BBC Make it at Market to air episode on West Berks nurse-turned-painter
Jill Hobbs is in the the spotlight this week as she aims to turn her passion for painting into something bigger on Series 2 of BBC1’s Make it at Market.
The episode will be aired on Wednesday at 4.30pm.
Jill gave up her dream of being an artist in her teens when her mother died suddenly. Jill was left to work whatever jobs came her way rather than follow her passion but, when COVID hit, she started painting.
At seven months pregnant and 18 years after she’d put her dreams aside, the flame was rekindled and she started a life-changing journey.
“When I picked up the brush for the first time, my entire world stopped. I fell in love with it again and I knew I had to let it grow.
“My painting developed into an obsession and by 2022 I was selling my artwork regularly and taking on commissions.
“I have now carried out around 50 commissions for people from all over the UK.
“ I paint with feeling and expression, to try and capture what we hold most dear. My favourite bit of being a nurse was to meet amazing people and listen to their stories, now I get to capture that in my art and it's a real privilege.”
Jill left her nursing job in February this year deciding it was ‘now or never’, although she had no idea how things would turn out.
She applied to take part in the BBC programme Make it at Market, which is an intense mentorship programme guiding talented craftspeople into the scary world of business. It is presented by Repair Shop craftsman Dominic Chinea.
“I got the shock of my life when I got the call to say I’d been chosen to take part!
“The process has pushed me further than I could ever have imagined. Working with my mentor Sharon Walters has taught me so much in such a short space of time and she has done it in a way that has kept hold of the integrity of my work.
“More so, she has taught me to paint for myself, that it isn't just about business and making money, and this has helped to shape my business into something I'm even more passionate about.
“The other makers on the show are such incredible, talented and brilliant people. We have shared so much together to get through this whole process and to get to this point. There is still so much to learn but I can’t wait to see what happens next.”
Jill recently gave an inspiring keynote speech at this years West Berks Learners Achievement Awards and is currently exhibiting at ACE space in Newbury until the end of December, holding an open view on Sunday (December 10).
You can find her at jillhobbsart.co.uk or email jillhobbsart@outlook.com
She will be the ’featured artist’ in Newbury’s Howarths Gallery from January and will be exhibiting at Connected at the Old Fire Station in Henley in April 2024 curated by Cat Croxford and Liz Harvey.
