Conversations with the Inspiring Julie Ferris

Today we’d like to introduce you to Julie Ferris.

Julie, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I grew up with an affinity for both horses and art. From a young age, I found myself slightly scared yet uncontrollably drawn to horses. My love for them developed as I took lessons for many years as a young child and dreamed of having my own horse one day. Naturally, my artistic inclination as a child was to create drawings of hoses whenever and wherever I had the opportunity. They were the subject of choice in my visual expression, and now I see why they were. They made me happy, and taught me things I didn’t even realize I needed such as determination, integrity, and humility. They gave me confidence and acceptance and courage. I loved being with them, and I loved the way they made me feel. The source of joy that they were to me as a young person impacted me in a way that helped shape me into who I am today.

As much as I tried to push it away as I got older, I couldn’t deny my talents and my passions, though being the artsy “horse girl” in high school wasn’t exactly the coolest title. Fast forward and I found myself with the desire to become an equestrian artist in spite of my doubts, and truly felt that it was the career I was called to pursue. I attended the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah with the specific agenda in mind to graduate with a BFA in Painting and minor in Equine Studies, while riding on the SCAD Equestrian team. So, I did just that and if I could do it all over, I wouldn’t change a thing. In my classes, I usually found a way to incorporate the horse into my projects and I became humorously known as the student with the “horse tendency.” My professors thought it was great that I had direction with my art so they encouraged me to continue exploring the horse in art. I started my business at the beginning of 2013 shortly after I graduated and have slowly been climbing my own “corporate ladder.” I wasn’t always doing exactly what I envisioned myself doing with my work, but I never lost sight of my goals and every decision I made was intentional in moving me closer to them.

Since then, I have evolved and changed as an artist, though my message has stayed the same. It has been quite a journey but I have had wonderful people supporting me on my journey and amazing horses to inspire and help me communicate my life-work. Each day, I am learning more what it means to be an artist, and when I grow up I still want to be both, an equestrian and an artist, though to me they are one and the same.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The road has been difficult in the sense that it has required much patience and absolute commitment. Early on, I had to create my “short term” work in order to make money to pay the bills while I prepared for my long-term work and came up with a recognizable style for my work. Once I had this “style” and vision for my work in mind, I then had to create a body of work that showcased it so that people could see the direction my work was headed. The goal with this first body of work was to help generate similar commissioned work for clients of their own horses. I did not get rich in the beginning but I truly loved what I was doing and felt called to this kind of work. I worked really hard to network and “brand” myself in a sense. One of the struggles I experienced was the difficulty of staying inspired now that I was not in classes or on the equestrian team around the horses all of the time and fellow equestrians. For the first several years, I could not afford to take lessons consistently but I was lucky enough to have kind friends that would let me ride their horses sometimes. You just learn to work with what you have even if it’s not ideal because sometimes it is necessary to get to where you want to be.

I came to find that being an artist can also be very lonely because you mostly work alone unless you have a shared studio. I could not afford a studio either for the first few years and then finally rented my first small studio about two years into my career. I loved that studio and it felt amazing to finally have my own designated space to create my work. Some advice for young women or anyone starting their journey is to find accountability, find mentors, and a strong support community that will encourage you and cheer you on. Also, focus on the small steps, and celebrate each little victory. Write out your goals and then list things you need to do to reach them. Then, commit to those tasks. If it is something you really want to do and believe in then when you struggle, you remind yourself that it is not in vain and just choose to keep moving forward.

Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I am working to reshape the way equestrian art is defined and perceived. By using the horse as an emotive language in my work, I incorporate my own psychological response to the horse to create works that highlight the unique qualities and characteristics of my subjects as well as the idea of connectivity. My work has a sense of relatability to the viewer whether they are an equestrian or non-equestrian: firstly, because of their own personal connection to the horse, whatever that may be, and secondly because of the emotional response they have while experiencing my work due to their perception of the horse, or just general life experiences. I don’t like to think that I just “paint pretty pictures of horses.” I paint life, moments in time, history, feelings, and messages.

Over the years, I have participated in multiple group and solo exhibitions and am currently creating personal work for galleries in Atlanta, Savannah, and Charleston as well as working on private commissions. I strive for excellence in all of my work as well as authenticity and continue to push the boundaries of the horse in the art so that these incredible animals are exquisitely portrayed in all of their depictions. It is my hope that after experiencing my work, people will develop a newfound or deeper respect for the horse and equestrian art as a whole, as well as make new connections about themselves and the world around them. All of my experiences with horses and life cumulatively add to the unique way of expressing and capturing them in my work. To me, the horse is like a messenger, a vessel, a language. Something I pride myself in, besides the quality of my work is my focus on the relationship with my client and or their horse(s) as well as the relationship between me my work. It is important to me that the interaction between clients, collectors, horses, and my work is personal and genuine, because that allows me to be more deeply connected to the process, and I believe that sort of work can have a greater impact on myself as well as the client or viewer. I want my client to know I genuinely care about them and their horse and feel that it is such an honor they chose me to be their horse’s artist, or for a collector, that my work impacts them so much that they want it to live with them in their home. Selling and being commissioned for my work is more than just a business transaction for me, it is deeply meaningful for people to want my work in their personal spaces or in a unique space, public or private, meant to be experienced in a particular way.

What do you feel are the biggest barriers today to female leadership, in your industry or generally?
Female artists have always had a more difficult time in the art world simply because they are women. They were not thought of in the same way in society and did not have the same opportunities and freedoms. Leaps and bounds have been made just in the last 100 years but there is still work to do. As a woman artist, or leader even, people are generally more likely to doubt your capabilities and credibility, even without meaning to. I know I was asked many times what my other plan was if being an equestrian artist didn’t work out and those kinds of questions can be discouraging because you can feel the doubt in the person asking. It is not so much a matter of needing to be better than men or ostracising them just because they are male, but a matter of working to change minds and perceptions by showing that women are and should be just as credible and validated and respected in the work they do and the positions they hold as are their male counterparts. I believe the best way to do this is to continue working hard with integrity and stand up for what is right and show people how backwards it was to have doubted.

Today, as artists and leaders we are still somewhat fighting the notions that women should be at home and have children, which is not a bad thing if that is what you want or find yourself doing, but what happens to the women who are called to other things or are called to both having family and a career? In other countries, women are fighting much more serious problems than here in the US. The issue is both sides, men and women both are still more likely to listen to a man if a man and woman are each saying the same thing. I think this tendency ultimately goes back to more primal instinct. Men are typically more likely to listen or trust a male leader over a female leader and women want to trust a male leader but feel discredited when they are not taken seriously or are taken advantage of. We are living in a “man’s world” still, not that it should be a “woman’s world” but it should be equally both of our worlds, male AND female, and the reality is that it is not. Though we should always keep striving to make it so because that is the better way.

Pricing:

• custom work starts at around 3k

Contact Info:

• Website: www.julieferrisart.com
• Email: julie@julieferrisart.com
• Instagram: julieferris_equine_artist
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Equestrian.Fine.Art

Image Credit:
Christen Ferris, Jamie Bourgeios

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