Janet Julian: Guided by angels
By Claire Levine
Janet Julian is a super-important contributor to the Jeremy Wilson Foundation.
She’s not wealthy. She’s not a business person. She’s not living off investments. And no, she’s not an heiress. Calling herself a non-consumer, Janet said, “I have succeeded in living off an average of $15,000 a year for many years – and I still manage to save money.”
So, no, she’s not wealthy – but boy, is Janet rich in talent, good will, stories – and love.
Since the JWF’s beginnings, Janet has donated her amazing artwork to support the foundation. She is a tireless volunteer, as well, staffing merch tables and helping out at any JWF event she can get to, to talk up the organization and encourage support.
Jeremy Wilson said the cumulative value of Janet’s contributions is greater than that of most donors over the foundation’s 15-year history.
Janet Julian Art
Finding her own path, with the help of some angels. From the ages of six to 10, Janet lived in Brookline, Massachusetts, while her father did his graduate work in the field of chemistry.
She said, “They were my best four years – because as a latchkey child there were many adults in our apartment building and neighborhood who looked out for me.”
One of the angels there for her was Percy, who took care of the incinerator in the basement of the apartment building. With no adults at home, Janet would visit Percy in the basement after school for companionship. And it was a gift from Percy that would get her interested in art.
“It was a tiny decoupage painting on a piece of wood, with a little hanger,” to suspend it. “It might have been a miniature copy of a famous painting. They used to sell these at the five and dime store,” Janet said.
Percy found it in the building’s garbage and rescued it before it was burned. “He said, ‘I can’t believe that somebody threw away this good old painting. Would you like to have it?’
“And I still have it,” Janet said.
Percy’s kindness spurred an interest in found objects and art that has inspired Janet’s work for decades.
“I would find things on the ground to use, because I didn’t have anything else. So, my first collages used things like cigarette packages, broken plastic forks and little bits of candy foil.”
And those found items are still essential elements in the collages she creates on wood scraps today. Look for colorful, quirky, shiny elements in all her pictures.
Pointing at a work in progress, she notes, “These are Trader Joe’s peanut butter cup wrappers, so save your foils for me.” Her sister sends her gum wrappers, which she loves for their beautiful colors.
Janet Julian Art
More angels. Maybe it’s because she’s so open to others, or because it takes one to know one. In any case, angels seem to show up for Janet.
Once, while trying to build stamina by walking after recovering from a medical procedure, Janet was in Fern Hill Park with a friend. She noticed an older man “hobbling along the dirt path, using two canes.”
She told her companion, “That man has something to say to me.” So, she said, “I hurried over there and said, ‘Wow, you’re really making some progress.’’
He responded: “Let me tell you something. A year ago, my doctor gave me a death sentence. He told me to just get on the couch and stay here. And one day I was lying on the couch, and I said to myself, ‘Wes, you gotta keep moving.’ And see this red bracelet around my wrist? It tells me to keep moving.’”
Janet’s walking companion later gave her a red bracelet made of beans that said, “Keep Moving.”
That random encounter gave Janet a message that she still holds dear today, as she once again is battling cancer – and the cruel advice of some doctors.
About angels: “I was brought up by Unitarians, and my dad was an atheist,” which is why, she said, she didn’t ever think about angels.
“So, when I discovered them, I thought, ‘why can’t I have angels in my life?’”
Between the ones she meets in real life and the ones in her artwork and music, she’s surrounded by them now. (One Petty Cash album is called Shrouded by Angels.)
Matching overalls
Janet makes friends everywhere. She and Larry, who met in a medical clinic, bonded over their love of Dickies overalls. Photo by a helpful Providence nurse.
So much talent, so much caring. Janet is admired as a musician, as well as a visual artist (follow her on Facebook and Instagram to see some of her work).
Her band, Petty Cash, has been together for several decades, and she performs an all-age show one Saturday afternoon a month at the Laurelthirst.
Pretty in Pink
Buoyant as ever, Janet wore a favorite pink blouse to a recent show at the Laurelthirst. Photo by Michael Doc Slocum
It was through the Laurelthirst community that Janet became aware of Jeremy Wilson, and then the Jeremy Wilson Foundation. And once the foundation started up, she immediately jumped in to help.
Janet Julian volunteers her time and donates art to the JWF cause - with a little help from Sarah Lonigro at the Alberta Rose Theatre.
“I just want people to get what they need as musicians. For them, there’s no safety net,” Janet said.
“I just love Jeremy so deeply, and I love that he was inspired by the help he got – and that he wanted to pass on that help for others.
“I have many friends who’ve been helped by it. I myself got $1,500 from the safety net program for two months of rent when I had a situation about six years ago.”
At most JWF events, you can find an original Janet piece being auctioned off. More recently, she has started making prints, postcards and calendars, so her art is available to more people, and she can throw some business to a local printmaker.
George Harrison
She often creates a portrait of a musician featured at a JWF show, like one of George Harrison made for the All Things Must Pass show. An unfinished painting of Dylan, created for his birthday celebration, impressed one patron to such an extent that his high offer immediately shut down further bids. He met Janet two days later at a coffee shop to pick up the finished product.
Her 2025 calendar, A Year-Long Celebration of Music, showcases portraits from past JWF shows – from the Gram Parsons tribute to The Next Waltz. All proceeds after production costs went to the JWF.
“This is a way that I, as a low income person, can give,” Janet said. I can’t donate money, but I can raise money,” she said.
Of her artwork, she says, “Dog-eared and damaged, all the better – I like to take the lost, abandoned and forgotten and give it new life. And I love to hang my arti in the ‘museums of the everyday,’ coffeeshops, bars, dispensaries and beauty parlors.”
Janet Julian
"I’ve admired Janet Julian’s voice and art for decades, and even more so in the 15 years since founding the JWF. Everything she creates reflects creativity and integrity, and her support pushes us to stay true to our mission. Janet is one of the key inspirations behind our vision to elevate the human experience through music, and art!" - Jeremy Wilson (pictured with Janet)
She’s one of those people.
Janet is one of the rare ones – talented in many ways, kind, engaging, self-effacing, and as much a part of Portland’s music scene as the Laurelthirst itself.
