Get to Know Lee Foster-Wilson

Lee Foster-Wilson

Once again we’re delving into the day-to-day life of one of our artists. Today it’s my Cornwall-based illustrator, Lee Foster-Wilson. Lee is inspired by the rural, coastal landscape that surrounds her. She likes to work with traditional analogue materials as well as digitally. Her favourite tool is her trusted marker pens.

How do you kickstart your day?

“If it’s term time in a normal world, the day will start with the usual hustle to get my children to school. My children and I are not morning people and it takes us a good couple of hours to wake up (especially as I don’t like coffee) so this is usually quite painful for everyone, especially my husband, Mark, who is the lark who has to be our alarm clock!

“Once I am at my desk I usually start by answering emails and enquiries and planning my day. I like to write so I may sit and do that for 20 minutes once the admin is out of the way, before getting on with whatever else needs doing, I find it helps loosen up my brain for creative work.

“I’ve decided recently that once the children are back at school I am going to take this writing and thinking time out into the countryside a couple of times a week. I am really lucky to live very near the Cornish coast and some quiet (in the off season anyway) beaches so after the school run I’m going to go the long way home and have some time to myself for half an hour before I get to my desk. Quiet and time to think (and wake up properly!) is really important to me.”

Describe your working environment – what sights & sounds are there?

“I actually have two working environments – a converted shed where I do the order packing for my business, Bonbi Forest, and my home studio that I share with my husband which is where I do everything else: admin, illustrating, procrastinating etc.

“The Bonbi Forest studio was once a lovely space with white walls and benches all the way around and I used to spend most of my working time in there. Since I had my children I don’t do so much making (I employ my sister-in-law make the jewellery for me which she does from her own home) and I just go in there to pack orders, so it is mostly functional now rather than beautiful… piles of cardboard boxes, stacks of greyboard for packing prints, labelled drawers full of pins and jewellery and lots and lots of those Really Useful boxes housing cards, prints, books, business cards etc. It actually really, really needs a big clear out and I think it would be much nicer again!

“My home studio is much more inspiring. It has dual aspect windows and a very high ceiling. My computer is by one window and my illustration desk is by the other (Mark is a web developer and doesn’t need to look out of the window, so he sits by the skylights instead, ha ha!) I have some of my original artworks pinned to one wall to bring a hit of colour and little postcards and things that inspire me dotted about.

“There is a big Ikea kallax unit housing all sorts of bits and bobs, magazines I have been featured in and samples of things my illustrations have appeared on and in, as well as inspiring books and magazines to see me through creative slumps, and the usual files of business admin bumpf.

“We also have a huge table in the middle of the room which is super useful for laying stuff out and generally making a bit more of a mess. The studio is overlooked at one end by the upstairs landing which leads into the kitchen so if I am working and it’s Mark’s turn to cook, or the children are baking with him (he’s the baker in our family) all sorts of lovely smells can waft in and make my mouth water!”

What are the biggest challenges you face on a day to day basis?

“Since March it has mostly been time. Having the children at home means that Mark and I have had to split the day so he works one end and I work the other and we tag team hand over the children at lunchtime! I’ve had to put some projects on hold as it’s just been too difficult to fit everything in but I am sure when we get back to a new normal with the children going back to school in September, I will be able to get going with them again.

“Aside from that the biggest challenges come from Bonbi Forest, my business—making sure stock and supplies are ordered, keeping on top of finances, dealing with enquiries and requests and any difficulties arising from lost orders etc.

“Thinking up new ideas is one of the things I love most about my job, it’s also a challenge but one that I really like. I’m quite slow at it and like to ponder a lot and I tend to do a lot of writing in order to figure the ideas out. I need silence and no distractions for that, which has been hard to find recently but it has kind of just added to the challenge I guess!”

What radio station/podcast/audiobooks do you listen to while you work?

“When I am packing orders for Bonbi Forest I like to listen to Radio 4. I don’t have any internet in that studio and aside from an ancient CD player I only have an old analogue Robert’s radio for entertainment. I’ve been listening to it for years and feel like I know not very much about lots of things now!

“When I am working on creative stuff it varies. I like silence if I’m doing something that needs thinking about but if I am out of the other side of the brain taxing part of illustrating I usually listen to music. I’m not a huge podcast listener but I have a few I dip in and out of occasionally – Creative Pep Talk and The Jealous Curator being two of them. I think I need to expand my podcast horizons a bit more!”

What makes you smile throughout the day?

“My children are very funny and come out with some belters every day, we love a good giggle together! And my cat, when he’s not being a bit annoying and walking around on my desk he is usually fast asleep looking beautiful somewhere. I’ve never known a being who can manage to make wherever he sits look so completely cosy!”

What keeps you motivated throughout the day?

“Earlier in the year I heard an episode of Creative Pep Talk where Andy J Pizza interviewed his friend and fellow illustrator Fran Meneses. She talked about how she likes to think of her future self when she is doing tasks, especially if something is a bit boring or difficult and how much her future self will either thank her or resent her present self for doing or not doing the task now and getting it over with. It’s an idea I love and I’ve subscribed to it ever since, so I like to get the boring and difficult things done first so my future self can enjoy the fun jobs knowing the not so fun ones are done and dusted!”

How do you wind down at the end of a long day?

“Once my children are asleep I love to either go for a walk or I like to go into the garden and potter about out there. Last year we moved into our new home which we converted from a barn, and until lockdown started the garden was still a bit of a wasteland with a lawn we seeded last year and not much else other than piles of rubbish left over from when the barn was originally cleared out for the build to start, and mounds of stones etc. Now we have finished the lawn (which involved shifting several truck loads of earth by hand on the lockdown weekends!) and have made some flower beds, I have been enjoying getting outside and planting them up in the evenings and inspecting my cuttings for signs of growth. It’s not exactly what you’d call ‘mature’ yet but I’m hoping that next year we will start to see the fruits of our labour and the hard work will have been worth it!”

What do you enjoy doing outside of work? What are your hobbies?

“My new found love of gardening and growing veg! I never really understood it and was more of a plant killer but I’ve learned that it’s just like anything else – you can improve at it if you put your mind to it and take the time to learn. I’m really into it now and while I am still very much a novice, I love learning about the plants, deciding where they will go and seeing things grow. I like to imagine what it will look like when all of the colours and shapes have grown up, a bit like putting together a very slow piece of art!

“I also love riding horses whenever I can, usually a few times a month. We live right next door to my mum’s stables so I am able to go and ride her horse when she’s not busy doing her dressage training and competing with her.

“And of course I love hanging out with my children, playing with them and going for walks on the beach—their joyful way of seeing the world and inquisitive minds inspire me to keep a sense of wonder and to see things in a playful way!”