I am an artist living on the beautiful Wirral peninsula in the Northwest of England, between the rivers Mersey and Dee. I was born and grew up in Bavaria, close to the Alps, and moved to England in 1989. I paint mostly in acrylics, but also watercolour, gouache and very occasionally in oils. I also draw with pen and ink, pencil and fountain pen, and work in the studio as well as en plein air. I am interested in nature and our relationship with it, and also in our relationship with ourselves and others.
I am a natural scientist by training, and I regard art and science as two sides of the same coin. Both try to approach the underlying truths of the world, one by trying to uphold an objective viewpoint, and the other by putting subjective experience at the centre of the enquiry. Both, for me, are valid ways of exploring reality.
In our present time, we have achieved unprecedented power to change our environment and create powerful technological solutions to problems. However, we have not yet achieved an emotional, moral and ethical framework to guide us in how to wield this power wisely. Scientific objectivity can inform, but not provide this framework, since underlying such a framework are our values, which are always subjective. To realise what we truly value, and how we create an external world that reflect these values, requires us to look deeply within ourselves, which is the first prerequisite for change to happen.
It is my aim to lay the ground for inner change with my paintings, through gently influencing the emotional experience of the viewers into something more subtle, more quiet, than the everyday loudness of daily life, often overwhelmed with television, internet, alarming news and social media. Our life styles make us largely out of touch with ourselves and the natural world, and it becomes hard to hear again the subtle voices that speak our own inner truth and that speak to us from the natural world, both often lingering just on the edge of conscious awareness. With my paintings I would like to create silent spaces, where our relationship with the world and ourselves can be felt again and come into clearer focus, from where new choices become possible.
