I am grateful to be able to work as an artist
The occupation with art helps me to connect with the world, to classify experiences, to arrive – An act of search as well as an act of understanding.
With watercolour and ink, charcoal, graphite, pastel and acrylic paints I explore boundaries and transitions. I delve into feelings, organize thoughts, express and acquaint myself.
With my partner and my two sons, I live and work in a small town in the West of Germany.
Artist Statement
I find inspiration for my art in nature. There I feel connected.
My first experience of nature was its absence. Growing up in the Ruhr area in Western Germany, shaped by the mining and coal industry, the last wild meadows were the places of my childhood. The vulnerability of nature and its transience surrounded me and sharpened my gaze as an artist.
This gaze guides my brush, the pencil, the piece of charcoal in my hand. I summarize impressions, simplify, abstract, and try to capture what I perceive as the essence.
My painting tells of fragility. Of human and nature, their relationship to each other. It tells of love, of loss and pain. About how we overcome obstacles, defy difficulties and find courage. My painting tells about life.
"We have to have the courage to face ourselves.
That's the only way to create authentic works."
My paintings hang in private collections in Europe, America, Australia, and South Africa.
Bio
My passion for art – my means of communication and expression – has accompanied me since early childhood. My approach to art is mainly self-taught. From the beginning, I have used every opportunity to practice my drawing “craft” and develop my understanding of art on the basis of great paintings, for example, in museums, exhibitions, reviews, and books. This process is alive and still ongoing.
Exhibitions and art shows
- 2023 - OpenArts PhönixSee Dortmund
- 2022 - SAA Winning Finalist's Exhibition at the Nottingham Society of Artists Gallery, England
- 2022 - Diorama and Collective Exhibition "Cape Parrots" at the East London Museum in Southernwood, South Africa - Duration: 2 years
- 2022 - Art show und Auction "Spring for the dells" Arizona, USA
- 2022 - Group exhibition "WildArt 2022", St. Petersburg, Russia
- 2019 - Art Auction "Baby Rhino Rescue", South Africa
These are the cornerstones of my artistic work so far:
2023:
Modern Art & Ideas - Workshop of the MOMA
ART of the MOOC: Art, Activism and Social Movements - Course at Duke University
Art market and exhibition in Dortmund
2022:
"The working artist" Intensive course by artist Sonja Smalheer
Participation in the Jackson's Art Prize, 2022.
Awarded in the SAA Artist of the Year Art Award 2022.
2021:
Participation in the SAA Artist of the Year Art Prize, 2021
Guest lecturer (online) of the courses
- Sexing the Canvas: Art and Gender of the University of Melbourne.
- Modernism and Postmodernism (Part1) of Wesleyan University
- Portrait course of the Barcelona Academy of Art.
2020:
Independent freelance artist
Represented in the IUCN Otter Calendar for 2021
Participation in the Ashurst Emerging Artist Prize 2021
2019:
Guest student (online) of the courses
- “Drawing Nature, Science, and Culture” of the University of Newcastle/Australia and
- ”European Paintings: From Leonardo to Goya” of the University Carlos III/Madrid.
2018:
Member of the international artists’ association, ABUN – Artists and Biologists united for nature.
I regularly take part in further training and engage in professional and artistic exchange with artists from all over the world.
Art for Conservation
With my art, I repeatedly support worldwide non-profit organizations for the protection of species and the environment. So far artworks were created in collaboration with or for:
- Talarak Foundation
- Philippine Eagle Foundationö
- Blood Lions
- Bwindi Impenetrable National Park/Uganda
- Programa Amigos da Onça
- Projeto Papagaio Verdadeiro
- Curlew Action
- Green Mountain Initiative
- Hawaii Wildlife Center
- Southeastern Grasslands Institute at Austin Peay State University | USA
- BirdCare Aotearoa (BCA) | New Zealand
- Solidearth Meerkat Rehab and Rescue | South Africa