- Caroline (host)
Salut, hello, bon dia! Welcome to the second episode of Bye Bye Boss, the podcast where I talk with creative people who decided to follow their own path. I am your host Caroline and today we are going to talk about drawing, illustration, women in sport, volunteerism and a little bit about Barcelona too. My guest is Pille, she's a Danish illustrator, she does posters but also painting and murals and her style is so unique and instantly recognizable. You might have seen it in shops, but also around the city. But for now, because this is a podcast, I would advise you to go straight away to her Instagram, pil underscore 80, P-I-L underscore 80, to see what she does. Let's go. Hey, Pil, I'm super happy to see you today in your beautiful apartment here in Gratia. Can you tell people how we met?
- Pil (guest)
So we met at Art and Design Market called Festivalet in December. And I was there selling posters and calendars and then we got to talk.
- Caroline (host)
Yes, because I absolutely love the emotional calendar that you are doing. And I looked at all your posters and I got super interested in all the themes that you are exploring in your illustration, which are a lot related to women and sports. And then I got curious. So can you tell us a bit more about this?
- Pil (guest)
Yes, so I think the themes that I do in my illustration works, it can maybe seem a bit random, but it's everything that I'm interested in. So I would say that I have a lot of things with a sense of humor in it. And also like that with the emotional calendar. So it's a calendar that you fill in every day how you feel, like these kind of stuff, like our well-being, how we feel. It's also something that really interests me. Women in sport. I love sports in general. I am very fascinated about sports, both the aesthetic of it, but also I think it's a very important thing. Like culture, we need to have culture, but I also think we need to have sport and move our body, use our body. And I think it's especially important for women to be included in the sports field. And I think now we see a big movement of women getting more recognition in sport. but it's still just the beginning and i think it's definitely something that i want to focus on and if i can help bring attention to more women in sport that's amazing yeah i remember last time because we met last time in a cafe you mentioned something that really strikes me it was like patriarchy has hold women tight for a long time women in movement women in sports it's moving
- Caroline (host)
themselves and getting out of their restraint from the patriarchy exactly so i think
- Pil (guest)
like just when you see in culture like the way that women have been seen as attractive like uh both i guess less now but in every culture like in china they used to crack the women's feet to make them appear smaller and the way that women have been dressed always it's very restrictive or either like a very thin or very like um curvy but it's always like in a way that requires the women not to sit still or not to use their body. So I feel like just us being strong, being able to run, lift things is a revolution in itself.
- Caroline (host)
And do you know where this interest towards women in sport is coming from you?
- Pil (guest)
So I'm from Denmark and I'm from this very small place called Stehns. And funny enough, when you talk about sport and women, And I think something for me that... my desire to represent more women in sport and also different sports also comes from me growing up in this place because when I grew up I had we had like two activities that were like available for us growing up and it was horseback riding and gymnastics for girls and I did both and then for boys they had like football they had different options that we didn't have in this place and now when I moved and when i live here in barcelona i can skate i can there's so many things that i never had opportunity to do before and also that i never in my childhood saw any women doing so that's like also i guess like a big part of it that is like i would have loved to do these things as a kid i would have loved to skate as a child but i i didn't even know that it was like an option for girls to to do it.
- Caroline (host)
We're already talking about Barcelona, but between Denmark and Barcelona, a lot of things happened.
- Pil (guest)
Yes, yes. So I grew up in this place and it was kind of, I felt that a little bit like... When you grow up in this place, there are some steps that you take. So you go to this one public elementary school, and then it leads you to the next school and then high school. And then the next logical step would be to go to university in Copenhagen. So I kind of saw my life unfold in front of me. Because when you grow up in this place, the options are... bit more limited like you can do two kind of sports you can go to this one school and I just felt a bit like I don't know I felt a bit um I didn't like that my destiny was kind of decided for me and then very randomly I went to a festival during the summer and I met this guy who told me that he was going to high school in Costa Rica and it it completely like blew my mind I was like Is that possible? How do you do this? And then he told me about this organization called a United World College, which gives like young kids scholarships to study abroad. And then they bring together like young people from all over the world. And then you stay together in this school with just 200 people in different places of the world and you get to know about different cultures. And yeah, it was very cool. So when I heard about this, I was like, I want this. So I told my parents about it and they were like no this sounds like a cult, it sounds completely crazy. But then I dragged them to a meeting and they thought it was really very interesting and I really wanted to go to Costa Rica like this guy. But when you apply, you go to this application process and then if you get selected they also chooses for you where you are going. And I was sent to Norway. which first I was a bit disappointed because Norway is close to Denmark but I think the experience in each of these schools are kind of the same because it's the same setup that you are in a school a bit isolated in a remote area with people from all over the world so it's like I think it doesn't really matter if I went to Costa Rica or Norway or wherever I think my life would probably be more or less the same because it's not about the the country in itself it's more about the experience so that was amazing and then after high school i went i was working actually at a farm company um doing like some administration work which was very boring and then i went to volunteer for six months in cambodia i wanted to go and volunteer somewhere that's something i wanted to try But I was really keen on going somewhere that is not like volunteerism, that you just go there and you take some photos and then you don't really work. That it's like, I think a lot of organizations, they do this, that you pay to stay there, but then you also don't really work. And that was not the experience that I wanted. So I found this organization called Sustainable Cambodia, which is located in a like... kind of remote area in Cambodia that I think you wouldn't go if you don't go through this organization as a foreigner and they require you to stay at least five months. So I kind of like the responsibility of this organization and they don't allow you to start on a project that you can't finish. So if you are wanting to teach English for example, you wouldn't just have have your own class and then they have an excellent teacher then you you leave and then they lost a teacher so like if you are an english teacher you will teach with a cambodian teacher and you will help him improve his program and then when you leave like he has become a better teacher and the student had a great experience but it's not like sudden you disappear so what i was doing i was teaching first aid because in my school in norway i became a first aid instructor So I was teaching the teachers first aid and the students. And then I also had like a small team of illustration students, which was really, really fun to be able to teach illustration.
- Caroline (host)
Because at this time you were always drawing. When did you start drawing?
- Pil (guest)
I was always drawing as a kid. And then at some point I found it a little bit embarrassing. I don't know why, but I think when you're a teenager and people they start like going out and i don't know i just for some reason thought it was a little bit i don't know like a nerdy so i stopped a bit and then in high school in my school in norway i had this idea that i would become a journalist and so i or i don't know what i wanted to do but i remember i took philosophy and i i really didn't enjoy it and on the other side there was like the people were taking art classes and i remember i was just sitting there and i was so jealous i was like they get to sit there and do this amazing thing and then i was thinking why am i jealous i could just change so i changed and i had an excellent teacher her name is a raidon and she really i think saw some potential in me and she pushed me and i ended up spending like almost all my hours in that art classroom like even at night i loved it so much and then i think the same kind of thing happened after high school I didn't really know what I wanted to do and one of my friends she was applying for art school she was applying to be a textile designer and I was so jealous I was like that sounds amazing and then I was like I'm not sure textile design is something for me but then I got a look on the website and then I found graphic design and I was like that sounds really fun because you were drawing but more like a pen and paper pen and paper yeah and I honestly never a photo it would be like something I could live off.
- Caroline (host)
And now?
- Pil (guest)
And now I think. So that is really, yeah, it's sometimes it feels like such a coincidence, these things, but I think in the end, I have this feeling that I would always end up in this way, one way or another.
- Caroline (host)
Do you always wanted to be an artist?
- Pil (guest)
I think I... I had this like a like I always had like this desire to create something and I remember at this high school I was also taking theater classes and I wrote and instructed my own theater play which was like a really fun also and I had to instruct the actors and the costume designer and everything but in the end I used so much time like getting something out of me like you know create something And I had to rely on so many people and it was a very frustrating process. And then if you draw, you're able to do all of this, but just by yourself, which I think I'm not patient enough. I don't have a lot of patience. So I think illustration fits really well for me because it's so fast. Also, if you do ceramic or if you do other mediums, you have to wait. But in illustration, you're only reliant on yourself, which I think fits me really well.
- Caroline (host)
And was there like a... turning point when you started to sell your art yeah I was it was during covid
- Pil (guest)
I was just passing by this store so I threw out my when I studied graphic design I was making a lot of posters just for fun and I some friends wanted them and I didn't really think about it as like a commercial project because I just made these posters for like just because I wanted to And then one day I was passing this store and my friend said, why don't you ask them if they want to sell your posters? And I was feeling like really shy. And I remember I wrote them an email and I thought I'm never going to hear back from them. And then that same day, like three minutes after they sent me an email and they were very excited. They're like, oh my, they wrote like in a very informal way. They said like, fuck yes. Oh my God, we love your things. They're going to so so well please like come immediately and i was like what like i was so surprised and i came there i was just so excited and they hugged me like yes yes like we want to sell all your things uh and that was just really nice and then there was during covid so i think the poster sales during covid were pretty like was a really good place to start because everyone was like at home changing their apartment and i think especially posters that I really like because it's like I also like to make paintings, but the people who buy paintings are usually people who are a bit older and have a bit more money. Because, I mean, paintings are more expensive because you use a lot of time. And posters are more accessible to people my age also, which is really nice. So that's why I really like selling posters, because I see the posters in my friends' houses. And also friends of friends that don't know me, because I feel like... a poster you can buy it and you can change it it's not a big commitment and i kind of like that because i i think i'm a bit like this also like i would i don't think uh I have a hard time imagining that I would waste a lot of money in a painting because I would always change my style. So I think posters is really nice because you can make it, you can change it. Yeah.
- Caroline (host)
And you also do something bigger than posters and painting, which are murals.
- Pil (guest)
Yes. And I think murals and posters are kind of similar in that way that I like that the audience is more like available for everyone. And usually the ones commissioning murals would be, at least in Europe, it would be government organizations or festivals. So it gets out to a broad audience, which is really nice.
- Caroline (host)
And because you have these audience, what's the impact that you would like to have through your art?
- Pil (guest)
I think representation is very important for me. So representing more women in sports and also a diverse group. So I always try to represent different groups of women. So it could be women with hijab, women who have disability. Yeah, to represent more groups of women. And it's fun because when I paint murals out in public, it's not always that people are aware that I'm there, because they just see it from far away. So I can also hear what people think. And I had some like really cute situations happen like um i remember one time i was painting in copenhagen and i was painting this girl skating and there was this like young girl with her mom and she was asking her mom like oh mom there's a like a girl skating can can women skate also and the mom was like yeah sure and then the girl's like okay i didn't know that's an option i want to skate also and i thought that that's so that's so nice like that's what i want to inspire more women to do what they want. Because she thought she only saw guys skating before. So she didn't know that was an option for her. So I was like, wow, if my art can give that little perspective, then I'm very happy.
- Caroline (host)
Yeah, I can totally see how this is also helpful for you to be moving forward with your project. Because it makes sense. It has a meaningful impact. But now I'd like to go back to your career. You mentioned that you work as an employee before being self-employed.
- Pil (guest)
Yes, I have worked various places as an employee. Both I've been doing lots of different jobs. I worked in the farming industry doing various jobs. I worked like giving out commercials. I worked as a Danish teacher for a short while. And I also worked in a shop assistant. so yeah I've been doing a lot of like odd jobs here and there and I mean I haven't worked as a graphic designer or like an illustrator artist for in a company so that I haven't only been doing on a freelance basis and what's your kind of work style you know how do you deal with the freelance life um I think it comes a lot in waves what I really like about mural work for example is that you have one task and then that process is very like um simple so i know exactly what to do with other processes it's more back and forth like um so usually i will have a few projects so right now i have an exhibition coming up i have a mural project coming up in the end of the month and then i have some designs i have to do for some festivals but that's i think in june so i have these like different things and whenever i I have like. just a few days that I don't have something I have a ton of personal work that I'm like dying to do so yeah I would I would love to have more time to do my personal projects also but
- Caroline (host)
I also feel very blessed that I have a lot of work so that's good yeah when you have when you are freelance having too much work is always a good complaint to have and what's the you know what do you like the most and the least from being freelance yeah I would say the thing I like the most is how diverse my
- Pil (guest)
my job is and i think when i was younger i kind of i was very interested in journalism and i feel like in a way i get to do a bit of journalism in my job also in the sense that every time i work for an event or i work for a company i get to like i have to study them i have to know about them so last month i went to denmark to paint free murals for the european championship of badminton And I don't know a lot of things about badminton. So I went to a badminton hall. I asked the coach, like the rules. I got to see some games. So I get to like the idea of how it is. So that was really cool. And then I feel like my work days are so different because when I make murals, it's very strict. I wake up very early. I paint the whole day. And it's very simple in a sense. I just do the design. And sometimes I'm sitting down doing a lot of computer work. So I feel like every week my life is different and I don't like routines. So that's what I really like about being freelance, that I don't wake up every day and I go to the same workplace. I really like the freedom of it. And I would say on the negative aspects, that's also the freedom comes with a price. Like for example, when I was doing this mural in Denmark last month, it was very tight, the schedule. And it became even tighter because of the weather conditions. It was raining and I had less time. And then I got sick, but there was just like no way around it. So I had to paint while I was sick. And it's not like I'm painting eight hours a day. I'm painting. 12 hours a day standing outside in the cold in Denmark on the scaffolding being sick that's not so fun and that's just you know I'm very alone in my job because I can't just ask someone to come and cover for me because they ordered me with my style so yeah I think that's the most difficult part is that sometimes I get sick or sometimes the workload is too intense and I'm the only one responsible. Yeah.
- Caroline (host)
Do you miss some time working with other people or having colleagues?
- Pil (guest)
I mean, I think it is a very solitary work environment. But I do feel like I don't have colleagues per se, but I do meet a lot of people through my work. So and I try to force them to become friends with me so for example uh when i'm here in barcelona probably every second day I go and print something or I go and scan something so now I'm friends with the print guy so I get to talk with him he asked me about my work I asked him about his works that's pretty nice that I see a regular face and like things like this like every time I work with someone I try to get to know them and I also have other friends who do freelance and who do also freelance illustration and we are in contact daily. We always talk about our projects and we give each other advice. So that's really nice. But yeah, I will say sometimes it does get lonely. And I think for me, one really good thing is that every day I wake up, I always try to leave the house first before I start to work, just to talk with someone. Now I'll go down and have a coffee. I'll go to the gym or something. And then I feel like now I've covered my basic need of speaking to someone. I can start to work now.
- Caroline (host)
To be honest, I have a bit the same routine. I need to go out, speak with people, have my coffee, work out a little bit, and then I can get on with my stuff. So we are both foreigners in Barcelona. What's your feeling toward the city? Do you think it had an impact on your work?
- Pil (guest)
Yes, I think here I really feel I'm very free to live out all my personalities. Because I think here... like there's a lot of sports there's a lot of art culture people here are very open i feel like no one will expect me to do a certain style i definitely saw my my style change when i moved here i think i came a bit more brave um it's also i think one thing is barcelona is very open but i also think it's like when you move out from your home place you get to experiment a bit more because you have all your old friends who thought of you in one way that you grew up with and it's not like that they put you in a box but maybe you put yourself a bit in the box because you want to live up to their expectations and when I came here I was like uh yeah I feel like I can be more whoever I want and I also remember because I took a post-graduate here and I remember my teacher said something like helping me a lot because I always try to paint uh maybe before i was like yeah if you want to paint well you have to make something pretty and he was like trying to get me to go away from that a bit and he said like peel you have a great sense of humor you should also use that in your work and that i think was a very good advice because i that's a part of my personality like he i think he encouraged me to be a bit more personal with my work and also draw about the things that interest me and not necessarily the things that people want to buy us to see and funny enough that's like the things that interest me i guess it's also quite commercial so that's
- Caroline (host)
Yeah, no, it makes sense. And that's nice as well that, you know, you had people encouraging you to go into your own direction rather than conforming or doing the same as everybody else. So just to be pleasing, you know, what people want to see. And what about the future now? Do you have any plans or anything that you would like to do?
- Pil (guest)
Oh, that's a good question. I never think too much about the future. I really like what I'm doing, but I would like to, so what I do now, I would like to do it in a bigger scale. So every time I do a mural, my wish is that the next one is bigger, just in size. I want to do something really big that will be really funny. I have done some very long ones. I've done one that was 26 meters long, but I would love to do one that's really high, like 10 meters high or something. That would be really cool. So yeah, just to do the things that I do now, but in a bigger scale in every sense, like bigger projects, bigger audience. but i'm also like if nothing ever changed i would also be happy um so yeah and are you planning to stay in barcelona yeah i am i i really like this as my base i'm always like i know that i'll go back to cambodia and spend some more time there i know i want to travel more and the mural like community is very international so hopefully i'll get opportunities also to travel and do murals in in other places which is something i really enjoy but yeah i think barcelona is such a good base it also seems like a very central place in europe easy place to visit and for everyone like if you like food if you like culture if you just wanna i don't know like hike or something everyone has something for everyone do you have like a favorite uh country place or you know for inspiration there's actually like for inspiration i have a gallery at my street a called beta gallery and they have exhibitions like they change them quite often and i i go to all the exhibitions because i i always get really inspired um seeing the exhibitions and then i for coffee places i have a ton i mean i have a lot right here when i live in grazia but also I really like to just sometimes go random places to take the the metro just like five stops away and then have a look in that area to see and I always get like lost and I find inspiration like every time I leave the apartment because Barcelona it's a crazy city in that way so many colors so many different people so many funny situations to illustrate yeah I can only agree with you regarding this um and my last question for you will be if you would have to give any advice,
- Caroline (host)
you know.
- Pil (guest)
to someone that would like to become illustrator as well or more generally to you know to step into the freelance industry i actually lately i had a lot of people contacting me for advice and it's really hard because i don't i don't have any like really good advice to give there's no like secret i think a lot of people they're looking for this like uh oh this advice that that oh if i just do this then everything will change but i think the thing that you have to do is just keep doing it like keep doing it keep doing it keep doing it like it's I know it's very tiring but the more you do it the better you get at it the better opportunities you get so I would say if you are an illustrator and you like to to illustrate get some experience ask your friends do you need if you have friends who are in a band do you need a new band cover do you want me to design your poster I'll do it for free like do a lot of things for free in the beginning because It will give you experience. And then like when people start to pay you, you can be more picky with what you do. But I would say just like keep on doing it. Because I think the difference of someone who is successful and someone who is not is the amount of time they have been doing it. And also like the willingness to, because I feel like at some point everyone will succeed if they just do it long enough. But it might be years or it might be months. It all depends, but I think just keep doing it.
- Caroline (host)
And the last thing is, where can we find you?
- Pil (guest)
Yes, you can find me online on my website, peelanna.com or at Instagram at peel underscore 80. And you can find me in some stores in Vertichet, in Gratia, in Guau, in Poblenou, in Miscalanea, in Raval. And also, oh my God. Barcelona also interval. Is it right? Yeah! I don't see my bad half an hour yet. Nice!
- Caroline (host)
If you have made it until here, thank you so much for listening to my podcast. I had a great time to meeting and chatting with Pille. The next episode will be mostly in Spanish and we will be talking about clothes. So get ready. All the information to find Pille and what we talked about are on the note of the podcast and on my Instagram at caroline.creative with an S. If you are interested to participate in this podcast or if you know people that would, please share them the episode or the Instagram page at caroline.creative and they can just reach out to me. And that's it for now. I will see you in the next episode.
