After a career in music, Jane Foster decided to switch gears and start a new career in her late 30s. “It’s been quite an exciting adventure so far!” she writes on her website. “I moved to Devon from Brighton around eight years ago and I became a self-employed creative with a multi-hyphen career.”
Her “multi hyphen” career includes illustrating, writing, and textile designing. Based in South Devon, Foster spends much of her time illustrating books and working on licensing designs but she also has a small range of products that she creates for her web shop. “My purpose in life is to bring joy into other people’s lives by creating happy illustrations for children’s books, wall art, mugs, and other products,” she writes. Indeed, her bold, happy designs appeal to children and adults alike.
But carving herself her own path took time, effort, and overcoming her doubts. “I’m very self-critical and worry a lot so it’s quite bizarre in some ways that I left the security of a teaching career (in music) to carve out a new career in an area which is so precarious,” she admitted in an interview with Creative Boom. “However, I also think the uncertainty drives me on and makes me determined to make my life work out.”
Her advice to other creatives? “Don’t be afraid to fail – successful people have failed lots. Talent is only a small part of becoming an illustrator, the rest is sheer dog-eared determination!”
