Meet Julie Benbassat | Illustrator & Painter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Julie Benbassat and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Julie, do you disagree with some advice that is more or less universally accepted?
Our culture is currently obsessed with grind culture, an ideology and lifestyle that often aggrandizes working hard to the point it becomes your life’s ambition/ purpose. While I do think it is reasonable to advise professionals of any field to work hard in what they do, I think this whole movement forgets that people are people first, which means they all deal with unique life circumstances. From my own perspective, I graduated from art school in 2019 and immediately had to deal with family issues that many of my peers will not have to deal with until their 50s. If I had tried to “hustle” or “grind” my illustration career while taking care of my family I would have burned out fast.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Hello, I’m Julie and I’m an illustrator working out of South Jersey/ Philly area with expertise in editorial illustrations and children’s publishing. I graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in 2019 with a BFA in Illustration and have had the opportunity to work for clients such as the New Yorker, BOOM! Comics, Illustoria Magazine, Workman Publishing and many more. My work blends inspirations from the natural world, history, fantasy and daily life into sometimes cute, sometimes informative or sometimes unnerving worlds of their own. I work with a range of mediums, from traditional pencils, pens and paints to digital tools like the Adobe suite and procreate; often times mixing them together. I am currently working on a no words children’s book with Astra publishing called “The Book From Far Away” slated to come out in 2023, so check it out if you’re into fantastical aliens and books!

I was lucky to have middle class older parents who supported my love of art and my decision to go to art school (It’s expensive!) You don’t have to go to art school to be successful, as many of my peers have shown. In my own experience however, I learned a lot and met some of my best friends; friends that give constructive feedback on pieces or give advice on reaching out to clients.

Now I’m only 3 years out of school so my scope of the industry and career is small compared to illustration veterans. Like most artists, the pandemic has been a hurdle in terms of securing consistent clients and revenue. At least being a freelance illustrator meant I was already working from home though, so that much did not change (haha).

The biggest thing I’ve learned over the last chaotic years is that you need to have perspective to how much work you can do in the moment. I think many people my age or older think you have to hustle and grind all day at the studio to be successful, but for many people, that can lead to burn out, injury or falling short of other responsibilities. In the last two years I’ve become my mom’s caregiver so it would have been impossible to give 100% to my illustration career when there were more pressing life issues in front of me. It’s all about what works for you and how you can balance your job with other matters.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If anyone, friend or acquaintance, is coming to the Philly area we would have to go to the Reading terminal market to eat food, admire the historical stores and go shopping for fun wares (also meet some Amish?). Then we could walk through the Independence Hall area, see Benjamin Franklin’s grave, scope the Liberty Bell, then end the day eating cheap, delicious noodles at Nan Zhou noodles in Chinatown. If it’s the entire weekend, then we could stop at the many art museums, get spooked at Eastern State Penitentiary, or go to the zoo. Philly is packed with fun things to do with way cheaper prices than NYC.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My biggest shoutout would go to my parents for being the sweetest, most loyal supporters of me since I could hold crayons in my little hands. I would also love to thank all of the art directors/ editors and designers who I have had the pleasure of working with thus far! I can’t name them all but it humbles me every time a new or old client reaches out with a project for me.

Website: https://www.juliebenbassat.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tea_for_jbass/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-benbassat-5287a2113/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Art_of_JBASS