We Don’t Need Earth Day

Posted by on Apr 18, 2012 in Blog, Everything Green | 1 comment Earth day is coming up this weekend and I actually couldn’t care less about it. Do we really need a theme or a specific day to celebrate earth? Common sense please! While on the one hand, it’s nice to raise some awareness to stop malicious destruction of our planet. Because it seems like the majority hasn’t heard how we (the ones on top of the food chain) kill our own and only...
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Painting as a Language & Journey

Posted by on Apr 6, 2012 in Art, Blog, Ideas & Inspiration | 3 comments It’s been a while since I painted last. I am not a mass produce artist and I rather paint when ideas come and I feel like it, than forcing myself and ending up with meaningless stuff (well, meaningless to me). Or let’s say: when I don’t have a question, problem, task, or am under pressure I can’t paint. My mind needs to be busy in order to paint. Painting is my way of...
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Did you Know Monet Won the Lottery?

Posted by on Feb 15, 2012 in Art, Blog | 0 comments I am sure some of you knew this already. But for those who didn’t: yes, Claude Monet won the lottery, quit his job and painted full-time. Thank you lottery! In 1891, he won 100,000 French Francs which he used to travel France and paint, sometimes he had several studies going and worked on up to 10 pantings at the same time. There are quite a lot of interesting stories about Monet and...
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Why Non-Functional Art is Better Than Functional

Posted by on Nov 21, 2011 in Art, Blog | 10 comments So, now I confused you, ha! I hope I got your attention with this For all those who don’t know what the difference between non-functional and functional art is, here a short summary (which I found at WikiAnswers): Functional art is art that serves a purpose. A potter who creates tea sets is making functional art. Non-functional art refers to paintings and such pieces of art that are...
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Visit Within And You’ll Understand The Universe

Posted by on Sep 20, 2011 in Blog, Ideas & Inspiration | 4 comments I think it is obvious that artists go through different creative phases in their lives. It is part of the developing process. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post “Abstract Artists Don’t Know How to Paint” and I just had to smile because my work is getting more and more abstract, away from impressionism, through expressionism into something that doesn’t have a name yet....
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The Challenges Of A Self-Employed, Full-Time Artist

Posted by on Sep 17, 2011 in Art Marketing, Blog | 24 comments It’s been pretty quiet here on my blog: this week, a friend from my childhood together with her husband came to visit and I dedicated all my attention and time to them. I picked them up at the airport, they stayed with us for a couple of days and now they’re off to explore Texas; before they return to Germany, they’ll be back for another 2-3 days. Self-employment is fabulous...
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Painting As An Experience Rather Than Making A Picture

Posted by on Sep 11, 2011 in Art, Blog | 8 comments One of my favorite artists once described his work as “more like I’m having an experience than making a picture.” I was thinking about having just this statement as a complete blog post, adding some of his paintings and that’s it! So much has been said about him and he couldn’t care less about his critiques. He did what he wanted to do, just paint, no comments, no explanations....
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What Is Art?

Posted by on Aug 30, 2011 in Art, Blog | 9 comments On Sunday, I got interviewed by a friend’s grandson who had to do some research about artists for his boy scouts book. I was very honored that I got chosen for his project. It wasn’t too easy to answer all his questions, by the same time to make it simple, fun and understandable for his age. After the interview, I felt more understood than by an adult asking the same questions. Not...
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An Artist Needs Play-Time To Evolve

Posted by on Aug 12, 2011 in Blog, Ideas & Inspiration | 7 comments I hope you missed me! I have been absent from my computer for almost a week, I ignored Twitter, Facebook, G+, my phone and all the other modern toys. No, I haven’t been on vacation. Every time I wanted to write a blog post, our internet was down but I also did not really push myself very hard whenever it was back up. My creative mojo kept me busy and too many things happened: ideas kept on...
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Finding Answers About Ourselves In Artwork

Posted by on Jul 31, 2011 in Blog, Ideas & Inspiration | 12 comments One of my favorite motifs is the ocean. I have just started to play around more with color and create more abstract paintings but for some reason I keep on coming back to water, skies and the color blue. In my studio, it is the most used color (also in my closet). Water has such a calming effect on me and it is my safe subject to paint. Water is life and I guess its symbolism keeps to suck me in...
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Why It Is Important To Declutter Your Mind

Posted by on Jul 26, 2011 in Blog, Ideas & Inspiration | 5 comments While the world was still making its circles around the sun followed by the moon and some stuff that is somehow drawn to the earth (satellites, space trash, aliens, meteors …), I have made the decision to stand still. It has been quiet around my blog for a few days but here I am, finally back. I could say that I was extremely busy working on some projects to save the world, I could come up...
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The Psychological Dilemmas of an Artist

Posted by on Jul 10, 2011 in Blog, Ideas & Inspiration | 25 comments Being born as an artist has so many advantages but there are times when I am wondering, what is all this good for? I am sitting here at my desk in my beautiful new studio and I am writing (as you can see/read, well when you’re reading this, I am probably doing something else, lol). I was so sure that I knew who I am. I am a spontaneous woman (with a lot of nonsense in my head, so maybe not...
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Outside The Comfort Zone

Posted by on Jun 30, 2011 in Art, Blog, Ideas & Inspiration | 14 comments How boring would life be if we’d stay in our comfort zone all the time? In my life, my comfort zone is what most people would call outside-the-comfort-zone. I do things that most people wouldn’t do, I live a life that is not main-stream, I like to have a different opinion and I feel comfortable not agreeing (that doesn’t mean I don’t respect what other people do or...
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When Routine is Not Your Way

Posted by on Jun 20, 2011 in Blog, Ideas & Inspiration | 16 comments I’ve been thinking how much I need routine in my life and how much I don’t. Is it routine that gives me comfort or is it control? Some of you already know that I used to be an Executive Chef working for celebrities in highly rated hotels, restaurants and cruise liners. Every 6-12 months I switched jobs. My resumé looks perfect for the field I have been working in. Contracts in the...
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Abstract Artists Don’t Know How To Paint

Posted by on May 21, 2011 in Art, Blog | 25 comments I just recently came across Rod Jones’ Art Studio Blog where he asked the question “Why Do Abstract Artists Paint Abstractly?”. And he asked the thought-provoking question if artists who mostly paint abstract, actually do not know how to paint naturalistic or why would they use this technique? One of the most popular abstract artists is Pablo Picasso -my favorite artist ever!...
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The Secret Story of “Birch Trees”

Posted by on May 20, 2011 in Art, Blog | 2 comments The colors of “Birch Trees” reminded me of the times when I lived in Northern Germany at the Baltic Coast in 2003. You’ll find beautiful forests everywhere along the coastline. This region is well known for its unpopulated stretch of land with beautiful, long, white and sandy beaches, Before you get to the beautiful beaches, windy paths lead you through light forests. There is a mix of...
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“Fall Storm”: What You Can Learn From a Painting

Posted by on May 17, 2011 in Art, Blog | 2 comments “Fall Storm” was created on a cold and windy winter day. Most of my paintings are created by memory; this piece of art was directly inspired by the storm around my house in McKinney, Texas. Before I begin a painting, I have a color combination in mind or an idea, then I start, not knowing what it will be. As soon as the painting takes shape, the end product is determined. The fall season is...
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Challenges of an Artist

Posted by on May 12, 2011 in Blog, Ideas & Inspiration | 12 comments So I made it to my studio (our garage) pretty late today. I spent the morning with my daily exercise (today I chose Latin music and danced like nobody was watching -I think nobody was..), a very inspiring conference call, ordering more pigments for my oil paint, going through my to-do-list, doing the laundry, cleaning up the kitchen and other little stuff. Now that I look at the list of things I...
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Why Every Piece of Art Deserves A Story

Posted by on May 11, 2011 in Art, Blog | 0 comments All of my paintings have a story. Duh! Everything has a story, right? So why not telling it? I love to share mine. Here is the one about Autumn Colours: Most of my paintings start with an idea or a color combination. Then my imagination guides me to the end product. While I paint, I get carried away to images seen before. The color combinations may be random but they always take me to a place I...
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How I Make An Oil Painting – Abstract Art

Posted by on Apr 25, 2011 in Art, Blog | 9 comments This is one of the paintings I made today. The paint I use is made from pigments and linseed oil. It is painted on primed (home-made gesso from chalk, pigments and skin rabbit glue) fabric that I stretched on recycled wooden frames which I build myself, too. Have a look how I make my frames and mix the colors: - How To Custom-Build Your Own Frames - How To Make Oil Paint From...
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Introduction to Abstract Painting “Almond Blossom”

Posted by on Apr 20, 2011 in Art, Blog | 11 comments One of my friends who follows my blog just recently asked if one of the paintings I started two months ago and blogged about was ready. Yes it is and I would love to share the story about it with you. My abstract paintings are usually painted from my memory and not from live objects. I store many of the motifs as images in my “brain library” and when I start to paint, I usually have a color...
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The Stories Behind My Abstract Paintings

Posted by on Apr 18, 2011 in Art, Blog | 2 comments When I am planning a new painting, I usually have a plan. Either I have a color combination in my mind or I think of the object. My preferred topic is nature; it could be a landscape, trees, the ocean, lakes, ponds or an impression of a daytime. The way my paintings turn out, is not up to me. Some artists have the end painting already laid out, they know exactly how it will look like....
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An Artress On Her Day Off

Posted by on Apr 12, 2011 in Blog, Ideas & Inspiration | 8 comments So what do people like me do on their day off? It’s funny but I am never off, or let’s put it that way, I am always off. It’s the same to me. Whether I paint, market my paintings or am outside the house, there is always something I can use for my business or something that inspires me. My husband and I love fishing and being out there on the lake, surrounded by water and nature...
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Creative Places Create Creativity

Posted by on Mar 23, 2011 in Blog, Ideas & Inspiration | 0 comments A few weeks back, I went to visit the Arboretum in Dallas. It was maybe two weeks before the tulips started to show. This week, I will take a friend to this wonderful place. My bank partnered with them and the Branch Manager was so kind to give me a free ticket for one of us. So we’ll share. I am not expecting it to be the same like last time. But I am expecting to have a relaxing and...
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The Drug I Take To Get High

Posted by on Mar 20, 2011 in Blog, Ideas & Inspiration | 6 comments Today I spent the day inside the garage, my art studio. With the front door wide open, a nice breeze blowing through the room and happy sunshine all day long. There were kids on the street playing, the neighbors to the left put new plants in their front-yard and people walked their dogs. Maybe, maybe not. I was so focused on my paintings that I hardly recognized what was going on around me. Until...
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