Shirley Julian...

… was born and raised on a working cattle ranch in Tom Miner Basin, Montana; just north of Yellowstone Park.  During her early years she rode her horse to a one-room schoolhouse and helped her family run the ranch.  She attended Montana State University and married,  raising two wonderful children.  After traveling extensively in the US and abroad, she returned to Montana in the mid-80’s to reconnect with her roots. 

She had always been interested in drawing and painting so when her children were grown, and she and her husband were settled on the west slope of the Bridger Mountains, she fully engaged in painting.  She was first drawn to water colors, but slowly changed to her first love, painting in oil.

Her childhood on a cattle ranch influences her art and her expectations of what she hopes to portray when she picks a subject.  She is surrounded and affected by the animals that roam the landscape of her life.  In addition to life studies, she often turns to landscapes, nature’s still life.

For the last six years she has been a member of the Southwest Montana Arts (SMArts) group. She currently works in oils and accepts commission work. To contact the artist about her work, use the contact page. She will respond with a phone call.