About
Stefanie

Welcome to my studio! I am Stefanie Schönhals, a self-taught contemporary painter, born in Kazakhstan, raised in Germany. I’m currently working from my home studio near the city of Würzburg. Through my art I explore themes of freedom and authenticity.

Inspiration

I am deeply influenced by utilizing art as a means of self-discovery and am most inspired by the feeling of freedom & spaciousness, colorful design, street style and themes of self-love & exuberance – basically life itself.

I translate this inspiration into my work with the use of emotive colors, expressive mark making, mixed medias, collage, text and image transfer. But the actual act of being in the moment is what ultimately informs the content and final outcome of my work. 

My style has evolved over my years of creating and my paintings now often combine figurative elements with elements that are purely abstract. In my latest collection I found myself gravitating towards incorporating female figures using the technique of image transfer and collage. 

Process

I am not a conceptual artist, my approach to painting is rather intuitive.  I start painting with no end result in mind, and from there, every stroke is a reaction. It`s only during the actual painting process that I get a sense of where the painting is headed. During the creation of a painting, I constantly balance between intuitive painting and conscious adjustments of color and composition. My paintings evolve with each layer of paint, but the story underneath remains, leaving clues to what was there before. 

My immediate surroundings have a great influence on my work. The music I listen to, the magazines I flip through, my mood, the experiences and thoughts that occupy my mind, and the feelings I process. Since I paint from the subconscious, everything finds its way onto the canvas. I often watch my children as they paint or draw, and their childlike carefree approach to making art never ceases to inspire me. My intention is to transfer this feeling of freedom and uninhibitedness to my work through a process focussed practice. 

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