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April 2026

-  How It All Began  -

Leipzig Book Fair 2026. I’m sitting on the podium, reading from my booklet 'Wanderlust' the story of a moment that was pivotal for me: my chance discovery of a passion for watercolours and plein air painting on a trip to the Caribbean.

“Does anyone have a question about painting whilst travelling?” I then ask the audience. “Not about painting, but was there an initial experience for writing too?” a member of the audience asks. I explain: “I’ve actually been writing stories to accompany my paintings for a long time. Because many of my motifs arise in unusual, sometimes funny, sometimes even precarious situations. Since I’ve had my online shop, I’ve been publishing a story every month. I choose a watercolour that’s close to my heart at the moment, or a theme that’s on my mind, and let thoughts and images communicate with one another.”

For my first ‘journey of thought’, however, there was actually a trigger. In 2019, I was strolling through the Leipzig Book Fair, spotted the Vienna Book Fair stand and spontaneously asked if I could take part with my magnetic bookmarks. The answer was an immediate yes – and with it came the chance to give a reading. I didn’t want to repeat old stories, but rather to develop something new for this special occasion: a kind of journey of thought on the theme of wanderlust, for that is, after all, the driving force behind my art and my writing. Immediately, the image came to mind that I had painted out of the window just a few months earlier on the flight from Cuba to Costa Rica. Writing and travelling are similar: whilst everything outside is in motion, the real journey begins within. Thoughts dissolve, reconnect and become images and stories.

Together with Holger, my long-standing creative partner, I spent two months working on the concept: 21 images, 21 chapters. I took a close look at my life, gathered memories, feelings, insights – and opened the door to my inner world. To bring order to the flood of thoughts, I imagined fictional conversations with my friend Monika. Like my mother, she too has never been bitten by the travel bug. Holger read, nodded or shook his head, showing me new ways of thinking. After two months of intensive collaboration, Katja took over the design of the booklet whilst we fine-tuned the foreword and afterword. There was a long discussion about the cover: in the end, the gently gliding zeesen boat won the race against the speedy cable car from San Francisco.

At the beginning of September, I sent the booklet digitally to Vienna; by the middle of the month, I was proudly holding my printed ‘Wanderlust’ in my hands. Such a slim little volume, so much work. Further journeys of the mind followed later: 'Zest for Painting' and 'Joy of Writing'. I have now been happily working on my next piece for two years – two or three hours every day. Good things take time, and I doubt anything will flow from my pen as quickly as 'Wanderlust' did. “What do you think my new booklet should be called?” I ask the audience. A brief moment of general silence. Suddenly, a woman in the audience says, “joie de vivre”. My face lights up. “Good idea! How did you come up with that?” – “After everything you’ve told us, it just seemed the logical conclusion.”

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