Meet local writer and artist, Julie Zickefoose!

Artist Julie Zickefoose paints a duck in a mural on a concrete wall inside a tunnel

Tell us a little about yourself.

I'm a writer, artist and an editor, too. I live on an 80-acre wildlife sanctuary in northern Washington County I call Indigo HIll, working from home. I used to write and illustrate my own books for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt until it was sold to Harper Collins in 2020, effectively eliminating the world's largest natural history publisher. I've picked up the slack and kept an audience by editing and writing for BWD Magazine, the new, improved, full-sized print version of Bird Watcher's Digest which was born here in Marietta 45 years ago. I've been involved with and contributing to the magazine since 1986, but I'd never have dreamt I'd take the role of Advising Editor. I source lots of articles, new writers, and most importantly the cover art. We're the only magazine that has always featured original bird paintings on our cover.

What drew you to your craft?

I've always found drawing it to be the best way to understand something. I've been fascinated by birds since I was eight, and I started drawing them seriously at 13. I've expanded to landscapes, plants, and any and all other life forms, but birds are where my focus primarily lies.

A watercolor painting of a bird flying over a grassland prairie

Describe your studio space. Where do you like to create?

In 1999, my husband and I built an addition on our home that includes a birding tower and a wonderful studio for me, with a big bank of north windows that look out on bird feeders and baths. I spend most of my time staring out the windows, photographing my favorite birds and wildlife. I love to climb the tower to see the panorama of landscape around, and I just put a lean-to greenhouse off the back of the studio to indulge my huge passion for horticulture. I've always got music going. The studio is my happy place; the woods and fields feed my soul.

What is your favorite thing you have ever made?

That's easy. My two kids, Phoebe and Liam, now 27 and 23 are by far my finest works! After that, I'd have to say the trails and wild gardens I've created here on the sanctuary give me the biggest glow. For books, I think Baby Birds: An Artist Looks Into the Nest is my favorite, because in it I did something nobody else has ever done: painted nestling birds from life, every day, from hatching to fledging. I love telling stories in words and paintings. For art, my looser watercolors make me the happiest. I'm always trying to loosen up. More detail is not necessarily better. I try to paint what I see, and birds are pretty smooth units, lacking definition in their feathers. Sometimes the faster and looser I paint, the more real they look.

A watercolor painting of two birds flying in front of the moon, over the clouds

What did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to illustrate nature books ever since I started to read. I didn't know then that I'd write them, too. So I guess I have become who I wanted most to be. It hasn't been easy, and it's hard for me to advise young people who ask me how I got here. Everyone has to carve their own path, and it can be a crooked road. You just have to stick to your passion and listen to the Universe, whispering.

How would you describe your creative process?

My primary motivator is and always has been beauty. When I'm moved by something beautiful, be it some animal behavior or a bird in a particularly gorgeous setting, I have to write and paint. So many beautiful things, small and large, happen every day. I feel that my job is to share them. I also love to interpret animal and bird behavior, and I try to wake people up to birds' enormous intelligence and their goal-oriented behavior. They are anything but instinct-driven automatons. They are thinking beings.

A watercolor painting of a kingfisher bird with a fish in its mouth

What advice would you give yourself 10 years ago?

Separate your happiness from the unhappiness of the people around you. Don't let others drag you down their vortex. Follow your own butterfly.

Why do you love doing what you do?

I think I'm happiest when I'm working on a project, be it a book or a painting. I sleep better, I feel better. My body can tell when I'm self-actualizing! The segue into magazine editing in 2022 and wrangling constantly looming editorial deadlines has been a somewhat rocky one for this free spirit, but I'm adjusting pretty well. I'm trying to figure out how to do it all. Not there yet, but I know I have a few more illustrated books in me, and I'm determined to get them done, while honoring my commitments to BWD Magazine.

Illustrations of yellow-billed cuckoo birds with notes

Why is it important to support local artists and makers?

Because they're the lifeblood of a community. Just look at what people like Bobby Rosenstock, Beth Nash, Todd Burge, Tanya Wilder and the host of talented people in Marietta have been able to do for this community, bringing art and music to everyone. I call them out, but there are so many more. Like you, Sarah, with your wonderful Clutch MOV--what a huge contribution that is, to point out and celebrate the talent that is around every corner in the MOV! I feel very, very grateful to have a place in the Clutch Collective with so many wonderful artists.

You can find Julie’s stunning prints in the shop, and her books next door in Wit & Whimzy!