It all began with a curtain. That is, with the wish for a curtain with a pattern of blades of grass, which I could not find anywhere. A friend of mine suggested I simply paint blades of grass myself on some curtain material, and promptly brought me a brush and paint. Surprise! When I held the brush in my hand and applied the paint, something awoke which I had no inkling existed in me: the bliss of painting.
Passionately I immersed myself in this new world and jumped right in with the most difficult medium, i.e. water color. At the same time, I taught myself to draw and attended a variety of classes. One day the teacher of a concentrated summer course handed me some pastels. Instantly I was fascinated by their consistency, color quality and range of diversity. Today I paint almost exclusively with pastels.
Early on, my love for animals – especially for horses – dominated my choices of subjects. This led to my painting animal portraits on commission, for which I continue to receive compliments on how well I capture the personality of a depicted animal, although at times I know them only from photos. Some of my paintings received international awards, most of these depict flowers or horses.
Moments in nature, snapshots of landscapes, a ray of sun light on a bouquet of roses, the interplay of light and color – all this inspires me to paint. The hours I spend at the easel are like small retreats for me. When painting, I am entirely myself.