Today we’d like to introduce you to Liv Bishop.
Hi Liv, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My hands have been reaching for art markers, paints, pens and paper since I was a little kid. In fact, I may have been drawing before I learned how to talk. I consider myself lucky to have been born into a creative family – my mother and grandmother painters, my father an architect, my aunt and cousins graphic designers, and my grandfather on my father’s side a cartoonist! I revered them growing up (and still do) for introducing me to the many forms of self-expression.
In my case, I started my creative journey with drawing, writing, and performance – scrawling poetry in composition notebooks, sketching the world around me (real and imaginary), and performing in community theater. In other words, I was a creative spaz growing up – jittering on new ideas and my ability to entertain people with those ideas.
Another way I performed (that in one way or another has influenced my artistic expression) is in athletics. Dance, gymnastics, figure skating, then basketball, volleyball, and track & field. As soon as I hit middle school, though, my curriculum made me choose between these two loves of mine; art and athletics. I tried my best to balance the two, always drawing when I wasn’t at practice or games. But by the time I reached my junior year, athletics won out when I was recruited to play volleyball at Michigan State University.
Long story short, I trained for a semester before listening to my heart, which was begging me to finally nurture my creative side and pursue art and design school. This brought me to the Savannah College of Art and Design, where I finally found the people (and environment) I was searching for. I chose the advertising and branding program, largely because I was (and still am) so interested in each creative discipline that I figured I could learn bits of everything in an agency setting. Plus, my time in sports made me a highly collaborative person and I knew advertising is founded on the convergence of people and ideas.
I graduated in the spring of 2019 at the ripe age of 20 and moved to Atlanta to start my career. You know, the thing everyone tells you you’re supposed to do. But a few months after successfully landing myself a 9-5 at an agency, my world was rocked when my dad passed away.
What was simmering in the back of my brain was now screaming at the forefront “Are you really happy with what you’re doing now? Life is so fragile. If you died tomorrow, would you be ok doing what you’re doing right this minute?” My gut said no, and I quit my job to pursue freelance illustration and branding design.
That was 2 years ago. After a lot of trial and error (and living through a pandemic) I’ve learned a lot about the art of creativity and the art of business. What’s changed from then to now is I’m asking myself what my “why” is for making art. I don’t have all the answers yet, but I’ve keyed in on making art to inspire curiosity and engagement in the world around them. I also want to tell stories that connect with people and make them feel seen.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Helllllll to the no. I did my best to prep for full-time freelance before I left my agency job, but the best way for me to learn is by doing. At first, I didn’t know how to craft a contract or how much to charge for different services or illustration licensing. I definitely learned hard lessons, such as underpricing my work, not stipulating important things in contracts, etc. I also struggled with work/life balance. For the first year of freelancing, I worked out of my bedroom. I would go for a mile walk each morning and pretend I was “commuting” to the office, just to break up my time in that space.
Grieving and depression were (and still is) obstacles I’ve had to learn how to navigate. I’ve always been extremely good at time management and executive functioning, but in the throes of grief, that doesn’t really help much. I believe healthy creative output is tied to healthy emotional input. Starting therapy and building up a new, kinder voice in my head has helped me a lot professionally, creatively, and personally.
To expand upon that, something I struggle with (and find a lot of other creatives struggle with too) is a perfectionist voice that likes to sit on my shoulder and whisper little insults in my ear (the least constructive critic there is). Something that’s helped me is to address this in therapy, make art about this very voice, and write about it. By naming our monsters, they suddenly lose their power.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I create to help others feel seen, and inspire them to approach the world with playfulness and curiosity. Similarly, I create designs for brands that promote positivity, genuineness, and curiosity in their audiences, connecting them more deeply to the people they serve.
I’m most proud of the collaborative projects I’ve had the pleasure to be a part of. One example is Saber Del Monte; a multidisciplinary project which united designers, farmers, land conservators, and national businesses in Colombia to help heal the land and create new opportunities for farmers of the Montes De Maria region. During this intensive collaboration, I could do what I love most – connect with strangers, learn from them, and help solve problems they have with my skillset.
I’m also proud of my most recent painting series called “Balance” which uses the imagery of bulls and porcelain to illustrate the idea that we can all find strength in our vulnerability (and vice versa). As people, we all carry past losses and insecurities. This series is all about carrying them, honoring them, and drawing strength from them in order to move forward and connect with others.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I believe that, as much as we all love to make pros and cons lists when we’re at a crossroads, we already know what the next best step is. I’ve never regretted when I’ve trusted my gut, especially when it tells me it’s time to change direction.
The primary example of my risk-taking was leaving MSU’s volleyball team to study art and design instead. I knew very well how my small town in Northern Michigan would react when they found out I transferred, but I knew in my bones that the path I was on wasn’t the one I was meant for. So late one night in my dorm, I researched a better path I could clear for myself, and set my sight on SCAD. Convincing my parents was a nightmare, but in the end, they trusted me to take this risk. I can assure you it was one of the best decisions I’ve made so far in my life.
The secondary example of my risk-taking is back in 2017, when I evacuated Hurricane Irma and headed to NYC’s New York Fashion Week with no job or place to stay. I just knew it was my only chance, since school was postponed and the window of opportunity was there, shining, ready for me to shimmy through. What unfolded that week was one of the most magical (and difficult) of my life. I finessed my way into a volunteer position backstage at a second-tier venue, then found a couch to crash on in Brooklyn. By the end of the first day, I was scouted to walk the runway as a model (which is what I secretly hoped might happen) and was whisked through hair and makeup, then wardrobe, then the glittering runway. I returned to school with quite the story to tell.
Lastly, taking the leap to go full-time freelance was a big risk. It meant saying no to a salary and security. But I knew it would also be saying yes to so much more. Again, doing something out of “the norm” can be scary, but that forfeiting control can pay off with intense fulfillment and opportunities I could’ve never seen coming. I think control and empowerment are two different things. You have to let go of one to achieve the other.
I do believe I have a propensity for risk-taking – for sitting with the unknown and befriending it instead of fearing it. I’m an optimist, so I’m usually excited by the no-guarantee-potentially-infinite-reward risks to take. I credit this attitude to my entrepreneur mother, who raised my brothers and me as a single mom that, when faced with tough decisions, always moved the needle closer to where we wanted to be.
Pricing:
- Prints – $25-220
- Paintings – $150-2000
- Murals – $20 per sq/ft
Contact Info:
- Email: heyliv.thecreative@gmail.com
- Website: https://www.livbishop.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liv.thecreative/
