Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lisa Aisato. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Lisa, thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

My sister and I grew up with a mother who was very interested in literature and who read aloud to us for hours on end. She read with great enthusiasm and empathy, and made these reading sessions absolutely magical. While my mother read, I drew. There were many hours of drawing. I think this has given me the basis for being the writer and illustrator I am today. All the hours of drawing, all the wonderful stories, all the universes we delved into.

I think the fact that I continued drawing when most children quit, maybe around the age of 10, helped me develop my skills beyond the average. I remember I learnt the word “illustrator” at the age of 13 and wrote in a school essay that I wanted to become one when I grew up.

So the short answer is at the age of 13.

Lisa, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a Norwegian author, illustrator and artist. I attended art school for three years after High School, and after that worked full time in different cafes and shops while trying to make a living as an artist and illustrator. I sold some paintings at the cafe I worked at, but I was really struggling, and could not find a way to earn enough money to be a full time illustrator.

But the summer of 2005 I fell in love! So that fall I sat behind the counter in the shop I worked at, and made a book for the man I had fallen in love with. I gave him the book, he proposed to me and the rest is history. (We have now been married for 18 years!)

Later I sent the book to one of Norway’s largest publishing houses and the book was published as a Valentine’s book in February 2008. I told the publisher that I had other ideas for books, and after signing a new book deal I quit my job in the shop and started working full time as an author, illustrator and artist.

Throughout my career I have published seven books of my own, among them the award-winning picture book for adults ‘All the Colors of Life’. In addition I have illustrated 39 books for other authors. The books have been translated into more than 40 languages.

My book “Odd is an egg” was made into an animated film and won best ‘Animated Short’ at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2017.

I have an international web shop where people can buy my work, so now my artwork can be found in homes all over the world. I also run my own gallery with my husband and three employees at Hvaler archipelago on the Norwegian South East coast where I live and work.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My goal has always just been to be able to draw for a living. I just wanted to sit down at my desk, put on an audiobook or podcast and draw the whole day. And, yes, I have reached that goal. Everything else has been a bonus. And sometimes it has almost been to much, I have felt like my career has been like a train going really fast and I just had to hang on! Now, after 40 I feel like I have more control and that the train has slowed down a bit. My life is quieter and better now.

I think what’s driving me is curiosity. What are my head and my hands able to make today? Can I get the picture that is in my head on to this paper. That’s fascinating to me.

I also write, but I am primarily an illustrator. Drawing is what I like best, find most interesting and what I feel safest doing. Drawing is always like coming home.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I struggled a bit in art school. First I wasn’t accepted at the school I really wanted to go to, and when I started at another school I had a really difficult time both socially and academically. So after a year I had lost my self confidence and my belief in becoming an illustrator and artist, so I made a big decision, I quit art school. One day I saw a small ad in a newspaper. A kindergarten close to where I lived, had an open position. I applied, got the job and worked there for a year. I just took the job because I needed money to pay rent, I had no expectations beyond that. I really didn’t know that it would be so fulfilling and inspirational as it turned out to be. I had workshops and big art exhibitions with the children, we read hundreds of children’s books and made different drawing projects every day.

That year made me remember why I wanted to become an illustrator, and I applied to a new art school the year after, and got accepted. That year was so much better and I started to find my illustration style. I remember one teacher that really wasn’t into my kind of drawings told me she thought I would never become an artist or illustrator because I wasn’t innovative. It made me really sad, but later that year I was the one who sold the most paintings at our Christmas exhibition. That gave me all the confidence I needed, and now I’m glad she told me that. It lit some kind of fire under my feet!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lisaaisato.com/
• Instagram: @lisaaisato
• Facebook: Lisa Aisato
• Twitter: @lisaaisato
• Youtube: @lisaaisato

Image Credits
The photo of me is taken by Geir Dokken. All the others are pictures I have made. So you can just put: Illustration by Lisa Aisato