Each one of Juliette’s life-size paintings is a true journey that begins with a clear vision, followed by lengthy research and preparation steps that culminate in the studio. Her Whale Fluke paintings began with a definitive icon and shape – but, in those early stages, the creation process was ages away. After two years of researching the whales’ lives and behaviors, she developed different methods of fashioning the layers of clay and pigments on canvas, dampening the surface, carving, painting, sculpting, and repeating for weeks. Though the process is all-encompassing and oftentimes arduous, the constant trial-and-error guided her brush in the right direction, greater than herself.

For instance, she uses ancient techniques and raw pigments as an alternative to the plastic-filled industry paints. She lives by the message her pieces convey. Her life is her message, and she says, “If my message is against industrial whaling, I can’t be using industrial paint.”

With her Whale Fluke Paintings, each line and etching plays a role in a greater story, where parallel lines may indicate a shark attack or contact with an Arctic ice sheet. She often works from smaller pieces and spends time changing their attributes and colors to synthesize them into larger, more defined works. Responses to Juliette’s works have been profound. In fact, one woman at a show told Juliette that she could hear her paintings, highlighting the integration process that allows her to create pieces that stretch far beyond immediate sensory perception. In reflecting on her creative process, Juliette says, “You spend all of this time preparing, and when people love and respond to your work, it means the world.”