a quick chat with the artist behind the frankie 2025 diary, liv lee
Liv Lee is an artist working on Biripi Country who has a keen interest in showcasing bright colours and lovely depictions of fruits and veggies – like the ones she drew for the 2025 frankie diary. Liv was nice enough to stop and chat with us for a hot minute, and she lets us in on how she stays inspired and how she gets over those pesky art blocks.
Hiya Liv! Please introduce yourself and a bit of what you do. Hello! I’m Liv Lee, an artist and illustrator living and working on Biripi Country. I create artworks that are then licensed to brands to be used on all different kinds of products, from apparel to cosmetics to books. Also, over the last few years I have realised that I really enjoy creating goods and adding my prints onto every day items, so I design and produce my own goods and prints that I sell on my website.
Your art often includes bold and bright colours. What inspired this style? Colour is such an important part of my work as it helps to tell a big part of the story in my art. When I first started illustrating, my colours were a lot more muted however as my style evolved, so did the colours. I found I was drawn towards brighter and bolder hues closer to the saturated colours of the flowers I’d find out in the wild.
The 2025 frankie diary is also inspired by gardening. What’s your favourite plant to have in your garden and why? That’s a tough question! I love the unusual-looking plants that have interesting forms and textures and add some personality to the garden. At the moment I love our Casuarina glaucas (called 'Cousin It') as they have really started to take off and are now starting to creep over the retaining wall and are looking spectacular.
What are your best methods on getting through a creative block? If I am having a creative block, the best thing for me to do is take a break and go for a walk – whether it’s just around the block with the dog or a bush walk, as I know I’ll see myriad flowers and plants. I take a lot of photos of flowers on my walks, and my camera roll becomes my creative companion. However, if I’m not unable to get outside, I have a plethora of vintage field guides for wildflowers, and these often give me inspiration when I’m in need.
So far, what’s been your biggest career highlight? I have a few highlights! Collaborating on a collection with Gorman last year was a bit of a pinch-me moment – I had been such a fan of their products for years, so that was a real full circle moment and seeing my name in the windows of their stores was pretty surreal.
Another proud moment was collaborating with a sustainable German brand last year, Hessnatur, who gave me complete creative freedom to create a 12-piece collection, which included the knit cardigan of my dreams! To have a brand hand over the reigns and put their complete trust in me is really reassuring and I had so much fun designing and then photographing all the pieces with my husband and daughter for the campaign.
I also have had to pinch myself when global brands like L’Occitane, Burberry and Chronicle Books reached out to collaborate – they are absolute dream clients and projects!
Where can we find you on a Friday night and a Sunday arvo? I have a newborn baby, so my Friday nights are pretty low-key at the moment – I’ll either be feeding and settling our baby or if she’s given us a much appreciated nap, I’ll be watching a movie or series with my husband and five-year-old daughter.
On the weekend we like to get outside as much as we can, so Sunday afternoon you’d most likely find us along the coast somewhere – walking our dog, exploring the rock pools or going for a swim.
What’s your favourite design in the 2025 diary? I’d have to say the strawberries design – this illustration was inspired by the strawberries in our garden, which, even though they were horribly neglected, were so generous with their yield. They were all different shapes and sizes and I loved illustrating their wobbly, imperfect forms.
What are your goals for 2025? On the top of my goals is to carve our more time to creatively explore – I’d love to start making hand-built pottery, tufting and spend more time playing around with animation. I’ve also got a few ideas for children’s books that I would love to bring to life!
New Year's resolutions: Yes or no? Yes, kind of! I put goals and New Year's resolutions in the same boat, so I’ll be working towards my 2025 creative goals in the new year.
frankie's 2025 diary and calendar is available to order! Plus, you can also grab these together in a neat bundle, while stocks last. To see more of Liv's work, check out her Instagram and her online store.