ABOUT

ME AS AN ARTIST

Ever since I can remember I always loved drawing, painting and being creative. Hours and hours I spent at my desk, even as a 5-year old.
Pencil works have always been one of my favourites and despite the digital trend that came up years after I always used to do the original sketches for my work with pen and paper.

During my studies ,art and design students like me, were told that we have to use digital software in order to meet companies requirements and to be more flexible as digital art offers more options for reproduction and changes within the artwork. I always felt like I lost something on the way when I had to work digitally. It got a bit better when invested in a high quality graphic tablet with a really high sensitive pen. With the right settings the look and feel came close to traditional drawing and painting and for my private projects my highest goal was to achieve the look of traditional painting (watercolour or oil) or a real pencil sketch. Whenever I managed to meet that goal I was pleased whilst thinking how stupid this was in the back of my mind.

Years after my studies I grew tired of the digital world. Everyone striving for the same stylized art the creative market was flooded with digital output in which I couldn’t see or feel any meaning or expression. It was food to serve the mass market which companies obviously aimed for. I stopped looking for potential cooperation partners and studios to work with and started doing my own thing. I developed my own style and put full focus on my own projects. „Auri“ is one of them and she, representing the inner child hiding within us, became my signature character.

I then reintroduced myself to oil colours. The work of an artist I truly admire convinced me to give oil paint another go. Turned out that oil painting is absolutely amazing and that the poor experience I had as a child was just due to the poor quality of the paints back then. Layering the colours with oil paint is one of my favourite things to do now in a painting. Besides working with oils I also enjoy doing fore-edge paintings on books with watercolours (painted edges) and creating 3d scenes in books (Altered Books). You can find a few examples on my project page. As a book lover working with and on books is very satisfying for me. And in all of that pencil sketches never come short and are always the first step for whatever creative work I do.

Seeing how AI generated images (I won’t call them artworks) flood the digital world nowadays I am convinced I intuitively took the right path back then.

MY WORK

I call myself a free artist meaning I mostly do my own, expressive art these days. Meaning I pour heart and soul into my paintings and I am not chained by expectations of society, companies or commissioners without any understanding what art is all about, aiming for a mass-market art style. My art means a lot to me so I only sell it when I am ready to let it go.

Besides being an artist I teach art to my students at school which I really enjoy.

I sometimes take commissions if the project idea and terms go along with my values (more details can be found further down) and if my schedule allows it. However I mostly do my own art these days. If you are interested in a traditional painting I made you can contact me and I will let you know if it is still available or if I am ready to sell it. I have an online shop as well but because it takes me fairly long to finish a new painting it is empty most of the time.

WHAT I DO

Mainly traditional art these days:

Oil painting. Pencil Artwork. Watercolour Painting. Concept Art & Design. Painted edges or fore-edge painting for books. Altered Books. Book Illustrations. Card or board game design.

I still work digitally from time to time. Mostly for my „Auri“ project these days though or some Dungeons and Dragons work.

As the portfolio shows I am pretty versatile in my creative work and can adapt to different art style if I like the project. My spectrum ranges from full page illustrations to concept art or textile and product design. I am open to interesting projects or cooperations if it fits in my schedule and matches my values. 

PRICES

In the past years I have spent hours and hours trying to explain the value and price of art to people of our society. Sadly the majority does not know how much time and effort it costs to finish a fully, highly detailed illustration or painting with multiple characters and worked out background. So I want to at least give a rough estimation of what art costs or should cost:

• 500 - 4000 Euros and up: For a full illustration/paint with background calculate with a high 3-digit number or 4-digit number. For commissions it all comes down to many aspects such as how detailed or highly realistic the painting is supposed to look, how many characters are featured, how simply or detailed the background is etc. There is no fixed price, there are so many variables such as the artist, the company/commissioner, rights of use, etc. etc. but be sure it won’t be 50 Euros. That said even 500 Euros is a very low bar when the artist worked 1 month for it.
• don’t forget the rights of use: Paying for an illustration is only half of the bill if you intend to do anything with it (use it in a game, in a catalogue etc.) you need to pay for rights of use. Depending on what you want to use the artwork for, this will be more or less money and sometimes double the price that the painting is worth.

Why don’t I sell art for 50 Euros, when „others“ do that and AI does it for free?

To be honest it makes me a bit sad that I have to mention that here. I think that question can be easily answered with common sense and replying to this will probably make me sound arrogant whilst I am the total opposite. However, hundreds of hours spent on emails and client request just force me to make a statement as an artist. So here is my honest and straight forward reply:

• Because the material alone which I use for my paintings is worth more than 50 Euros. The wooden panels that I work on are very high quality and professional oil paints are very costly as well as all the other mediums I need for oil painting.
• Because after 1 or 2 months of work to finish a highly detailed illustration or painting I would end up with an hourly wage of 0,000000005 Euros. Just ask yourself: Would you do that? Can you live from that?
• I value my art. I give it all I can. I put my heart and soul in it. And if it is a commissioned artwork I do all I can to make it perfect for my client. I rather keep my art for myself, frame it and decorate my rooms than giving it away for such a price. 
• I value my free time. As I told earlier I love to do my own art and teach art as well. I won’t take on commissions when all I gain from it is back pain for all the hours and efforts I put into in.
• I don’t care if others do it for cheaper. I sell my art to individuals who specifically value and appreciate my art. AI will always be faster and cheaper. At the end it comes down to what you want and prioritize.

Every artist trying to make a living with their art will understand this. And even those who don’t depend on money will agree. Likewise do all those who value and appreciate art. Thanks to all you people out there who still buy art from true artists! You are a little spark of hope in these sad days of AI and devalued art. Art is work and means time, effort and passion. 

You like my art but can’t afford it?

Handmade art is individual and special and like all handmade things it has its price. I totally understand if you struggle affording hand painted art. However, sometimes artists are open for other ways of payment. For example I am interested in:

• hand made frames for my paintings
• Hand-bound books
• Leather works
• Special art supplies, hand made colours/paints and art interior
• Hand made clothing and Accessoires 
• Hand made textiles
• Many other hand made or creative works

Sometimes your creative work can also be a way or part of payment. Reach out and maybe we can find an option that works out for you.