Interview with Roswitha Langemeier
„ My pictures should delight and touch the viewer, make situations, moods and feelings visible.“
You started your artistic journey in the 80’s. Can you share more about what initially drew you to painting, and who or what were your early influences?
All my life I had been feeling that I had to express something, that this craving for art was always in me. I read a lot about art and art history and I was fascinated by impressionism with his color, light and a lot of mood. I was thrilled by the lightness and atmosphere. But the urge to paint really rolled over and splashed out when I was studying business administration. I needed a balance to this theoretical subject with its dry material. My creative streak was looking for an outlet and initially found it in watercolor painting. The trigger for this was actually a missed train. I passed the waiting time in the station bookshop and found a book from Wendon Blake with a basic course in watercolor painting.
My first paintings following these step-by-step instructions, were landscapes in spring, summer, fall and winter. I visited workshops and read a lot books about watercolor painting. That was the start of my painterly journey.
You describe your way of painting as intuitive. Could you walk us through your creative process? How do you begin a piece, and how do you know when it’s complete?
I would describe my approach as goal-oriented intuitive painting. I have a rough idea of what
I would like to paint. For example, I had the plan to paint a picture of a train station. A Train is already at the platform. The viewer can see travelers on the platform against the light and looks out of the station concourse.
So I had a concrete idea of my end result. There was this idea of this picture that I wanted to paint, and there was me. But I didn’t know how to bring it all together harmoniously on my canvas. So I let go and began to open myself up to the process. I chose the colors that were on my mind, roughly sketched the layout and elements of my painting and began to surrender to the flow of intuitive painting.
Intuitive painting is the process of allowing each layer of paint inform what comes next, is about letting go of fear or expectations to allow your painting to evolve based on your heart callings, visions and play. That includes the happy accidents and the messes! It’s about finding your own voice, your own look.
In the example , I use a yellow underpainting because I want to show the passengers on the platform against the light. I achieve this by showing the people only as dark shadows with a light border. At the same time, the yellow underpainting also appears as sunlight through the station concourse. I try to reduce the train and the station concourse to the essential elements. Just so that you can recognize what it is all about.
How do you know when it’s complete? Good Question.
You have to stop at the right time and put the brush down, because you can also ruin a painting.
In my eyes it’s finished , when I express what I want to convey to the viewer with just as many means as necessary. When I look at the painting and can feel the station atmosphere than it’s complete.
Your aim is to imbue your paintings with atmosphere and soul. What techniques or approaches do you use to achieve this, and how do you asses whether a piece successfully conveys these qualities?
The atmosphere of a painting depends very much on the light in the painting and the light depends on the colors used, but my own current mood also plays a big role. I choose colors that are pleasant to me. Then perhaps I even unconsciously convey my own mood through them.
Color is the first thing that strikes us when we look at a painting. But how the colors are combined and juxtaposed also influences the mood of a painting. I can create rather hard or foggy soft color areas. Congrats also play a role, wether they are slightly like in the fog or strong, like glaring sunlight with strong shadows. I can also create interesting moods with certain lightning.
„ Don’t paint what it looks like - paint how it feels like! „
I don’t just want to depict, I want achieve an effect. Which colors attract me? Which picture elements are important to me, which perspective emphasizes the inner feeling? After all, I often end up following my own intuition.
When an artist manages to convey some kind of energy, put a piece of his soul into a painting, this is not always possible , nor can it always be read or understood by everyone, because :
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder! The certain something in a painting is the painters personality, his appreciation, his thoughts. Others would call it the Soul .
How has your style and approach to painting evolved since you began in the 80s? Are there any key moments or experiences that have significantly influenced your artistic development?
At first, there were indecisive strokes with a small brush, dozens of books by painting and old masters and copies of their works. All my attempts to get into painting were limited to copying and finding my own language and style.
During a holiday trip to the southern French Island of Porquerolles at the end of the 1990s, I was inspired by the colorful paintings of the French painter Michel Maitereau, and from then on my preferred medium was acrylic paint.
I also was very inspired by the books and paintings from the German Artist Felix Eckhardt. He gave me a very clear understanding of painting and took away my awe of the white canvas. He also said: ‚ There is no right or wrong in painting. There is only the one way or the other way. ‚
Another key moment where the Paintings from VOKA an Austrian painter. His dynamic , power and colorful Spontanrealism flashed me!
And last but not least: Edward B.Gordon a German Oil painter with his blog: ‚ A Painting a Day‘.
In my Option he is the Master of Light. The Inspiration for his Paintings is the respective light.
He influenced my development to focus on figurative painting.
Your collection on Balthasart showcases a diverse range of themes and techniques, from vibrant cityscapes to intimate portraits and dynamic figurative works. Could you share the inspiration behind one of your series featured there, and how you approached the creation of these pieces?
In one series , I have analyzed well-known painters. I tried to portray them in the context of their work.
I painted Salvador Dali expressively, in a limited color palette and on his mustache I painted the Melting Watch from a well-known painting of him : Persistence of Memory, to show the viewer a reference to his surrealist work.
For the portrait of Van Gogh , I was inspired by an old photograph and designed the background in the style of his painting : The Starry Night.
I also wanted to include female painters in my series. So I painted Frida Kahlo, the most famous, inspired by an old black and white portrait. In the background of my work you can see her painting ‘The Brocken Column ’. It was a serious bus accident that led her to painting. She painted her own suffering in a great deal of her paintings.
As a German expressionist female artist, I painted a portrait from Gabriele Münter, whose partner was Wassily Kandinsky and who was a member of the ‚ Blaue Reiter‘ artist association. Gabriele Münter painted with simplified forms and large surfaces. The motifs are often captured by dark contours. I made use of this in her portrait with dark contours, while I tried to depict the face more with large-scale form.
You mentioned that people are your favorite subject to paint. Can you share more about what fascinates you about capturing the human figure or persona in your art ?People bring my pictures to life because their presence suddenly brings out human feelings and emotions. I try to capture everyday situations for a moment. In this way, unknown people become anonymous torn away and the subject of my painting, the people breathe life into the painting that could not be more different: movement, clothing, mentality and behavior often differ depending on the place where I paint - every city, every place has its own rhythm, and this rhythm emanates from the people.
What has been the most challenging aspect of developing your art over the years, and how have you overcome these challenges ?
The person who initially stood in my way the most when I started painting was myself - my head. Initially , the path to relaxed painting was obstructed by my exceptions of the finished picture, I was in search of perfection. Since I have come to a point in my life where I have accepted that there is no perfection. I substituted the self-critic for some self-love. Personally , I am always the happiest with the art Sam currently working on. So, I am always growing. Keep on making the work, builds my self-confidence as an artist. I feel eager to put down a line just so or try a color combo because I just thought of it, or express a mood because I can really feel it. This builds my self-esteem. Because I have a growing body of work, my work where each painting has something in it, learned from the one before as well as brand new moments or gestures that if been trying out. My Repertoire of skills and likes and dislikes that all embody the uniqueness of me to be honed and savored and expressed.
How do you hope your audience feels, or what do you hope they take away when they view your paintings ?
I hope my pictures are intended to delight and touch the viewer. If the viewer finds a piece of me in my paintings, he will get stuck. He may be able to identify with it, because he may be in a similar situation in life or because the definition of what is depicted gives him a certain mood that he is looking for, that touches him. If he falls in love with one of my works and buys it, this work finds its place and its special attention. It changes hands from me , who created it, to a new owner - a person who is touched by this painting in their own way and builds a relationship with it. Experiencing this is a great affirmation of what I do and a small celebration for me every time.
Looking forward, are there new themes or techniques you are eager to explore in your future work ? What aspirations do you have for your artistic career in the coming years ? With the help of Balthasart I received a very constructive portfolio evaluation of a gallery. The best of my submitted paintings was Cross-country skiing.
My strength are the soft, reduced style of painting and the reduction to necessary painterly elements, as well as the limitation of the color palette and remaining in the approximate.
I plan to implement the feedback I received artistically. In the future, I will be exploring oil painting more intensively and will also venture into lager formats. I will stay with figurative painting and also keep to the everyday genre. Otherwise I just want to keep painting, because painting is like a journey. Sometimes a journey is difficult and tedious and then again easy and simple and when you come back from the journey, you have made new experiences, not everything is predictable and so you have to improvise or take detours. In any case your creativity is awakened. I keep at it and try out new things, on the way to a clear painterly path! What could be more exciting?
