We were lucky to catch up with Jennifer Hawkyard recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jennifer, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

There’s an interesting narrative that is pervasive in the creative industries – the idea of the starving artist. And I think that prevents many people from pursuing a career in the arts. For me – I was an Art Director, managing a team of Designers and really at the top of my game when it comes to what society expects of career choices and such. But I was unhappy and unfulfilled. I decided to take a leap of faith, move countries (from Canada back to my homeland of the UK) and pursue my lifelong dream of being an illustrator. Things had simply got to a point where I knew I wouldn’t forgive myself if I didn’t at least try to pursue this dream. Having lost some family members to Cancer in close succession it really put my life into a harsh perspective when in my late twenties I was forced to really look at what I was doing and decide to make some pretty significant changes in order to follow my dreams. I remember at the time people’s attitudes to this decision was a mixture of thinking of me as “retired” – as if somehow pursuing a career in the arts was not “work”, and / or that I would starve. Ironically I now make more than I was when I was in a regular job and I work less hours and I’m also happy and fulfilled!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m a full time illustrator who works primarily in the spiritual / visionary art space. I’m best known for my Oracle decks which were created in collaboration with best-selling author Kyle Gray and published by Hay House (The Angel Guide Oracle, The Gateway of Light Activation Oracle and The Divine Masters Oracle). These decks have gone all over the world and reached many, many people. Seeing these decks being used to help people through times of difficulty and crisis in their lives has been for me one of my proudest achievements and it has connected me with a network of people worldwide that I would have otherwise struggled to reach. Prior to being an illustrator I was a graphic designer working for a branding and marketing agency in Canada where I lived for 11 years before returning back home to the UK to pursue my career as an artist. Interestingly, working in Design for as long as I did and having studied design at college I feel has made me exceptionally well skilled to pursue this career in illustration. I didn’t have any hang-ups about selling my work, quoting for my time, branding myself and presenting my work to the wider world. My illustration skills meanwhile were something I had been working on since I could hold a pencil and continued to develop whilst I worked as a designer. I was extremely fortunate to have had my work “found” by Kyle who was looking for a new artist to work with, he found my work online, loved what I was doing and approached me to see if I was interested in collaborating. This was definitely the catalyst for the success I’ve since had and I’m eternally grateful for that opportunity and that door that was opened for me.
Aside from working on oracle decks – which can take up to a year to produce (with 44 unique artworks within each deck), I also now work on my own personal projects and work one-to-one with clients all over the world to create intuitive artworks for them. I sell all my oracle artworks as prints on my website and so the launch of a new deck can mean a busy few months of shipping prints and products. I think people come to my work because there is something in the art that speaks to them, they have often discovered my work through using my oracle decks and have often have had a really meaningful experience and connection with the artwork, they often have a deeply emotional reaction to my work as well. As such they often reach out to me to understand more about my work, and to experience more of my work. I also run a busy membership on my website where (much like Patreon) people can pay a monthly fee to access ‘behind the scenes’ parts of my work, see how I create things, read various insights I share and much more besides. It’s been a joy to curate a space that is completely under my control, not beholden to an algorithm and a place where I can really share the full breadth of what I have going on here.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I think in the last few years the landscape for creatives of all types has changed drastically. I think many creatives have seen their career prospects implode due to the arrival of AI and what was already a difficult career to get into and maintain has for some become even more difficult. I think now is the time when society needs to stand up and start supporting and recognising its creatives for what they are. I do think AI and other similar technologies have a place, as with most things like this – it is simply a reflection of society – and currently AI is reflecting our lack of regard or interest in what and how creatives are surviving. So those who wish for Artists and other creatives to survive, I think it’s time for them to show up, start sharing the work of their favourite artists on social media, properly credit and attribute artworks to their artists – as social media is rife with posts that do not share the artist behind the image they have shared, and do some due diligence in learning what an AI generated image looks like. Rather than reacting with an “oooh shiny!” mindset, look a little closer and ask yourself – is there an artist behind this? Even better than sharing and commenting is supporting artists physically – whether it be joining their patreon or other similar platforms, buying prints of their work or commissioning them to create something for you.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Weirdly, despite what I’ve shared above about the state of creative industries with the arrival of AI, in the past 5 years my business has survived and thrived through the arrival of covid-19 ( a time when a lot of other industries collapsed) and now AI. Despite regularly thinking – oh this is it – the bubble is about to burst, my business has gone from strength to strength. I think that is largely down to having found a unique niche for my artwork and what I create. I’ve always sought out meaning for my work – I wanted to do more than create pretty pictures, for me it was important that somehow my artwork help the world. A lofty goal I know! But with so much anxiety and fear at the state of the world it’s important that my work does more than just grace someone’s wall for decoration. The fact that the niche I’ve found myself in does just that constantly surprises me and pushes me to continue onwards. I continue to be surprised and amazed and humbled by the impact my work has on individuals and it inspires me to keep going!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jezhawk.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jezhawk/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jezhawk/