PASSIONS
ARTISTIC BACKGROUND
Fine arts have always played an important role in my life. My grandfather was an artist and passed the passion down to his children. My mother’s home is intricately decorated by him, a living documentation of my grandfather’s work. My uncle followed in his steps as a graphic designer. My mother passed the love of fine arts on to me, which I always endeavoured to nourish, even when life was most demanding and didn’t leave much room to breathe. More, I am grateful to have inherited a deep awe of the intriguing ingenuity and splendid work of the Greatest Artist of all, of whom my creative works can be a humble copy at their most.
PAINTING
Painting and drawing has been one of my largest passions since childhood. Although I didn’t get to know my grandfather much, I inherited some of his sketchbooks and learnt a lot from studying them. I moved from aquarelle to acrylic techniques as I am rather fond of strong, dark, dramatic scenes. I hate to part from my paintings, so I tend to hoard them in my studio.
MUSIC
I love classic music, especially Chopin, adding jazz as I grew older. This is also true for my piano-playing. I don’t really play much by notes anymore, preferring to improvise. I gave in to a long-standing desire and bought a small grand-piano recently which now decorates our living-room.
SPORTS
I’m on the move whenever I can, churning up the water windsurfing or sailing, carving lines in snowy slopes with my skis or snowboard, or striding up a hill when I go Nordic power walking. I appreciate the intensive contact with nature and the elements and it gives me time to clear up my head and my heart.
TRAVEL
With the kids we acquired a caravan and have visited France, Italy and Sweden in recent years. Italy is our favourite because of the warm Mediterranean Sea and Italian food. My wife is half Italian, so she always enjoys la dolce vita and antipasti in Italy. We spent my recent sabbatical in South Africa, travelling the Garden Route and visiting the Cape Town region. My mother spent a few years there, so I had some connection to the places we visited. Just wonderful.