Oh, RE-INTRODUCTION! My name is Jen. I’m 42 and I live in a wonky but cute terraced house in Leicester with Dan and Nancy the Cat. And Brian.
I am an illustrator and boss of Brian the Rainbow. One of my little characters who got out of hand.
I was shy and weird and anxious AF as a child with a WILD imagination. So I withdrew and got drawing…
…On the back of cereal boxes and that weird printer paper with perforated edges from the 80s.
I also had a toy called Finny the Crocodile. He was very silly and badass. And I did most of my chatting through him. Lol.
An obsession with baking and Delia Smith meant I picked Food Tech over Art GCSE. Classic.
Studying Music at uni meant I became a teacher. Of Drama.
And sharing a drawing of a giraffe on a whim led to me jacking in the teaching and becoming an illustrator. (I mean that story is way more complicated but I am trying to keep things light!)
Five years ago I drew a rainbow with a face and called him Brian. Not cos I chose that name for him but because that’s what he said he was called. And to be honest, I have been listening to his nonsense ever since.
I’ve always struggled to feel comfortable in my own skin and I think I invented Brian to help try and fix that (that and ongoing therapy)
If it wasn’t for you lot though, Brian the Rainbow probs wouldn’t have showed up in my studio that day.
You dear pals - old and new- have given me the confidence to tell my stories over and over. And for that I am more grateful than I could ever draw.
Brian is as much yours as he is mine. And we are ready to share the next chapter with you.
Strap in though. He’s going to be a nightmare 😏🌈
Pics:
1. Shy but wearing the coolest outfit 😎
2. Finny arrives! What a day.
3. The Delia Smith years 😂. Although I’d like to point out I was also obsessed with Jarvis Cocker.
4. Finny today*
*showed this to Brian and said that’s what happens when you’re loved to pieces. He looked worried 🌈😬