Hailing from Darjeeling, Nori Norbhu is making a mark in the world of art with her digital art. Every illustration by Nori is a treat for art lovers. A self-taught graphic designer and illustrator based in Mumbai, Nori always had a deep connection with art since her childhood days. Growing up, she made sure she followed her passion and pursued it as a profession! She currently works as a Senior Graphic Designer with an advertising agency in Mumbai. We spoke to her about her work, her inspiration and current projects. Find out everything about Nori and her work below:
We had a chat with Nori Norbhu from Darjeeling, an illustrator and a graphic designer who is based out of Mumbai to talk about her work and more!
Nori Norbhu, an illuustrator and graphic designer from Darjeeling
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Hello Nori, good to have you with us! Please tell us a little about yourself.
My name is Nori Norbhu, an illustrator and graphic designer based out of Mumbai. I am a compulsive tea drinker who loves art and design. I was born in Darjeeling, a small town at the foothills of the Himalayas, surrounded by the hills and mountains. I am a self taught digital illustrator who once had no idea what photoshop was. For the past few years, I have been focussing on digital illustrations and graphic design.
I currently work as a senior graphic designer at an advertising agency in Mumbai while also working on freelance projects in my spare time. I love all things art and design related so any projects that spark my creativity I try to take up. Even if I’ve had a long day at work, I try and come back and work on an illustration for myself!
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Introduce us to your work and tell us what got you started?
My work falls somewhere between the duality of creating for communication and creating for myself. For my personal illustrations, I usually portray women who are strong, confident and unapologetically themselves with themes like self-love and body positivity. I am also very inspired by Mother Nature, which I usually incorporate into my illustrations in the form of flowers, leaves and vines. Apart from the art classes I had as a child, I began taking illustrations seriously when I discovered an app called Procreate on my mother’s iPad and the world of digital illustrations opened up to me. Since then, I have not looked back and have been constantly learning.
Art illustration of a girl chilling at home | by Nori Norbhu
Art illustration of a girl chilling at home | by Nori Norbhu
Nori’s amazing imagery artwork of fishes in water coming out from the mirror of Gotipua dancer
Nori’s amazing imagery artwork of fishes in water coming out from the mirror of Gotipua dancer
Nori’s artwork of lovely Souvenirs and plants.
Nori’s artwork of lovely Souvenirs and plants.
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What sparked your interest in this field?
I think I have always been a more visual person. I had Fine Arts as a 6th subject in school and that was always my favourite class. Even in school I remember my art teacher taking us to the school garden to draw. We observed flowers, leaves and began drawing them in our sketchbooks. This was definitely my introduction to art. Digital illustrations on the other hand probably came up as a natural progression from a sketchbook to a tablet. I have an equal love for both.
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How have your roots and upbringing influenced your working style?
My hometown has definitely influenced me as a woman and as an artist. I was born and brought up in Darjeeling, and I can honestly say I had a lovely childhood. We played in the mud, studied when we needed to and were able to enjoy the little things. Being surrounded by the mountains and hills made me more receptive to the environment around me. My artwork always includes plants, foliage and nature, which I crave while living in a metropolitan city.
I was also lucky to be surrounded by strong, independent women while growing up. This is why my art is often female centric – to express inner strength and beauty.
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What’s your creative work philosophy and where do you take inspiration from?
My creative philosophy is to stay open minded, aware and to be able to highlight issues through my work. Apart from my hometown and my upbringing, my inspiration comes from a variety of sources – it could be a person I’ve met and been inspired by, a flower I’ve noticed as I pass by, travelling to a new destination. I am inspired by a lot of my contemporaries who constantly work on creative projects. I also love the work of Sam Kuvaloor, Rachel Aldean, Prashant Miranda and Cat Coquillette. On a personal note, I don’t have to look far for inspiration because my grandmother, Mrs. Norzin Norbhu, has been a trailblazer and an absolute inspiration. She was able to set up a school and change primary education in Darjeeling– so an inspiration to say the least.
An art illustration of two fashionable sisters | by Nori Norbhu
An art illustration of two fashionable sisters | by Nori Norbhu
An imagery art of flute and flowers on a dancer boy | by Nori Norbhu
An imagery art of flute and flowers on a dancer boy | by Nori Norbhu
A short clip of Nori’s work
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What do you hope people take away from your Art?
Being brought up amongst strong women who I was able to look up to, I felt the need to share that with others who probably didn’t have the same upbringing. It honestly makes you look at the world in a different perspective and in this generation, we can only grow by supporting each other. The power to choose who you want to be and not be bound by societal demands is something I strongly believe in and something I hope anyone can take away from my work. I want people to look at my art and see something new in the ordinary.
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Tell us about your recent project and future plans.
After having recently wrapped up ’36 days of type’ (http://www.36daysoftype.com), focussing on different phobias in the form of vintage stamps, I am currently ideating on a personal set of illustrations highlighting strong, independent women but differentiated by the various zodiac signs. I plan to do an illustration highlighting the different traits for each sign while staying true to my form of tying that in with the beauty of nature. I also have a few illustration projects lined up which are all still in the works.
To know more about Nori Norbhu, follow her on Instagram!
Nori Norbhu, an art illustrator and graphic designer from Darjeeling
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