Meet Jillian Harvey
I was a director of an Auction House and travelled a lot; New York, Washington, Sydney, Melbourne, Hong Kong and Singapore: until illness brought me to a crossroads.and a step back to what made me happy .. that decision took me to West Dean College where I took my foundation in art and design, then to the University of Applied Arts for a Foundation Diploma (Pre degree) in Fine Art and then as a mature student at the University of Chichester where I obtained a First Class BA (Hons) in Fine Art...so that took me 8 years so as you can see I never gave up....a creative brain never stops; just keep showing up; I just knew there was something there, that was in reach for me...
I am not an educator or a teacher, ...as that was part of my corporate role and not something I enjoyed..I am at heart an introvert....but I love designing and working on new ideas.... and it has to have colour.
Up popped the name Bonnie Christine and Flourish and after I graduated this was a path I wanted to follow. I was always doodling and playing with colour.
I wanted to be creative but also to keep learning new skills. Well the rest is history... I was a little worried about joining as it takes me a while to tackle technology but the flow of the course and the teaching gave me confidence. Now I can just use Illustrator with ease. Also when I forget how to do something I can just dip back into my library.
I create on a daily basis .... do one thing everyday....and my ability to manipulate Illustrator to produce digital art prints is a joy and this also influences my screen printing where I produce large prints by hand. I also love creating patterns for textiles but I do that more for fun now without seriously looking at licensing.... perhaps I should.
What would I say to someone... its never too late.... don't give up..... it does not matter about your age or whether you do not have a specific goal in mind... because this opens up so many avenues... so much potential. On the days when you feel the imposter syndrome raising its head.... and it happens.... you know you have the skill set to keep pushing forward. That is when I decided to take the Mentoring Course... it was just lush and so fulfilling.... again a win win.
Looking forward; promoting my website where I sell my art prints, trying desperately to grow an email list, hoping to actually sell in person in a Gallery (big dream that! ) I am still learning the marketing angle as I am not very good at it but again... I still dig into my library and come up with something that boosts my morale and takes me forward.
Best thing I ever did....thank you.
