Photographed in my studio by Robert Grund.
- Katja Tomzig | born 1975 in Dresden, Germany | 2010 to 2021 Cologne, Germany | summer 2021 return to Dresden
- 1993 - 1995 studied art and German language and literature at the University of Dresden
- in the meantime: newspaper editor, photographer, press officer for a major event organiser, two burn outs
- 2015 - 2017 studied in painting at Freie Kunstschule Köln (Cologne Private School of Fine Arts) with Diploma in painting
- followed by one semester of master studies with headmaster Alexander Rudy
- November 2017 Founding of the independent artist group Art for People (which has fallen into a deep Corona sleep).
- 2018 and 2019 studied in old masters painting at Fine Art Academy Cologne with additional seminars with international artists
- Since March 2019 active as a freelance artis
- Since Autumn 2019: represented in Cologne by Galerie KARAK, Naumannstraße 7
My painting series FACETTS OF CREATION and how it came to me
Both my grandfathers and my father painted a lot and I painted with them from an early age. My goal was to be able to paint like the old masters. After twelve years of school and four semesters of studying to be an art teacher, it was clear that I would never achieve my goal this way. So with a heavy heart I turned to other tasks that did not make me happy.
An meinem 40. Geburtstag habe ich dann zu mir selbst gesagt: „Wenn Du glücklich werden willst mit Deinem täglichen Tun, musst Du Dir jetzt die Schule suchen, in der Du endlich lernst, was Du immer lernen wolltest!“ Und ich habe gesucht und in meiner damaligen Stadt Köln zwei private Kunstschulen gefunden. Diese habe ich aufbauend nacheinander besucht und bin meinem Ziel so nahe gekommen bin, dass es gut für mich war. Und dann kamen meine FACETTEN DER SCHÖPFUNG zu mir und machen mich seither glücklich bei der Arbeit.
Mehr durch Zufall habe ich Jahre vorher in einem mit Farbe bekleckerten Zeichenblatt eine Vielzahl an Geschöpfen entdeckt und begeistert mit einem Stift nachgezogen. Daran habe ich mich im Frühjahr 2019 während einer langen, langweiligen Krankheit erinnert und einen Stapel Kleckspapier mit auf mein Sofa genommen und im Liegen ein Wesen nach dem anderen aus dem Klecks befreit und in unsere Welt geholt. Das war so faszinierend und spannend, dass ich an meiner Bildreihe FACETTEN DER SCHÖPFUNG noch heute male. Die ersten Gemälde passten auf ein Klemmbrett und waren mehr Zeichnungen, heute sind die Bilder bis zu 140cm breit und zum Teil voll ausgemalt. Ich arbeite mit Eitempera, Aquarellfarbe und -stiften, wasserlöslicher Metallfarbe und gerne auch mal mit Kaffee, Tee oder Säften auf verschiedene Papiersorten. Wenn ich ein Gemälde abgeschlossen habe, bin ich schon neugierig, wer mir im nächsten alles entgegen kommt.
Even as a child, it was clear to me that our vision is somehow limited - much more exists and acts around us than we see. When I rediscovered the creatures in the blobs of colour, it quickly became clear to me that these kinds of paintings, apart from the joy they spread, are also a wonderful way to give an impression of what all is possible when one widens one's heart and horizons, unfolds and applies one's creative power.
Truly anything is possible, it depends on each individual what they bring into the field of vision. We can all live in a beautiful world full of miracles. Right now.
When I'm not freeing creatures from splashes of colour, for example, I think of plants that relax and beautify the lives of many beings here on earth - such as the EbaHuri tree. Its football-sized fruits in red and yellow taste like strawberries or bananas when raw, and like beef or chicken when cooked or fried. Its skin is better than leather and its huge petals make the finest paper in the world when dried. It flowers and matures all year round and sheds all its bark once a year, which makes excellent material for furniture or houses. When I have put it all down on paper, I will publish it and I believe that the more people have seen the new plants, the more likely they will grow in our meadows. Don't you think? I'm trying it out and I'm already very excited :)
And here's my very first explorer painting from 2005 on the back of an already crumpled, meant-to-be-thrown-away drawing pad cover.
Waterworld I - 2005 - Din A3 - tempera colours and watercolour pencils on scratch paper