Instrumental Artist

Her work has appeared in places few artists ever expect to reach: Disney sets, international concert stages, music videos seen millions of times and corporate spaces far beyond the Eastern Shore. Yet at the heart of Julie Borden’s art is something intimate: color, form and the unmistakable pull of music.

From her Delaware studio, Julie creates hand-painted musical instruments—cellos, violins, saxophones, trumpets and more—that are collected, displayed and played around the world.

“I have a lot of personal stories shared with me that are captured in these pieces,” says Julie, who designs works for celebrities, music shops, musicians and others who simply find her and are drawn to her approach.

“It’s about taking their ideas and making them happen,” she relates.

Julie’s expressive, one-of-a-kind painted instruments in vibrant colors showcase technical expertise and whimsical character.

Some are commissioned by clients looking to commemorate an occasion or memorialize a loved one. Others are instrument collectors or art enthusiasts who appreciate her bold, bright visual language.

Then there are calls from viral musicians with global followings, like The Piano Guys, known for reimagining Disney scores and creating official Disney-collaboration music videos. Julie’s first project with TPG was for a Jungle Book-inspired video filmed among the Mayan ruins of Chichén Itzá. The second came with a daunting request: a cello that glows for an Avatar video filmed with UV lighting.

And Julie’s Millsboro gallery is teeming with fine art paintings, posters, prints, home décor and gifts. She personally designs and paints each piece—some small in scale, others expansive and immersive.

Setting the Tempo
Julie’s dynamic artistic journey started early.

“I’ve always been an artist, from when I was little,” says Julie, who went on to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology in painting and illustration, with a minor in ceramics and English literature.
Julie, who listens to a steady stream of movie soundtracks while she works, jokes, “I’m a wannabe screenplay writer.” In a way, she’s arrived—at least visually—with painted instruments that tell layered, cinematic stories.

Even early on, her creativity extended beyond the canvas. “I used to design and build furniture and paint it,” she recalls.

One project changed the course of her career: a baby grand piano-shaped table surrounded by chairs cut in the silhouettes of musicians. “I was looking at the cello chair and thought, ‘What would happen if I painted a real cello?’” Julie says. She ordered one, painted it and placed it in her gallery window. “And it sold.”

That was more than 20 years ago, and Julie has never stopped painting instruments since.

But, Julie clarifies, she isn’t a musician. “I do not play any instruments,” she says plainly. But music’s reach, she has learned, is universal. “Everyone seems to love music art.”

As commissions followed, new challenges emerged. One client arrived with a trumpet and saxophone. “I said, ‘I haven’t painted horns or woodwinds yet,’” she recalls. “He said, ‘I don’t care. These are going to be your first.’”

She discovered that saxophones are the most complex. “They have about 275 parts,” she says. “I have to wrap each key three times.” Preparation alone takes seven to eight hours, and a full saxophone can take two to three weeks from start to finish.

“It’s a process,” Julie says.

Some commissions are purely aesthetic—art for rooms filled with musical instruments. Others are deeply personal. “I get people who want to tell their story on the instrument,” Julie explains. “Tributes, memorials, gifts for people’s life stories.”