Today we’d like to introduce you to Julien Leigh “Jude” Kaufman.
Hi Julien Leigh “Jude”, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was born in Nashville, TN to two music industry professionals, and I credit my parents for what feels like an innate love for music and the arts. My earliest memories included watching traditionally animated films of the 1990’s, and feeling how the hand-drawn expressions and carefully composed music created an entire moving painting of emotion. Those films, and their visual and musical aesthetics, became a fixture of my inter world.
Since then, drawing has always been the most natural way for me to express myself and celebrate the things I love. As a kid I was constantly writing, drawing, and acting out stories, usually featuring animal characters. Around 12 years old, I started taking my craft more seriously, learned character-drawing techniques, and broke into digital media using Microsoft Paint and Photoshop. I remained deeply inspired by those early creative influences, including the music I had inherited generationally through my family – Toto, Peter Gabriel, Bruce Hornsby…real Boomer kinda stuff.
While I never stopped drawing through any stage of my life, I did treat my artistry as a delicate part of me that needed boundaries. I chose not to pursue higher education in the visual arts, and instead I dove into a liberal arts education; I earned a BA in Philosophy and Biological Sciences from Webster University, which is what brought me to St. Louis. My college career was broad and multi-passionate – I graduated with high honors, with a minor and a certification and many student leadership accolades. Very little of that experience was creative in nature, or had anything to do with my illustration interest.
My career after college was equally diverse and rarely used my visual arts skills at all. I worked in cremation for humans and pets; I earned a dog training certification and taught obedience lessons; I worked for a local pet supply boutique in many capacities. Ultimately I landed a career in corporate nonprofit, and that work was varied enough that it kept me interested for about five years.
Ultimately though, as I settled into the security of my adulthood, my artistry found its way out of the shadows. My partner and I found a contemporary music scene around the pop-funk band Vulfpeck, and that connected me with countless new people who shared my values and helped me feel seen. I began doing labors of love and paid creative work for the musicians who inspired me, and I traveled across the United States to convene with my new creative community. Those experiences showed me that my spirit needed the arts in a bigger way than I’d been honoring.
In April 2025, I left my corporate career with no new job in place. I knew from past experience how to get paid for freelance artwork, so I chose to turn up the volume on that path for a while. What followed has been a full-time dedication to my artistry that I never planned or thought was possible. 10 months later and I’m still working as an independent illustrator, and my dream is to continue that work far into the future. It’s created a sense of sovereignty that I always quietly desired – I think I was meant to use my high-achieving tendencies to build a whimsical creative community, and that’s my entire focus right now.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I don’t believe there’s any time in recent memory when being an independent artist was an easy task. The arts defy our inherited systems of value generation and maximizing productivity – art is stubbornly subjective, which is why it’s easy to devalue it as a luxury or a cheap skill. Compound that with the fact that data centers can now create images that look like art, and you have a field that feels more devalued every day. Art may seem like a high-class industry, but most artists are truly just laborers, and it’s not an easy time for anyone to be a laborer in the United States.
I chose to commit myself to my artistry despite these challenges. I’ve always been deeply motivated by my values, and it feels like an important time to use the privilege I have to say no, art can only be made by people – art is absolutely necessary for our survival, and humanity needs people who make art as if it is necessary.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m an illustrator of creatures and characters, primarily working in digital media. One area where I’m active is in the space shared by humans and the animals they love – I offer illustrations that show pets as characters, with vibrant colors and animated expressions. My portraits are intended to be whimsical and to feel imaginary, as if you’re watching a hero’s journey film about your best friend. I offer a few styles of pet illustration, typically at local and national dog shows. You’ll catch me opening commissions at Purina Farms this year.
I also use my design and illustration skills to serve music. To create album artwork and merch designs for performers is among the more meaningful parts of my job. I love to make trinkets that celebrate music and bring fan communities together. To my shock, my artwork appeared onstage at Vulfpeck’s Madison Square Garden show in 2019, all because I chose to draw fanart one day and shared it online. From there, I curated the first open-source fan merch collection ever sold at a Vulfpeck live show (Stubb’s in Austin, TX, 2024), featuring work by multiple artists. With fellow creator and artist Lexi Nieto, I also co-created Starship Pin-copation, which distributed free, custom enamel pins at every stop on Cory Wong’s 2024 fall tour. Experiences like these kicked off my merch design career, and I now offer those skills to performers both local to St. Louis and worldwide.
Alongside bespoke work like this, you’ll find me at markets and art shows around St. Louis, selling originals and prints of my own work. I partner with Madeline Moylan of MAMPaperDesigns here in STL to create handmade coloring books featuring my illustration. I also work with West Town Stickers in Chicago to manufacture all of my stickers. My prints are handmade, cut and packaged by myself. Everything I offer is prepared with love by human beings and dear friends who love music and the arts as much as I do.
I have many ambitions for my artwork, including book illustration and show poster design. I launched a Patreon this year and will soon have merchandise available for purchase online. Those are a couple easy ways to get involved. Follows on social media are also a tremendous help to me.
How do you define success?
To me, success is just about feeling free. It’s not about an end-goal, because everything is ephemeral – all of our feelings, arrangements, and relationships will expire. I think everyone’s hope is to use their limited time on this Earth to play, to love, to help, and to feel great. To do that, you have to figure out what you really want – not what your loved ones or your society wants, but what YOU want. It’s surprisingly hard to do that, especially when you’re trying to just survive. I would encourage others to really listen to how they feel, even when it’s uncomfortable or goes against conventional wisdom. You have to trust your soul and your body, because everything you push away WILL come back and ask you to listen. The sooner you listen, the sooner you’ll feel free.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://tamberwolf.wixsite.com/tamberwolf
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/tamberwolf
- Other: http://linktr.ee/tamberwolf
