Julia has painted all of her life. She learned how to make prints in the 1960s when she studied Printmaking at the San Francisco Art Institute with Gordon Cook followed by further study in New York City at Pratt Institute where she mastered etching copper plates with Walter Rogalski. Julia completed a BFA at the San Francisco Art Institute and MFAs at both Pratt Institute and Boston University. Now she prints and paints outside, in her studio, and at the Art Student's League.

Besides people and animals, Julia is also fascinated by landscapes and cityscapes. Bi-lingual, she goes to France each year to paint. Summers, students come to paint with her in the village of Autevielle, from where both the beach at Biarritz and the Pyrenees towards Pamplona in Spain are only an hours drive away.

Julia's prints and paintings are in private and public collections across the United States and Europe.

For nine years she has taught Figure Drawing with Minerva Durham at Spring Studio. During that time she has etched many small figures, hand coloring dozens of them. Surrounding the etchings, she has sculpted an ecorche and painted many large watercolors in Wisconsin and France.