, be honest with you, it's like I, I feel like I get inspired by just the conversation and knowing where this art, where this piece, came from, because it all, each piece has a different place that you're coming from. And I like that, I mean, so I think it translates into sales. I'm gonna use you as a guinea pig that does translate into people, hopefully buying your work. It does, I mean,

Julie Riley  33:39

and again, if you know, if a potential client, you know, ask a question about an artwork, I think most artists will answer them. But to start the conversation, they're not really good at that. I had, this is the first show I was in, and I had this painting of a abstract bird. It was really cool. And I painted it because I had the idea and I thought it was cool. And this might be sharing too much information, but, oh,

Rodney  34:05

let's go for the podcast is for this is what I did that.

Julie Riley  34:09

So that was the only reason I painted it. I thought it was cool. And some lady came up to me, and she told me she was interested in this painting. And I went over and looked at it, and she goes, Now, tell me the story behind it. And I had no story. I just painted it because it was cool, but I knew I had to come up with some sort of a story. So I story right on the fly the moment, and told her why I used these certain colors, and I just used them because I liked them. I mean, there's nothing behind this particular painting, and that's not always true anymore. But, you know, I told her I used different blacks for these different reasons and whatnot, and she loved the story, and she bought the painting.

Rodney  34:55

Oh, my God. So that is kind of that's a clue to all of our creators out there. Is really there's like, it's you, even this, even something you don't think is going to impress them will. And because they're, they're mystified by us creatives. We're like, we're other, we're like a different we're like different kinds of beasts. Yeah, no, they're like, what's up with you guys who like, make art out of seemingly thin air, but it really isn't because there is, you know, there are skills, there are techniques, there are things to explore. And I just feel like sometimes that doesn't get always translated, you know, to the to the average person,

Julie Riley  35:36

yeah, it's absolutely right. And the longer I've painted, the more I've painted things for certain reasons and whatnot. So my stories come quicker because they're honest, and unlike the first one,

Rodney  35:54

well, I mean, I mean, there's a degree of honesty to the first one, Julie, let's be honest a

Julie Riley  35:58

little bit, a little bit.

Rodney  36:03

So, I mean, it's like, so my thing is, like, you like, I said, seven years, like, you've gone from just painting, and if anyone ever drive around Dayton, you'd have a van. I love that. I was like, I'm like, she is not the coolest person ever. She got her own. She's got her vinyl covered van.

Julie Riley  36:24

Well, I did that after COVID. I mean, it was still going on. It was probably two months into COVID, and I was like, Man, I still have to pay arts. I've got to pay bills. So I still have to do art because I have to pay bills. So I was trying to decide what to do, and I had been looking for a van, and I decided to get it wrapped. So I bought a little older van so I could afford to get it wrapped. And my business skyrocketed during COVID, really, oh my goodness, it was insane. And I offered every people were calling the number off the van, and then some clients that have already worked with me were calling as well, but so I offered to deliver it and set it on their front step so we didn't have to come in contact with each other. And I was actually I did very well selling artwork, but I was making even more from tips. People really wanted to support artists then, and I think a lot of them didn't know how, but because I was out there and driving around and people saw this bright turquoise and red van, they would call and order pieces of artwork. I had done a lot of small pieces of artwork, you know, to keep the price down for people and whatnot. And I was out making deliveries and painting every day all through COVID,

Rodney  37:51

no way. Yeah, and so that I did not know that was the back story behind the van,

Julie Riley  37:56

yeah, that's why. And I just decided to keep it and I get, still get calls. I occasionally I'll get a call. I had a phone call one time, and it was the lady behind me, I said, a red light, and her son wanted to go to art school, and she wanted to talk to me about art school. And, you know, I have people who call to see about, you know, getting commissions done and all kinds of things. I mean, I regularly get calls and occasionally emails, but mainly calls from people.

Rodney  38:26

Wow. So this is proof positive, folks. I mean, my art, because I know a lot of artists listen to this podcast, and I know a lot of arts patrons do as well. This is proof positive. Yeah, it's like the Field of Dreams. You build it, they will come. I mean, you, you just because you don't know. It's like, you don't know they it's like, you can't this a big world. It is a very, very, very big world. And there, there are people who want to engage with art. They

Julie Riley  38:53

did. I took it to Pittsburgh once. I was just going there to visit with a friend, and ended up selling a piece out of the van. Somebody sold my van and wanted to buy a piece of artwork. So it's just

Rodney  39:05

like, right there on the street, yeah, oh my god. So it's pretty

Julie Riley  39:09

amazing. And you know, I recommend, for those that can't afford to have a van wrapped because it's it is expensive, at least get a big magnet on the side of your car and put your information on there.

Rodney  39:24

I mean, this is good advice. I mean, that's my whole thing. It's like, you know, like, you just don't know, then you don't. Oh, my God, I love it. So, like, because I remember, like, when you moved into because the space you're in at Front Street now is not the space you started with, no So you started like, I love and I'm, this is my, my thought process. You chose the most perfect location, location, location, location. I

Julie Riley  39:53

did. It's, I try not to talk about it too much with the other artists here, but yes, I did. Yeah,

Rodney  40:00

well, I mean, I'm like, let's be very clear. And also too, you know what? When I love, I love your dog. I love the fact that I can, you know, when I come, when I walk, go, I go, Oh, I guess obviously Julie and I gotta see the dog. This is that your, your, your your doggy, your fur baby is precious, and it you you have that's another thing. Is for art artists and art art makers, your studio space is an important place to meet folks.

Julie Riley  40:29

It is very important. And you know, it's funny, because when I first started having clients coming in here, you know, we're open to the public, on First Fridays, I would just clean up my studio so that it was sparkling clean, and it was one First Friday I didn't get it cleaned up. It was kind of messy. And people loved that, because they love to see what I'm working on. And that kind of makes sense, but I hadn't even thought of it. So now I don't clean my studio very often.

Rodney  41:01

Okay, this is so the it's so into the antithesis of what our parents tell us, clean your room, make sure these knees and tidy that sometimes it's not chaos, because it's what we do. You art is messy. Art is making. I mean, I, you know, I, we've I weave with paper. So I am surrounded by strips of cuts, pieces of paper. I mean, it's just, I kind of revel in it, yeah? I mean, I guess feels good, but so far, you know, just like, it's, it's like proof that, yeah, I'm doing, I'm making, I'm creating. But that people were really like, it was almost like all these light bulb moments in your seven years. I can't believe it's only been seven years. Yeah, I feel like you've been making art all your life. We will you have. But I think you don't say, like, it's, yeah, I just just accelerated at it, yeah.

Julie Riley  41:54

Again, I think Mike elg, you know who I was sharing space with. You know he did help, but it was just a matter of, I, well, I needed the sales, and I just wanted to become an artist that bad, you know, that day I decided that's what I'm going to do before I die. And I just really have worked hard at it and just kept it up,

Rodney  42:18

man, man, you are, I mean, and that's a, that's a, what I love, and this is, you know, this is my last question, because it, you know, but, and I love, I love this because I'm a fan of your work, because I like said, I have, we, you know, we have several pieces of yard in our house and, and what advice would you give to someone who thinks that you have to, because there's this belief that art is about young people, and I'm like, it's about all kinds of people at different stages of life. And you came at this at a stage of life where was you're coming off of, you know, something very personal. What would, what would your advice be to someone who, who would think that they're not they're past the point of being an artist or creative. What would you advice would you give them? Well,

Julie Riley  43:05

I tell a lot of people this of different ages, because I've had kids that have been out of college for three or four years and didn't pursue their art degree, and they think they're too old to pursue it now, you know, and they're only 27 years old, and you think that I don't know, I don't, I don't get it, but I hear that a decent amount, but older people, you know, will come by my age and a little younger, and that will come into the studio, and they'll say, you know, oh, I wish you know I was an artist, or I pursued this, or I Draw a pain at home, and I tell them, just to get out there and do it. Just start painting. And if they're sincere about wanting to get into the art world, start finding art shows, art talks, whatever, and get out there. There's my philosophy has always been, we have one chance on this earth to do what we wanted, and I've done that by traveling a lot, by learning different things, becoming this or that, doing an artist or being an artist. And it's just do it. A lot of people think about things, but probably 98% of them don't do it and just paint and show like people will come to Front Street here, and they'll bring their paintings, you know, they're not professional artists or anything. They're just doing it at home. And, you know, I try to get them, you know, you know, go to a local restaurant, see if they'll hang your artwork up. Just do something

Rodney  44:43

to something. And I love that because, and I love what you said about, you know, you get one go around. Yeah, that's it. 1111, uno. And so you've got to, you've got to maximize it and, and no know that it will. It will. Manifest what it needs to manifest. I think there's a I always say, because I, you know, I taught at divers, and I taught at Sinclair, and it's always, and I was just the phrase, you know, it's like, you can't. It's not the end result. It's the journey.

Julie Riley  45:14

It is, it definitely is that, yeah, and

Rodney  45:17

you've and you've proven that the journey doesn't have to start when you're a teen, because we have this youth obsession in this society, and I wish we would stop that. I think we're you know, because you are proof positive that you're producing art that speaks to people universally, and yet you that the hard work is and the hustle matter, and that's why, you know, and the thing is, and you've done it with such, you know, with grace and humor and charm. And I'm just, I'm just, I'm in awe. Well,

Julie Riley  45:50

I just feel so fortunate that things have happened the way they are, that no I can go to the grocery store and somebody will come up. Are you? Julie Riley, the artist? I just feel so fortunate that those things happen and that people I've had people say, Oh, I bought a piece of your artwork and it meant or did this for me. And you know, they'll go on. And I just feel so fortunate with all those kinds of things. I don't take any of it for granted. I just, I appreciate everything that comes along with it, and hard work comes along with it. But I just, I love it.

Rodney  46:27

You do, you do, and it comes through, and it's so awesome. So you're, I mean, you're amazing. I mean, I just think it, I hope it serves as an inspiration for others to get out there and just do it. And I so glad I got to spend the afternoon talking to you.