In the beginning there is always an inspiring basic idea. I follow it and try to concretize it. When I come to the conclusion that it is worthwhile to paint her, I try to represent her on a stage in the studio. I select the elements and the colors and put the individual objects in relation to each other. Good lighting is also very important.
Then I determine the size of the picture and determine the cut-out with four plywood panels. The painting has exactly the same dimension as the cutout. Logically, this system results in an exact proportion of the objects.
When painting the still lives directly, I look at the composition with both eyes. This means that both eyes are open and not one closed as usual. So I paint what I see with both eyes.
Through this system of the so-called ‘binocular’ capturing and re-creating of a scene, deeper, more vivid and less flat images result.
I paint my pictures in layers, i.e. the paint is applied in many thin layers.
Technique – Scenes Outside My Studio
In scenes outside my studio, my own photographs serve as a starting point for the composition of the painting. But my goal is painting, not making a ‘photocopy’ in oil paint. Therefore I freely change objects, positions, colors, I reduce or add.
Through the two-dimensional image template, an exact sketch on wood or canvas is well feasible. The conversion into oil also is made in the layer painting technique.
Tromp l’oeil Painting Technique
TTrompe-l’oeil (French meaning “fool the eye”) is a very old painting technique that uses realistic images to create the optical illusion that the objects depicted really exist in three dimensions. By means of deliberately set perspective, colouring, light and shadow play, I try to create optical effects such as spatial depth and plasticity of objects and bodies.