Saying goodbye to my friends for my summer break! It's the perfect time. It's far too hot to do anything.

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Walks in the woods sound like a good idea to me.

Instagram's algorithms will let you all see this:
An excerpt from Intuition 🌿 (2023), color-enhanced.

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The Peace Linden 🌳

When I look into the canopy of leaves, my experience is intensified by the interplay of light and shadow, the rustling of leaves in the wind, and the vibrant hues that shift with the changing light. This sensory immersion creates a fuller, richer image in my mind than any photograph could ever capture. The movement within the thicket blurs the gaps a photo might capture, and the living space between the branches is filled with a sense of vitality due to the gas exchange and microclimates that contribute to the dynamic ecosystem.

The linden tree, with its deep cultural significance, ignites a cascade of thoughts and associations. This tree, revered as sacred and planted as a symbol of peace, is deeply woven into my cultural heritage. The sight of the linden tree evokes memories of ancient Germanic legends, intricately decorated old books, and the hero Siegfried. The unique shape of the linden leaf and the historical gatherings of Germanic tribes beneath its branches to make important decisions further enrich my perception.

This profound connection to the linden tree cannot be captured in a mere photograph. The image I seek must convey not just the visual beauty of the tree but also the powerful emotional and cultural resonance it holds for me. The photograph should aim to encapsulate the living essence of the tree, the depth of its historical significance, and the personal associations that make it so meaningful to me. Only then can it begin to approximate the powerful experience I describe.

Expressionist realism combines the accurate depiction of reality with subjective, emotional, and often intense expressions. When a photo is edited to capture not just the external appearance of the subject but also the deeper emotional and cultural meanings it holds for the viewer, it creates a connection between the real world and the inner world of the viewer, which is a central aim of expressionist realism.

Rudolf Kortokraks would have turned 96 today. He was an influential artist of expressive realism. The photo shows him playing with his cousin, my grandmother Gabriele (also a realist painter).

Recently his daughters became aware of me. Anna sent me this photo and I already knew it from my grandmother. I colored it and removed scratches.

He was a student of Oskar Kokoschka and later taught at the Summer Academy in Salzburg, which was founded by Kokoschka. Rudolf Kortokraks was associated with the "School of Seeing," also initiated by Kokoschka. This is an approach to art education that emphasizes direct observation and the intuitive grasp of reality.

Here are some of the core principles:

1. Direct Perception: Central to the philosophy is the ability to see and capture the visual world. Students are encouraged to develop their skills in observing the world around them with fresh eyes and to authentically depict what they see.

2. Emotional Experience: Alongside visual perception, emotional experience plays a crucial role. Art should not only represent what is seen but also convey the artist's inner feelings and reactions.

3. Individual Expression: The "School of Seeing" promotes personal style and individual expression. There are no rigid rules or prescribed styles; artists are encouraged to find their own paths and realize their own visions.

4. Intensive Nature Studies: Nature and reality are key sources of inspiration. A deep engagement with nature and a careful study of forms, colors, and light are central to the practice.

5. Holistic Learning: Art is seen as an integral part of human life and thought. Interdisciplinary approaches and the interplay of art with other areas of life are encouraged.

Catching fireflies in a maize field 🌌✨️

This image has a very high resolution. It consists of an enormous number of emotions per inch (epi).

It is the peace and warmth, the fragrant green and the abundance of blue that people strive for and the contrast between metropolis and countryside. It is identity and therefore an expression of myself.

The artistic element of a work is not measurable by algorithms. Algorithms can analyze technical aspects of an image, such as resolution, brightness, contrast, and even the content including certain emotional expressions. But the subjective and creative dimension that is the essence of art eludes quantitative analysis.

Artistic works are often characterized by personal interpretation, cultural context, emotional depth and individual experiences that are difficult to code and measure. The meaning and value of a work of art vary greatly between different viewers and contexts. What is deeply moving to one person may be uninteresting to another.

This subjectivity and individuality make art unique and special. Algorithms can assist and analyze, but they cannot fully capture or replace human creativity and subjective experience. Art therefore remains a field in which human perception and interpretation are indispensable.

Intuition 🌿

“Inner Development”

Here artistic intent and unexpected influences merge. This work, originally intended as a print of a bare foot in dried and cracked paint, took a fascinating turn.

A vibrant palette of green and yellow tones, infused with traces of nature. It wasn't my hand, but beetles that found their way unnoticed that left their mark here. The original vision has been reinterpreted by nature, and the beetles' damage is now a powerful symbol of change and unpredictability.

In this unexpected collaboration I find an organic metaphor for metamorphosis and change. The traces of the beetle metamorphosis, as unintentional symbolism, tells a story of transformation and the unstoppable passage of time. Art and nature merge into a unique aesthetic fusion of planned creativity and spontaneous influences.

I consciously decided against the original footprint in order to preserve the traces of the beetles. This was not a defeat, but a choice that intensified the dialogue between art and chance. The work thus becomes a timeless testimony to the beauty that arises from the symbiosis of human creativity and the power of nature.

In ‘Inner Development’ we see, how the creative process goes beyond the boundaries of intention. The unintended elements are not mistakes but sources of inspiration. This work invites you to discover the beauty in the unexpected and experience the transformative power of art.

The painting is a 20cm x 20cm egg tempera on canvas. The beetles are drugstore beetles (Stegobium paniceum). These have gone through all stages of development inside the dried paint. I collected them and cleaned the painting. It was then disinfected in the oven and prepared with linseed oil varnish. What remains is a detailed landscape that tells a colorful story of life.

I allow the pain and analyze. Vulnerability is not weakness. No compensation/repression through work, alcohol, drugs or sex. I think about how I myself worked towards the end of the relationship in order to learn from it for the future. I know that 90 percent of all justifications are just pretexts and in reality there is almost always another problem causing it. I know I can't control everything. I know that people are not static, but that certain situations can promote toxic behavior patterns (self-protection). That's why I have no problem with entering into a binding relationship again afterwards. The strength to face your feelings, process what you've experienced and look forward gives me power - over myself. That's why I don't listen to people who advise me to stop thinking about it. I don't live in the past just because I face it. On the contrary: I live in the present, where it is a burden, and work on my future - without this burden.

What could that be? A witch?

I made the image using Photoshop and the Firefly AI model. I worked on it for several hours. At first I had only unintentionally generated the head. Then I expanded the area step by step and generated new content using magic spells.

🤔... "Street Heart" 🌺
Because... 🤔... it's.. a way! 😢