It’s time for our next Featured Student! For September we are featuring:

Janette Hill

• Website: JanetteHill.com

• Instagram: @janettehillart

Below is an awesome Q&A that our friend Katy Adebayo, conducted with Jannete.

In this era of pressure, doubts and competition, stories like the one shared here by Janette Hill can be like a buoy of reassurance in the unsympathetic sea. If the noise around you is saying, “You’re not good enough!” and you’re wondering if you should join the choir, take a moment to read about Janette’s triumph over those voices and be refreshed by this brilliant, hilarious and down-to-earth memoir.

Hi! Could you share a little bit about yourself?

I'm Janette. Originally from England, I moved to the US in 2004, and aside from a few years in Minnesota, I've mainly lived in southern Wisconsin. American's can't understand a word I say, then when I go back to England, everyone tells me I sound American. I can't win! I work as a freelance illustrator and artist, and have done for the whole time I've been in the States, sometimes full time, sometimes part time. Right now, it's full time, baby!

Did you become an artist easily? What’s your story?

When I was little and grown-ups asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always answered 'An Artist'. Might have well have said I wanted to earn a living spelunking. But, art was the only thing I was any good at in school. At least, the only subject I was better at than my friends. I was a rubbish at sport —despite going to all the netball and hockey practices. Numbers were—and still are—a challenge for me, and everything else, I was just mediocre at. Except Art.  I loved it.

And so, naturally, I went on to fail Art in school. To be fair, our teacher wasn't exactly dedicated to his students, and the whole class failed aside from 2 kids who got the lowest possible pass grade. I was 18. I also failed Biology, so, seeing as I now earn my living as an artist, technically, I could have ended up a brain surgeon. 

I ended up enrolling in a Graphic Design course at the local college for an Associates degree. It was fine. I was terrified of the new Apple Macs they had there. I was enrolled in college, but wasn't actually there much and managed to pass that course by the skin of my teeth! My lecturers had seen that I had more of an interest in illustration, but I was told I wasn't good enough. It was too competitive, and did I really want to spend days dragging my big old portfolio around the streets of London, to all the different publishing houses and agencies, begging for work, like some starving artist Oliver Twist.

It was an encouraging time.

My folks, weren't too happy with my plans either. Who can blame them? And I wasn't exactly proving my passion by studying hard and giving it my all. I think most parents are a bit scared when their child wants to be an artist for a job.

So, anyway, I left college, had an interview with a local Advertising agency for a graphic design position, got the job, bought some smart clothes and a briefcase, learnt not to be scared of a Mac, made lots of mistakes, did some horrendous design work, made a LOT of coffee for people, and drew a bit. Didn't really like it. Designing brochures for cookers didn't really light my fire.

But then ... but then I got a job in a publishing company and moved away from my home town! It was also a graphic design position, but my Manager saw that I had a sketch book and liked to illustrate. The company produced educational books and so used a lot of outside illustrators. I'll forever be grateful that someone finally seemed to see some potential in me and I started to do a few illustrations. Then my manager was told by the owner of the company to not let me do any more illustrations because I wasn't good enough. This was a huge blow to me. It was like I had to finally realise that I just wasn't good enough to be an illustrator.

Everyone had told me that. People that know stuff. I felt like I had no choice but to just give up. It felt like an important moment in my life. Did I actually have to give up my dream? A few months later, a new primary book needed to be done and new characters created. I persuaded my Manager to let me try. He agreed, and so I submitted my clown character design, along with his friends and family. The board in charge of selecting the style had my submission and 4 other outside illustrators. They chose mine. Yep. Happy dance. Then, I had to design, layout, and illustrate a whole pupils book in ONE MONTH. But hey, they CHOSE me!

After that, things just kept going. I illustrated more and more for them. I think part of the problem that lead to the initial rejection was that I was trying to do a style I couldn't do at the time - realistic. But let me create cartoons, and I was off!

I worked there for 6.5 years before I moved to the US. It made sense to see if I could work freelance when I came here, and I've been doing that ever since. I've illustrated over 20 story books, and loads of educational spot illustrations. Some years ago I got involved with my local art community and started to produce more fine art. Something I'd never done before. At first I had a hard time not needing direction. I had to have an artwork brief! But gradually, I found my voice and these days selling my abstract paintings has become a large part of my income. 

It always blows my mind that I could have given it all up. But to be honest, I don't know what else I would have done. I suppose stay in the graphic design field. I still do that, and have the background and experience to take books from concept, to design and layout, through illustration, to print ready files. So, it's been a huge benefit. But I'm so glad I didn't listen to all the negative comments and actually believed in myself. It's a story I always tell kids when I go to schools to talk about what I do. It's important to me.

Sorry, that was soooo long!

That is an incredible story! Could we see some of your art? 

Sure! The first one, is one of many abstract watercolor and ink paintings I do. I sell these at galleries locally and art markets. I think at some point I need to combine the children's book style and this abstract style, but I haven't quite worked out how to do that yet.

The sweaty armpits guy is from a book I illustrated when the Olympics were in England. It was called Animal Antics, published by Red Robin Books ltd. So, it's old, but it cracks me up, because - I feel ya, hyperhidrosis guy!  I ended up having it framed. It was done with Prismacolor pencils. I probably wouldn't do another book in coloured pencils because it took about 54.5 years to complete. 

The lumberjack guy was a vector illustration. I loved him because I got to do him when I was working primarily as a graphic designer for a high-end mens shirt company, and they asked me to create a mascot. I've been really fortunate like that, that I've had the opportunity to do illustration in my design jobs in the past.

I couldn't not include a plate I drew on!

And then finally, probably my favourite to date. Albert T. Red. From the June prompt :)

I love that you embrace your diverse interests - illustration, fine art, graphic design, plate painting and family portraits to name a few - and that you embrace the different styles that you use, even within the category of illustration. What are your thoughts on “finding a style”? How has the freedom you’ve given yourself to experiment impacted your career so far?

Maybe it's because I'm self-taught, maybe it's because I always think other artists are better than me, maybe it's because I have crippling self doubt, but I have A LOT of different styles. I've gone through my career wanting to always draw like the next person I thought was amazing. Whether that was highly successful illustrators, or just my artistic peers. I've tried almost every different style and technique. It's a problem. It sometimes drives me a little bonkers, and sometimes I like it. I think I get bored easily, so I love being able to move from my laptop or ipad, and go paint with acrylics or watercolours. I love using dip pen and inks. I love creating stupidly intricate abstract art, and drawing millions of individual hairs on a dog portrait. Needle felting, wood whittling, sculpey clay, realistic pencil portraits, I've done it all. Except oils. Oils suck. And yes, a few years ago I started drawing on plates. No one invites me over for dinner anymore for fear I'll start decorating their dinner plates. I still do graphic design work too. So, yes, sometimes it annoys me that I don't have one set style that is 'me', but lately, I've realised I just need to embrace that. It's all me. And all of the things I do influence each other. And to be honest, now I've been back to 100% self employed since March this year, about half of my income has been from selling paintings, so I'm not going to stop doing it. I just love creating. I love trying new techniques.

So, I don't know if I have thoughts on finding a style. I would probably tell my younger self to stop copying others and trust your own instinct. But then, that's how I taught myself. When I heard the guys talk about that on the podcast, and mention that in no other training or studying, are you expected to not learn and copy others —like musicians, that really helped me be a bit kinder to myself about it all.

On the one hand, being so diverse has been good for me. Authors say, I want this or that kind of style, and I can do it. Except oils. Oils suck. I've been able to pay bills by doing copycat work when there's too much for a lead illustrator to handle for an educational series. Some people think that's selling out. I saw it as learning more and being able to eat and buy shoes. 

On the other hand, maybe if I had a set style 20 years ago, I might be much further along in my career than I am right now. But, you can't change the past. So here I am, at 46, finally pushing myself to get in with bigger publishing companies. 

You have a lot of children’s books and other projects under your belt. Do you have favorite projects that you’ve done? It would be great to hear more about one of them and what was special about that experience.  

I actually really enjoyed working with the self publishing authors. They were so excited about it all. Like a child! That's always fun. I love my job. I have the sense of humour of a 13 year old boy, so being able to draw a seagull pooping on a parrot on the cover of The Jolly Dodgers, cracks me up everytime I see it. I love adding funny little details into the illustrations. Many of the books I've done have had toys made to go with the book. It's amazing to see a character you created, made into a soft toy, or a puppet. It's just brilliant!

Could we also hear more about the endeavor that you mention on your website called “Reasons For My Love”? What an interesting idea!

Oh, that was an idea from a friend of mine. People could order custom illustrations for their loved ones, stating the reasons why they loved them. Customers could order as many 'pages' as they liked and they could be like a subscription. It would all be presented in fancy packaging. It appeared in a magazine in Florida, but I haven't actually done any yet. To be fair, I haven't promoted it too much either. It's a fun idea.

Finally, what’s the most important thing anyone has ever said to you, or done for you, that has been a source of encouragement for your art career?

Definitely that old Manager from my publishing job in England. He was the first person to encourage me to illustrate. I'll never forget that. We are still friends and he now owns his own small publishing company, and I've done many books through him. He's my go-to person when I have a question about printing books. Cheers Dave!

More recently, when I was considering leaving my part-time graphic design job at the beginning of this year, to go back to 100% freelance as an illustrator, I was having huge doubts. One of my friends said, 'You can stay where you are, and continue what you're doing now, and it'll be... fine. But you'll never grow.' I quit my job that week. And, I haven't regretted it once! If you don't do the scary things, the easy things make you sleepy.

It has been an honor and joy to hear your stories. Thanks so much, Janette!

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