Bookillumination

29/10/2026

Can you guess which letter this little guy is dangling from? 🕷️

If you’ve been following my work for over a year, you definitely have an unfair advantage here because I painted this piece last autumn, but found this unshared painting footage in my camera roll.

I didn't have time to do a brand-new spooky piece this season, so I thought you might enjoy a little look back.

Drop your guess below (and let me know if you remember seeing the finished artwork last year)! 📜✨

28/10/2026

People have always been fascinated by abnormalities. In the Middle Ages, the unknown was often shrouded in terror and myth, and so people at that time believed that monstrous races lived on the fringes of the known world.

As early as the 1st century, Pliny cataloged about 40 different races and described their appearance in his work „Naturalis historia“. In doing so, he blended myths with accounts of actual exotic tribes and animals, which, according to Pliny, originated primarily from India, Ethiopia, and the far north.

If you don’t have a Halloween costume yet, why not use the selection of 5 well-known “monster races” in today’s Illumination Insights as inspiration. Let me know which monster you’d dress up as for the Halloween party 👇

26/10/2026

Yes, I don't just paint animal portraits. In fact, portraits of people were my favorite subject when I was younger; back then, though, I painted them in oils on larger canvases. I have to admit that I find it a bit more challenging to do it with gouache in this small format 😄

25/10/2026

It’s long overdue, but I’d like to finally introduce myself properly. It’s been quite a journey to get here, and I still can’t quite believe where it has taken me.

From my childhood, through my studies in book studies, to managing the International Gutenberg Society in Mainz, and on to my PR job at a digital transformation network, art has always been a part of my life, but I kept telling myself that I was content for it to remain just a small, paid hobby.

I wasn’t being honest with myself, and I’m so grateful to you all for making it possible for me to face that truth. For the past two years, I’ve juggled two full-time jobs and given it my all to make my secret dream come true.

Now I’m here, anxiously wondering how long it will last. Or rather, I keep pushing that question aside, because I want to enjoy it for as long as it lasts. Whether you’ve been here since the first days or just found me this week: thank you for making this real.

Tell me in the comments: how long have you been following along, and where are you tuning in from?

Thank you for being here. - Julia

23/10/2026

Share this with the love of your life; we're excited to announce the Love of My Life - Fine Art Print ... a Julia x Jeeves Collaboration.

Turning a song into a work of art was a particularly wonderful task. A large initial letter featuring two swans opens the handwritten text in Textura, entwined with colorful tendrils adorned with more birds, and roses. In this piece, music, text, and imagery blend together into a single whole.

Jeeves is a musician and singer-songwriter, and this text comes from the lyrics of his song Share a Kiss.
He has been fascinated by Medieval Art, visiting the Met Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park, NYC witnessing the Unicorn Rests in The Garden, a book of hours, prayers, sacred symbols and design. Through magic, he found me (Julia), shared the song, and proposed exploring a collaboration.

The resulting piece feels like a blend of modern poetry and reproduction of an Illuminated Manuscript in the Late Medieval Style.

Prints are available for sale at either Julia or Jeeves' store:
https://www.bookillumination.de/product-page/share-a-kiss-art-print
https://jeevesfm.myshopify.com/products/share-a-kiss-fine-art-print

Everywhere I go,
everyone's searching for a reason
with you, there just isn't
my heart and soul
and body and mind
they just fell into line
my heart's so loud,
don't know how
don't care why,
cause you are
the love of my life

22/10/2026

Please don't tell Luke whose portrait I'm actually painting here 🤫

21/10/2026

Even after several hundred years, nothing has changed: Cats are our constant companions, and even when they wreak the greatest havoc, we can’t stay mad at them.

At least, that’s probably how a scribe from Deventer, the Netherlands, felt in 1420. When a cat urinated on his newly completed manuscript one night, he took it in stride, drew a cat next to the stain, and vented his frustration with just a few words in which he cursed the cat.

Aside from immortalizing themselves in this way or through paw prints in manuscripts, medieval artists also celebrated them in their illuminations.

Swipe through the images to discover the symbolism of cats and their various appearances in medieval manuscripts.

18/10/2026

15/10/2026

These two cuties here are Luna and Zelda. I painted them a while ago, but I’d finally like to share them—and the process behind this piece—with you. Aren’t they adorable?