Wildlife artist Julie Jeppsen is known for her paintings combining realism and atmosphere of wild animals in landscape. Julie is a self-taught artist, whose subject matter is a wide range of animals. In an article from Art of the West, Julie stated that she hikes into the wilderness to see her subjects on “their home-turf.” Julie says that animals are like children in that you get to know their character and instincts. Julie’s art talent came from her mother and her love for the outdoors from her father. “Being outdoors inspires me to paint.” Julie grew from working with pastels to oil. She found that she liked the rich colors of oil. She sometimes carries a pocket watercolor set so that she can do a color study. Encouraged by her mother, who is also an artist, and father, whose keen eye for anatomy helped develop some of the most sought after pure breeds in America, gave her a powerful combination for great works of art. Julie began drawing as soon as she could hold a pencil.