Rising Stars: Meet Julia Dordoni

Today we’d like to introduce you to Julia Dordoni.

Hi Julia, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi! I’m a live wedding painter based out of Estes Park, Colorado. I also service everywhere between Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, and Idaho Springs. My favorite venues are the Black Canyon Inn in Estes Park and The McCreery House in Loveland, and I look forward to finding more venues in the Fort Collins/Loveland area that I haven’t been to yet!

I paint a portrait of the newlyweds during the ceremony and finish the canvas by the end of the night if it’s a 16×20 or 18×24. Sometimes I take the painting back to the studio to finish details and add a UV coat and frame. I love my job, and wouldn’t trade it for anything. I have to admit, I also love practicing and teaching yoga, but that’s comparing apples to oranges. I’m a single mom and have raised my daughter entirely on my own, and provide for her solely through the income from my art.

I am proud to say I’ve worked very hard for 17 years to get to this point, and I plan to continue refining my skills. I have a few things up my sleeve besides wedding painting that haven’t launched yet! I am releasing a line of designer hats with my artwork printed on them! I will have an online store with the domain www.ColoradoArt.org. It is still under construction, but is expected to be launched sometime in 2024!

I also plan to get back into sculpting in the next year or two. I’d like to sculpt live at weddings, capturing the newlywed’s first dance! I will finish the sculptures in bronze. These will be very high-end mementos, and I expect to schedule only about 4 sculptures per year due to the amount of time each one will require. I am a sculptor by heart.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
My biggest obstacle to live wedding painting is the travel. For many years, I took every job I was offered and filled my schedule to the max. This required traveling all across the state, and living in hotels 3-5 days per week for half the year. It is expensive to stay in hotels and taxing on the body.

As a single mom who homeschools my teenage daughter, I brought her with me to hotels pretty much every weekend. I tried to find ones with pools so it didn’t seem like “work trips,” but after a while, we both missed being home. Now, I am only booking weddings within a 2-hour drive from home so I can be home every night. I am focusing on marketing in Fort Collins, Loveland, Estes Park, and Boulder.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My paintings are dreamy, soft, and colorful with impressionistic landscapes and great detail in the newlyweds. As a youth, I was inspired by Van Gogh, but in adulthood, I learned a lot from my great friend/mentor Jim Freeheart. After putting in thousands of hours of painting, my style developed into its unique personality. I hope you enjoy my work!

I aspire to exude the emotion of love through my paintings. This is why I use soft, cheerful colors that are relaxing yet inspiring. I want my paintings to look like the best dream you could ever have. If you can imagine something in its most beautiful form, that is how I aim to capture it. My work is a result of what I see and what I feel.

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I am so pleased to see how wedding painting has BOOMED over the last decade! I am honestly the first wedding painter that I ever heard of, (I began 14 years ago) and now it is a big deal! I am so glad to see that so many people are cherishing art more than ever. Wedding paintings do stand on their own amongst other things like photographers and videographers. Wedding painting is its own thing and is a truly unique addition to a wedding.

The thing I love most about what I do is that I KNOW it makes a difference in people’s lives! Wedding paintings are featured as a focal point in living rooms which gain so much attention from family and friends who view them. A painting brings everyone back to that magical day. I truly believe that wedding painting is here to stay.

This isn’t a fad that is just peaking right now. It is gaining momentum, and eventually, I believe wedding painters will be a staple vendor for weddings. I believe that venues will eventually all have their own featured wedding painters. I believe that 20 years from now, most married couples will have a painting of their wedding in their home.

Pricing:

• My pricing begins at $2500.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.JuliaLiveArt.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coloradoweddingpainter/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/julialiveart