Why I Started Painting – My Creative Journey

Back in 2016, I found myself completely overwhelmed with work. Long days, constant emails, no space to breathe. My head felt heavy, my body tired, and I knew I needed something, an escape, to help me slow down and feel joy again.

One day, I picked up a pen and just started drawing simple things in my kitchen. A spoon. A cup. A vase. Nothing fancy, but it felt good. Like a small, quiet moment that was just mine.

Later that same year, my husband gave me a paper cutting course for Christmas and I really enjoyed it. I started paper cutting at home. It challenged me in a new way, sometimes frustrating, sometimes magical, but always meditative. I was hooked on the feeling of creating something with my hands.

Then came a big turning point: we visited my husband’s family in Mexico. I had always been impressed by the culture, the colours, and the art. But that year, something changed — I wanted to paint the impressions so badly. So I started painting Catrinas as soon as I came back, jet-lagged and wide awake in the middle of the night. I was so drawn to painting that on weekends, I would wake up at 6 a.m. because I couldn’t wait to start! That’s when I knew something had shifted.

Since then, painting has become a part of who I am. Every time we returned to Mexico, I painted more, experimenting with alebrijes and landscapes, trying bold colours and textures I had never used before.

In 2020, I had the chance to hold an exhibition in Berlin for Día de los Muertos. It was a dream come true. I got to share not just my paintings, but also the meaning behind them, the story of Aguascalientes, Mexican cemeteries, and what a Catrina really stands for. It was emotional, powerful, and beautiful.

Now, my art reflects all the places that have shaped me. I paint my hometown Schwerin, with its calm lakes, my impressions from India, and now that I live in Spain, I’ve started my Spain collection too.

Painting started as a way to relax and a way to breathe. But it has grown into my passion, my voice, and my way of telling stories.

And I'm still painting.