I am an artist born in Silkeborg, mainland Denmark, in 1964. Before moving to Latvia in 1992, I attended several art schools in Denmark (Århus, Ålborg), working with different forms of art - from oil painting to sculpturing. I also worked as an illustrator and spent some time in Berlin working with a video team.

In 1991 I made my first trip to Asia (Thailand and Indonesia), which gave me tremendous inspiration and new artistic ideas. Since then I have returned to Thailand several times and the impressions gained are clearly visible in my artwork.

My stay in Latvia started as a short visit - one event led to another and in the autumn 1992 I was admitted to the Art Academy in Riga. There I met Latvian graphic artist Vita Lenerte, whose art inspired me to start working with graphics. After the first semester at the Academy I became Vita's private student.

Since 1996 I have had my own workshop in Riga.

Inspiration

It is not easy to define the sensation of inspiration, from where, when, what, or whom it appears, or for me to analyse it either, since inspiration is so abstract and varies from one person to the other.

I have several sources of inspiration. Unfortunately inspiration is not a concrete thing that just jumps into your lap, when needed.. There can be long periods without inspiration. The trick during these periods is not to panic! Which, of course, for the exact same reasons, I sometimes do. Once in a while I can do something about it - travel! Traveling is one of my big sources of inspiration.

I have gotten a tremendous inspiration from Asia - Indonesia and Thailand. The first time I was privileged to visit Indonesia and Thailand was in 1991, when I traveled for three months with another artist to study art through the impact of colors. Since then I have returned to Asia several times. There are many things about Thailand in particular that fascinates and inspires me; the culture, the nature, the mentality and most definitely the colors. A variety of colors are all around you in Thailand; everything from the blue scale of the sky and the ocean, the green colors of the palm trees to the fabulous flowers and fruits, the markets, fishing boats, monks, dressed in orange, and the beautiful, colorful temples covered with gold.

Gold is a color that I frequently use in my art. I believe that using the right amount of gold gives the pictures a bright and at the same time soft expression.

Not all my inspiration comes from Asia, nor do all my pictures have an Asian touch. I am of course also inspired from the adventures of daily life - human relations - emotions, the nature, seasons changing etc. Reincarnation and religion are also themes in which I have found inspiration.

My art has been described as poetic, harmonious, individualistic, and mystic, with a philosophical message. However, I do not put a certain label on my work or on what inspires me, since I find a label to be a limitation. My sources of inspiration and how I show them in my pictures will probably always depend on where I am in my life - geographically and experientially.

Still, balance and harmony are elements that always reappear in my pictures. These elements are the expression that feels most right for me and my way of making art. If I wish to create a particularly dynamic picture, I do so through my choice of colors rather than disrupt this built-in balance that is my trademark.