When I started my art journey back in 2020 I thought it would be a lovely idea to paint under my maiden name of Julie Swan. At the time my actual name was Julie Walsh, having kept my married name following my divorce from my sons's dad in the 90's. I designed a lovely logo for my new brand and really embraced it. I hadn't however, realised how confusing it would be for marketing and promotion. Was I Julie Walsh or Julie Swan. I have since seen other artists with instagram or facebook names/business names which don't match their real names and realised how complicated it makes things.
So when I got married in April of 2023 I set about rebranding so that everything matched. Well almost! As Julie Walsh I had two sister in laws with the same name as well as numerous other artists. As Julie Ford I also have a matching named sister in law and she had the name first. It is also a common name so the domain I wanted was already taken. However, the legacy lives on. In the 2023 Southchurch Art Trail I am still Julie Walsh.
I am still getting used to my new name as I had my previous one for 30 + years. Having just the one now though, should make things simpler going forward.