Bjorn Lie

Frelance artist Bjorn Lie gave a talk to us about what it was like in the industry as a frelance illustrator and what he does and what he has learnt from himself as he develops his own visual language.

Lie has worked on many platforms such as magazine portraits and editorial works for the NY times.  But he has also worked with Fashion designers in Australia and product branding for babies.
he spoke about how he personally liked to do exhibitions of is fine art and books. He felt that picture books have more longevity as his children book is still coming out 8 years after in America.

Though he said that the one downside to freelancing is that pay is uncertain and you never know where it might be coming from. in the beginning you may spread yourself too thin and you may need to focus on a specific platform.

Lie talked about his influences in his visual language, talking about his love for gross out humour, hair metal, hip hop and graphiti and how those retro aesthetics influenced how he drew. He made comic books based on strange characters and situations as a child even making his own cigarette packaging. Lie loved using nostalgia in his work, this showing though with his use of retro colours, but also he uses nature to great effect as he was living in the Norwegian suburbs and often went skiing, nature was part of his childhood.

We can see from Lie's talk that as a freelance artist you can work on many platforms and many different types of clients. Versatility is the key, and mastering different meduims of art is a great help. Lie also showed that you shouldn't be afraid of revisiting the past for inspiration, as you never know where it may lead you now.