Testimonials

Lee, Feb. 23, 2026

 

My girlfriends and I are excited about and eager to attend your 'Featured Artist' show at Sedona Art Center Gallery, Sedona, Arizona, starting March 1st, 2026. Can't wait to see your works!

 

Marta, Feb. 20, 2026

 

 I really enjoyed the class, Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 17th, via Zoom with Shemer Art Center, Phoenix. After years of struggling on my own, using YouTube, books, and lots of practice to learn, I have started to realize the value of actual classes! I'm looking forward to this coming Tuesday's class!

 

Suzette, Dec. 3, 2025

 

Upon order of her selections from Julie's annual Cyber Sale: "Yay!! All your paintings "speak" to me. I'm so glad. I am busy on Tuesdays these days but hope to sign up for another of your classes in 2026." 

 

Cathy: Dec. 2, 2025

 

 

Nina, July 1, 2025

 

"Dear Julie, I wanted to take a moment to thank you sincerely for your wonderful classes. Your guidance, presence, and the space you hold have been deeply nourishing and inspiring. 

 

(This testimonial shared by a student of Julie's Tuesday Evening Watercolor Zoom class. For availability, contact Julie HERE)

 

Linda, June 25, 2025

 

I wanted to Thank you for such a lovely class, it was absolutely perfect. I really appreciate all of the information that you have included. I have printed all of your emails and pictures and have put it all together in a 3-ring binder along with other classes I have taken from you.

 

 

F. Harper, Aug. 5, 2023 

"Thank you so much for a fabulous week! Your teaching style was perfect for me. I learned many new techniques and was inspired by the lessons, demonstrations and examples that you provided. You are a talented artist and a natural teacher!”

(This Testimonial shared after attending Julie's 5-day workshop, July 24-28, 2023, at Madeline Island School of the Arts (MISA), on Lake Superior, LaPointe, WI.  Julie's next workshop with MISA will be at MISA-West, Santa Fe, NM, May 18-22, 2026. see Julie's "Classes & Workshops" page HERE)

 

Gannon Beck, July 7, 2023

Hi, Julie, I think that [your demo painting] came out beautifully! I love the way you get the colors to dance across the entire composition. While there are lots of different approaches to watercolor that I appreciate, your colorfully expressive style is what appeals to me the most. You take full advantage of what watercolor does better than other mediums. 

Thank you again for hosting these classes! Watercolor has always been an elusive medium for me, and I feel like this lovely group that you are leading is the perfect place to learn and grow. 

… I've worked a lot on drawing skills and put a lot of work into understanding how value works (not something that came naturally to me), and now I feel like I'm ready to make headway into watercolor. 

To that end, I feel like I need two things: 1. Expert guidance, and 2. A painting habit. The genius of what you are doing with your Zoom calls is that you're making learning social in a real and personal way. The meetups become a commitment device for all who attend. Too many people trying to solve the online education problem view it merely as an information dissemination problem, and the result is a lot of online videos with very loose or nonexistent social connections. More thought needs to be put into the social aspect of online education, which is why I think your approach is likely to be more effective for those of us who participate. It's not about watching videos, it's about showing up--and showing up having put in some work!

I could go on, as I think about this stuff way too much, but I just wanted to reiterate that I think you're doing a great thing.

 

Pearl A, Feb. 17, 2023

Julie, I have to say this each time I take a class from you.  Thank you for your generosity to all your students (us) in sharing your work and knowledge.  I am always blown away by all the extra material that you make available to us...like you are really invested in helping us learn!  I love the way you paint and as I look at the first day's painting, I wonder anew at your range of values in every brushstroke....something that I would love to be able to do, but am definitely not there yet.  I just had to write, so you would know just how much your extra work is appreciated.  Malama Pono, Take Care.

 

Lee Marie, Nov. 3, 2022

Julie's watercolor 3-day retreat workshop recently held at Sedona Arts Center, Sedona, Arizona, was a delight in so many ways.  The setting for Julie's demos and time for individual painting along beautiful Oak Creek was just one of the benefits.  For me, learning the "science" behind painting rocks in water, learning about reflections in water and understanding the how and why of water movement over rocks - - all so interesting and helpful.  And, the COLORS?  Oh my gosh.  Julie is a master at teaching color in water, in sky, in rocks.  All so deliciously delivered in lectures, demos, and one-on-one time.  Julie meets you where you are in your artistic journey and that means a lot to me.  I believe I am now more knowledgeable and courageous in my attempts of scenic painting.

 

Laura, Oct. 26, 2022

Thanks Julie. I am so encouraged by your class. I am working on an oil painting commission at the same time, and I was stumped as to how to make the composition work. I spent all morning today working on watercolor thumbnails. Tomorrow I will get my light, darks and medium oil colors sorted out on my palette. I am able to make the corrections because I’m only on the second layer. My focus was wrong—in the centre. It’s a very simple painting and partially abstract—a meadow of flowers in the foreground. So, I think I’ve fixed it, on paper at least!

I’m using your oil painting book as a guide. Maybe in the New Year I can take your oil painting class too! So yesterday was really helpful!

Your input has already made me more confident in watercolor and oil painting. I will highly recommend your instruction to my painting community.

 

Carolyn,  April 13, 2022
Julie -- This class is exactly what I needed, when I needed it. I have been self-exploring warm and cool colors, attempting to eyeball certain blues as warm, and others cool. When compared to the seeming-intuitive primary-color compatriots designation as warm or cool, blue seemed an outlier. And then I learned of greenish blues and reddish blues, and yesterday you confirmed that this was an acceptable and helpful alternative to "cool" and "warm."

And thank you for opening the pages of your watercolor book as a reference both during class to illustrate the painting process. A book once relegated to my bookshelf is becoming a near-at-hand reference, a reminder of points you made in class.
And finally (or maybe not), you have given me a new appreciation for your work, for the layers, for the planning that goes into each; the fact that the groundwork - the initial wash - provides a backdrop for what comes later; the fact that not only are you considering the color next to another, but within as you drop it in, and on top of each other; and on top again. The corner of towers in the gate you painted at the end of class -- when you held it to the camera, up close, there were jewels of color: so many, so rich! Lovely (and the paper texture, oh, my!)

I am figuring out paint control (if such there be), or at least trying to get past puddles and runniness; I made a warm/cool color wheel with cerulean/prussian; Indian yellow/Winsor lemon; quinacridone red; Scarlet Lake (I concluded that as between the two blues, cerulean is cool (Prussian made the most gorgeous purple; cerulean's green was not so pretty), and have discovered that it would be helpful to do so several times more, with the same colors and with different colors. It is helping me to learn the names, to get a feel for the colors and what they do. And the warm up techniques, so helpful. I was aware that I was happier with the last thing I put on the paper, the looseness or feeling of it, but couldn't capture it at the beginning of the session; warming up should help, as well as doing a bit of the new area on a side paper.... I think I will explore circle washes this week. 

Oh, and I have a new appreciation of shadows: not as an appendage but as a design element: It struck me looking at your painting in the frame, with the delicate brightness of the palo verde top right balanced by the lacy shadows on the left...Layers and lace...so much thought. Thank you

 

Melissa,  August 15, 2021

This book is simply amazing and I cannot wait to print it all out and read it.  I briefly scanned through it  while downloading and it is very well written and covers quite a bit about painting water and landscapes!  I love all of your analogies and how you clearly spell things out for the reader and capture points so clearly.

 

Ruth,  March 24, 2021
Thank you for an amazing course. You have helped me expand my techniques and be less afraid of landscape painting. You are a generous and gifted teacher. Take care and be well.

Bonnie,  March 12, 2021 
Julie, thank you so much for a great class! I so appreciate what I have learned from you. Most important for me was the four step sketch process and how to use a grid for drawing a landscape, and the warm/cool scale for each of the triad colors on the color wheel. I have spent about 20 winters in Arizona and have so many photos of mountains that I want to paint, but these lessons are universally helpful to me in my landscape painting quest.

One reason I took your class was that a friend who took a class from you, Mary S., recommended you so highly.
Best wishes to you. 

 

Beverly,  March 12, 2021

Julie, Your “Paint Sedona” class was wonderful.  I learned so much!  The lessons you provided to help build our skills for doing the class painting projects were extremely helpful.  Particularly useful were studying the reference photo and determining design changes, the 4 step sketch process, the color wheel and your splattering technique.  Although my Sedona red rock painting skills are only slowly improving, your lessons taught me new techniques to incorporate.

Thank you, too, for so generously sharing handouts, drawings and your demo paintings.  There were SO HELPFUL – especially for those of us who don’t have good drawing skills and who needed more concrete visual reference for the various steps of the painting process.
I really enjoyed being able to take this class online.  I have long wanted to take your classes at Scottsdale Artists School but was not willing to make the drive.  Having an online option is great – especially being able to review the class recordings.  This capability enabled me to make a detailed and well-illustrated set of notes so that I can work on these skills and painting projects again.  I am looking forward to visiting the “red rock” country to take photos and become more familiar with the area.

Thank you again for the great class and for so generously sharing your skills and materials with us!  It is much appreciated!!

Lynn,  Nov. 27, 2018

Influential YOU. Working on things you taught. Your book is truly wonderful and I appreciate it even more because of the personal contact!!