Recent works




Some fresh paintings that are not really finished yet. For me, they have a nostalgic touch, and i called the one with the family the "corleone family".

Snowflakes in spring






A series of Stillifes for Polka-dot lovers, bringing a fresh breeze into grey winter days. Flower-petals, snowflakes, sun-spots, digital dots or just simply a fun pattern - dots continue to inspire my work. Now available in my shop.

Painting at work


One of my recent works in progress. The "Luminous" theme accompanied me through last winter and maybe this winter as well. Already long for more light and sunshine!

KidsLife-Fashion shoot



Took such a long break from blogging - too many projects around our Magazine, KidsLife, which has it's own website as well. These pix are from a fashion project in the house of my artist-friend Andrea, photographed by the talented Robin Benito. It was great fun, the atmosphere was nice, the house (and hostess) beautiful, and the kids all did a great job. Am thrilled to work on the layout. The painting you see in the background of the first photo is a combined work of Andrea and me - a large Medusa head.

French Toast


Is a wonderful way to start a day of artistic adventures! This is how Sophie serves them in her romantic house in Conneticut: Cut crunchy italian white bread in thick slices, place them in a baking dish and soak with a mixture of 2 eggs, stirred in milk and a bit of Orange juice. Spice with a pinch of salt and some vanilla and crumble some butter on top. When the bread has absorbed the liquid, bake in the oven until lightly brown. Serve with maple-sirup and fresh fruit, hmmmm.

Beauty heals

From the New Scientist In pain? Take one masterpiece, three times a day

The power of art to heal emotional wounds is well known, but could contemplating a beautiful painting have the same effect on physical pain?

To investigate, Marina de Tommaso and a team from the University of Bari in Italy asked 12 men and women to pick the 20 paintings they considered most ugly and most beautiful from a selection of 300 works by artists such as da Vinci and Botticelli.
--
The subjects rated the pain as being a third less intense while they were viewing the beautiful paintings, compared with contemplating the ugly paintings or the blank panel. Electrodes measuring the brain's electrical activity suggested a reduced response to the pain when the subject looked at beautiful paintings

from: www.estatevaults.com, painting: Sandro Boticelli

In the tree

My paintings brood and wait. Am currently occupied making illustrations for a childrens book about gardens, parks and chateaus in Potsdam - fun, but a lot of work. I'm looking forward though to start on a series with RobinBenito, painting over some of his gorgeous photos. Hope to show some of it soon.

Painting, water & Vogue

Stillife on the floor, since i love working on the floor, sitting in all kinds of weird positions and frequently looking through old magazines for inspiration. Vogue still is my favorite, since the photos are just great. I don't actually paint after photos, but let them influence my work - a set of colours, a posture, a mood ...

A warm evening

A painting from a series that was exibited and sold in my old gallery "Artescona" in Ascona, Switzerland. Sadly, it closed and i still miss it. I always have that longing for the south, for more sun and a mediteranean feeling and lifestyle, that i meanwhile celebrate in my paintings!

A day in the studio

Working on a new canvas in mellow colours that are not so typical for me. They have that nostalgic touch, like when you visit a deserted chateau. But somehow i got enthralled into that dreamy atmosphere.

In the mood for spring


I know, it's summer really, but not here in Germany. There is a chilly wind outside, yet the sky is blue, just like in this painting. From a series of stillifes from last year.

My kids


Well, my kids when they were still small! Sometimes i wish i could shrink them back to this size. We still sit around this avocado shaped table, made by friend and fellow artist Piet Hohl. The painting itself is sold.

A small world of colours


I like to use plates as palette - and after a while, they resemble funny coloured planets. Someone asked me to exibit those - maybe one day?

More trees



Have been indulging in shades of lovely green, turquoise light blue, and – more dots. Green has such a soothing quality, i can't get it enough of it right now.

My Studio


Assembly of paintings – finished, unfinished ... I always like to see paintings assembled as groups, influencing each other, forming something like a tune. I can never work on just one canvas a time, there always have to be more of them. And the, looking is just as important as painting. Looking, contemplating the next step – always an adventure!

The Rose (2008) by Cy Twombly


This is one from five new monumental paintings by American artist Cy Twombly, recently shown at Gagosian's Britannia Street gallery in London. Stanzas from "Les roses" by poet Rainer Maria Rilke, that inspired this series, are inscribed on the last panel of each painting. I can't believe he did those with 81 years! That is amazing. It shows, that the spirit does stay young and alive if you let it develop and don't loose touch with live!

Friday Pretties: Red Stillifes






These are from an 2008 series, playing with shapes and ornaments. It's amazing how paintings in vibrant colours can liven up a cool office-spaces and rooms full of computers, printers and the like.

I heard Bill gates uses huge flat monitors instead of paintings on the walls and has various artworks projected, according to the mood of the day. But that can never be the same. The energy is different. We've got to much flickering screens in front of us already and we crave the warmth and living vibrations from a painting we really like - well, at least i do!

Little dots - Forgetmenots


A photoshopped picture from Robin in the garden - i love those light blue dots! Have i mentioned before, that dots make me happy? That's why i want to paint them all the time!

Trees



is what i see from the window of the room i paint in just now,  and so the rythm of branches and twigs got into my paintings, changing colours from pink to green and blue ... When i start painting a new series, i allow things like this to happen. Sometimes i wonder, if it's the best way though. As mentioned before i do aim for simplicity with twists of surprises and double meaning, Yet i love to be surprised by my own doing sometimes - and the best paintings result from things i didn't plan before. 

Think pink


Especially in times of crisis! My husband's trying out this fabolous new pink headband for positive thinking - and i wonder, what the effects will be!

Less is more



... at least i often think so, when i look at my own paintings. Somehow my goal is, to open up space and colour, not filling it with too many things. It is difficult though. Things and people are vital, and they do get in to my work and demand attention. These two are from an older series of stripes and flowers. I hope to get on with my new series over the weekend.

Blue flower


... feeling blue doesn't always have to be bad. Feeling blue can be wonderful! It makes you dream and relax and let your mind drift to heavenly places - a good colour for stressed people!

Blue hour



I love that blue just before it gets dark, it's a magic colour. And, just like magic all the people in this somewhat crowded place along the rhine seemed to have vanished for the picture.

Trees



Some contrast to beginn with ...

Progress with my new canvases?




Well, at least i did a little something with pink and bright orange to brighten up my mind - which is quite stressed these days!

Everyday beauty


Stillife on our coffee-table.

Fashion shoot




Not painting, but playing with colours just the same. The first fashion shoot we did ourselves, on a beach along the Rhine. Robin (in tree) did the photos, beautiful Freda and her little brother Paul were the cutest models ever. Check out the whole thing in the new issue of KidsLife, coming out soon.

Beddytime


Am in the finishing line for the new issue of KidsLife and -
boy, no time for anything else! Hope to be back soon with
lots of fresh ideas. More tomorrow.

Under your spell!

L O31 Copper Uppercase Letter V letter E

This! Spell with Flickr by Erik Kastner is just great for people who love to play with typographie in a visual way, using the images of fonts from photographs featured on flickr. Try it. You can click on each letter to change it's shape again and again until it suits you.
http://metaatem.net/words/