I use the 25 square metre large „Portrait Atelier“ for live sittings with my subjects, working on commissions and for small painting courses. There are always paintings to see and also work in progress to observe though the large shop windows. Privacy for the sitter, if wished, is provided by paravents. I share a small kitchen with my studio colleagues for „We Concept“ where I can make tea or coffee for my customers which induces a relaxed atmosphere important for portrait painting.
The studio is situated in a street to the south east of Bielefeld city centre. It is a street in which cycling is prioritized and increasingly attractive for pedestrians who enjoy visiting small galleries, the bookshop and local cooperative cafe. In the neighbouring street the stream, „Die Lutter“, that was once banished underground, has been exposed and provides in summer an additional attraction to the area. Here too you can find small shops, designers and another new and flourishing cafe.
I moved into this studio in January 2019, sharing the space with Tsansian Chang, who had had a woodwind instrument repair shop in these premises for the past 10 years.
Tsansian Chang has since retired and spends most of his time in Taiwan. My new partners with whom I now share the space, Birgit Essling and Joachim Stäbler, are also artists and use the space as a studio as I do. They have founded an art cooperative called WE Concept and work with various artists on art projects in addition to their own art production.