It’s time for our next Featured Student! For September we are featuring:
Julia Hegetusch
Instagram: @juliamoanamaureen
Below is an awesome Q&A that SVS Producer, David Braud, conducted with Julia.
It’s often assumed that we’re supposed to figure what we’re going to do with our life by the time we’re 18… or 25… or even 30. Didn’t work that way for me, and it didn’t work that way for Julia either. If you’re feeling “stuck” in a job or on a path that leaves you unfulfilled, our interview with Julia should be an encouragement to keep creating; to keep grinding away, knowing that you are getting closer to your dream one day at a time.
Hi Julia! Could you share a little bit about yourself?
Hi, my name is Julia, I am currently living in Munich, Germany with my daughter and life partner. I was born in New Zealand, moved to Germany with my parents at age one, moved back to New Zealand at age 7 with my mum, then returned to Germany at the age of 15 to move in with my Dad and have been living in Germany since then. But I am planning on moving back to NZ in a years time ( with daughter and partner). Throughout life I've travelled back and forth between countries.
What are some of your favorite foods, films or things to do?
One of my favourite dishes is Kimchi soup, a Korean soup, which my Stepmother, who is Korean used to make when I was growing up at my Father’s place. Favourite movies that first come to mind are Howl’s Moving Castle, My Neighbour Totoro (and most Ghibli films), The Labyrinth with David Bowie and I loved Strictly Ballroom when it came out and even enrolled in dance courses after that. In my free time I like to get out into the nature, be it the mountains, the beach or forest.
Tell us about your journey as an artist.
My father gave up his career as an Architect at the age of 40 to become a full time artist. I remember sitting in his atelier as a child and watching him work. He would take me to a lot of museums and to his own exhibitions so art was always a part of my life since I was a small child. Growing up I never knew what I wanted to become, only that it should be something creative. I remember at the age of about 17 years playing with the thought of becoming an Illustrator. I always loved reading books and being creative so I thought this would be the perfect profession for me. I was very shy and being an Illustrator would suit my character. Unfortunately this was just a vague idea and I didn't know a lot about it so I let myself be talked out of this career choice. Instead I made a lot of bad career choices and never seemed to find a good fit. I would paint and draw in my free time experimenting with abstract art and I loved creating different textures with all sorts of materials.
Slowly I started to transition from abstract art (which mostly came through my fathers influence) to figurative art. I had participated in a few art courses like still life drawing and figure drawing. In my twenties I tried applying for the Fine Art Academy in Munich. I would always make it into the next round of applicants but then in the final round be told my work doesn't quite fit in. So after failing in the only thing I felt I was good in I stopped doing anything art related for a long time, went back to school, studied early childhood education and became an early childhood teacher. At first I felt like a total alien in the social sector. But over time it taught me a lot of social skills I was lacking.
I started sketching again and working on my drawing skills. I would search the internet for ways to make a living with art. I tried an online photography course but that didn't hold my interest for very long. Then I tried graphic design and really disliked it. About the same time the pandemic came and I could work from home.
With the pandemic keeping people at home, I began creating little films for my preschool class. I took old fairytales as inspiration and rewrote them. Then I Illustrated the story backgrounds and made cut out figures for the characters. My daughter and I did the voices and found music and sound effects on the internet. I put it all together using Adobe Premier and uploaded it to the platform that was created for the parents and children that had to stay home during the lockdown.
So that was my first experience with illustration and I was instantly hooked. I worked all through my two weeks of holidays so I would get the little movie finished on time. The time I was able to spend working at home really opened my eyes and made me realize how unhappy I was in my profession. It was time for change. I was still searching the internet for ideas when I stumbled over Will Terry’s YouTube videos about being an Illustrator. I started watching his videos, listening to three point perspective podcast and then signed up for SVS Learn. So after a long journey I came back to the idea of becoming a professional illustrator. Currently I am working part time as an early childhood teacher and I’m enjoying the work. When I come home I start working on building a portfolio and on just getting better.
Tell us about your artistic style - how it has evolved and where do you see it going?
Coming from a family of abstract artists (my stepmother is also an artist), abstract art is what I did for a long time until I discovered that I have a much bigger fascination for Illustration. I enjoy having a story to illustrate compared to rendering abstract concepts.
At the moment I am focusing on children’s illustrations and would love to be able to break into the market some day. Because I am very knew to this field I don't have a clearly defined personal style, I find one day I am fascinated by an Illustrator and the next by a different one. I never liked having to paint in just one specific way and I find the work we do always evolves with us. I am always changing and so is my work. The most recent Illustators I've been looking at are Emilia Dziubak, Djamila Knopf, the Tonko House founders, Julia Green and Julia Sarda. I instantly fell in love with the book, “The Wolf’s Secret,” so now my most recent Illustration, which I haven't finished yet, has a more graphic style.
Do you have any stories of people encouraging you in your art-making?
The most encouraging person for me has been my life partner. Without his support I would not have been able to start working part time in order to have more time on becoming an illustrator.
How would you encourage others in their art-making?
I find the most important thing is to find time everyday to work on your art. When I wasn't working I decided to work everyday on my art so that when I did go back to work, making art would be part of my daily routine. By the time I was working again as a teacher, illustrating had become such a big part of my everyday life there was no way I was going to give up making art again. Also I try to envision myself in ten years time. The first version is me not giving the illustration career a shot. In this version I am definitely not living from my art and everything stays the same. The second version is me giving it the best shot I have, continuously working on my illustrations everyday. In ten years, how can there not be any changes for the better?
Julia, we’d love to see some pieces you’ve been working on. What do you have for us?
Here are a few of my recent illustrations:
Artwork by Julia Hegetusch
Artwork by Julia Hegetusch
Artwork by Julia Hegetusch
When I am in the colouring stage of an illustration I will always try and sketch somethig first. Because otherwise a week or two could pass without me actually sketching anything. And then I find myself being able to only draw stick figures ;) Here are a couple of recent sketches.
Artwork by Julia Hegetusch
Artwork by Julia Hegetusch
Julia, thank you for sharing your story with us. It’s wonderful to hear about your journey as an artist and we wish you the best as you continue on this path!
Featured students are selected from our amazing group of members! Want a chance to improve your illustration skills? Become an SVSLearn member today for 30 days with our free trial and take the next step on your journey to becoming a working illustrator.