Danish Illustrator Liv Hansen: Quiet Scenes and Narrative Art

When I draw, I’m rarely setting out to capture something grand. It’s more often the small, familiar human things that hold my attention — details that feel like they’ve always been there (and in a sense they have).

A quiet platform, a familiar train — inspired by mid-century Denmark and scenes from Matador.

A windowsill with a plant and curtain you could swear you’ve seen before. A character standing on a train platform mid-wave, maybe on a warm, otherwise quiet summer day circa 1948. A train that looks like it’s been running the same route for decades.

One of my recent pieces shows a moment like that: a platform and train scene, visually inspired in part by Matador — the classic Danish tv series known for its portrayal of life in Denmark before and after WWII.

For the train design itself, I took a quick look at the work of my great grand-uncle, Aage Rasmussen — the Danish illustrator known for his iconic posters of trains and Danish travel, with images that captured both place and atmosphere. The setting isn’t an exact place or time, but it carries something of that world. The scene isn’t really about travel; it’s about a moment in time.

My work as a Danish illustrator often draws on memories, imagined and inherited, shaped by the mood of mid-century Denmark. It’s not nostalgia for any one thing — more the atmosphere of the ordinary moments people hold on to without realizing it.

➡️ Explore more of my work as a Danish illustrator here.