Julia has been painting, drawing and sculpting since she can remember. Growing up in Melbourne, Australia, she was encouraged to express herself with art by her parents and school teachers.

Being the daughter of two artistic parents meant creativity and new ideas were abundant. "I remember my mother cutting up cereal boxes so we could draw on the inside, and collecting egg cartons so we could construct things". Julia's mother and grandmother were very good artists in oils and pastels and her father worked with metals, clays and wood.

"One of my biggest joys was being given oil paint and pastels which belonged to my grandmother when she worked as a commercial artist. It is a balance between preserving these historical media but also using the materials which I know would make her glad".

Julia successfully competed in school and local art shows and won numerous prizes at agricultural shows, her forte being able to capture lifelike portraits of pets and wild animals. Julia's talent was noticed early and soon commissions were coming in for portraits of peoples' dogs, cats and horses. She sold her first painting at 12 years of age.

Now 25 years later, Julia is still painting and drawing and the subject matter includes pets as well as wildlife, flora and abstract work. After travelling and working abroad in Europe, Latin America and Africa for 8 years, Julia has recently returned to Melbourne to promote her unique style and realistic works of art.

When taking a break from her artwork, Julia enjoys spending her time playing the piano, swimming laps at the local pool and working with horses. Whenever possible she returns to South Africa to assist local communities with basic animal husbandry.

Commissioned animal portraits worldwide.