Hi, I'm Julián

Once upon a time, I was a software engineer and product manager. Then I took a turn and spent a few years making art for a living. The story most people tell would have those as separate stories, but they're not. They're the same story wearing different clothes.

I've spent my whole career making things. Software for people, pathways for teams, paintings and letters for kindred souls who like weird stuff. The form changes. The impulse doesn't. I like building things whether the room I'm in calls them "products" or "art." And I bring whatever I learned in one room into the next one.

Now I spend my days drawing and painting the kinds of things I wanted to have on my walls when I was jumping from meeting to meeting. Pieces that would help me remember the things that live beyond the screen. Things bigger and more important than that Slack convo or irritating email. Beautiful animals in weird colours telling me about truer truths that are out there.

And through it all, I found The Red Thread, tying it all, going through us all, like a path, a dream or a spear.

If you want to see what I'm doing with all this, take a look at my work. If you want to know what's coming and read my letters, join the Art Family. You can also follow me on Instagram or Threads

I hope you enjoy your stay, friend.

Want some trivia about me? click here.

  • I was born in Colombia, but I've called Montréal my home for ten years now. Poutine is one of the greatest inventions ever.
  • I'm finding my way through the world by chasing my curiosity and creating the kind of art I'd like to have on my own walls. I'm betting if I make what I like, a) I'll have the drive to keep at it, and b)There's bound to be at least a dozen people out there who'll like it too.
  • I mainly draw and paint birds and animals. They are great to encapsulate the kind of ideas I want to put out in the world. Also, hands are really freaking hard to draw.
  • I'm building a sustainable business. I've watched enough hustle-culture wreckage to know it doesn't work in the long run, and the long run is where cool things are made.
  • I want to make money with my art, and I also think people need more art in their lives. That's why I try to keep my prices reasonable.
  • Did I mention that I have a mailing list? I suck at social media anyway, and I vastly prefer to have a conversation with my art family without the mediation of multi-billion companies trying to sell us shit and lifestyles we don't need. I'll still use them to some degree to reach more potential friends, but most of the important, pretty, and fun things I have to say and show will be in my emails. You can join the fun here.
  • I have a brain that goes in ten different directions at ten different speeds simultaneously. Some of my interests and hobbies beyond art are note-taking (Obsidian rules,) mechanical keyboards, self-hosting, alternative movie posters, scale models and gunpla, cryptids and mysteries, alternative history, old science fiction books, new science fiction books, comic books, Stoicism (the real one, not the Bro-icism kind), Legos and action figures and toys, camping and the outdoors, EDC, myths and mythical figures (old and new), music theory and how to cook rice perfectly. If any of this makes sense to you (or if it doesn't and you want to tell me why), just drop me a line at julian@julianrodriguez.art, and let's talk about it.
  • My favourite band is Tool. Picking a favourite song is an impossible task, but you can try Pneuma, Lateralus, Parabol/Parabola, 46&2. Pick one. Listen to it. Don't try to tap your feet to the rhythm unless you're a professional drummer or an octopus. Instead, feel it rattle your bones and your brain and your soul. Then, read the lyrics. Listen to it again. Maybe cry a little, in joy and fury and sadness and understanding. Send me an email with your thoughts. Welcome home.
  • English is my second language. I speak Spanish without thinking, English with an accent, and French with a lot of question marks.
  • I write better than I speak. In any language.
  • I always have the weirdest dreams. Let's go for a beer, and I might tell you.
  • I couldn't be here, writing this, without the help and support of my beautiful, amazing, curly-haired wife, Crespette herself. She firmly believes nothing is crazy if it leads to happiness, and I'm trying to learn that from her. I share a home and a life with her and our two equally rotund but otherwise completely opposite cats, Leia and Lola:
  • I really like bullet point lists. ;)