Kommissar_urbex - Really enthusiastic about my art – asked me 11 questions, which I am happy to answer.

Is this my hobby or my profession?#

It’s my hobby. That’s only half the truth. It’s one of my hobbies. Another is OpenStreetMap, for example, and there are others too.

Since when have I been painting?#

I have been painting since October 2018, but wait, I need to back up a bit.

I used to be a musician, studied the violin for 10 years, the trumpet for 13 years and the saxophone for 10 years, played in big bands in Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia, was in a band, recorded a CD, was in a party band, composed 100 pieces, gave violin, trumpet and saxophone lessons, played in amateur orchestras…

And all that until March 2017. Then I had a burnout that lasted 16 months until June 2018.

After that, I tried to make music, but unfortunately, I couldn’t do it anymore. That bothered me a lot, so I needed something else. In October 2018, a friend drove me to Dresden in the evening to sing, and that’s where I got the idea to paint acrylic paintings.

Do I paint only for myself?#

I painted the very first pictures just for myself. A few months later, I started posting pictures online. I meant it just as a joke.

Nowadays, I no longer paint just for myself. I also enjoy looking at my pictures, holding them in my arms, placing them down the stairs. That way, I would have to hold my mobile phone in front of other people’s faces.

Do you have any role models?#

Not specifically for my acrylic project. But in general, there are role models, people or simply things that I find cool.

The band Kraftwerk. The Andy Warhol style and other things.

It has to be interesting: music, art, fashion, graphics, people.

What do you want to express with your pictures?#

Most of the pictures already have a meaning. On Instagram, I always write it in the details.

I mainly paint logos of free software. But yes, not all acrylic paintings.

There is also a picture called ‘Without love, even houses collapse’. It’s a personal picture, so it’s always alone and that doesn’t change, so I painted this picture.

Then there are also a few pictures that I paint without a logo, where everyone told me when I asked that it was this or that picture.

And, of course, the diverse world of apps and diversity in general. Because not everything is app logos.

Among other things, I painted the Extinction Rebellion logo as an acrylic painting, a banner for a couple’s cooking show, and more.

Would you like to hang up the pictures?#

I already do that. You probably mean showing the acrylic paintings in different ways.

I show the acrylic paintings on several platforms. Originally only on non-commercial platforms. Sometimes you have to take unconventional paths to be discovered. That’s how you followed me, because you’re enthusiastic about my art.

I exhibit my work. In 2020, I exhibited in Berlin. This exhibition is still open to visitors. In 2022, I exhibited in Dresden. In 2023, I exhibited twice in Meissen. In 2023, I exhibited in Zwickau. This exhibition is still open to visitors. In 2025, I will exhibit in Radebeul.

In 2023, there was a jam manufacturer that printed 17 acrylic paintings with QR codes on its jam jars.

There is a card matching game in the browser. My initial idea was to have one made with all of them, but that would have cost me €400 on my own. So I came up with the great idea of playing it in the browser.

Since 2021, I have been programming an icon pack that does not show the original icons, but my own acrylic paintings.

What do you think about when you paint the pictures?#

It depends entirely on the pictures I paint. I think about free software almost 24/7.

But there are other things too. For example, I started painting emojis, heart emojis as acrylic paintings. I don’t really have any use for them. If a woman misses me, I’ll give her these pictures as a gift.

Then there are these divided acrylic paintings. Four letters on five canvases. LOVE (red) and HOPE (green).

And this: WELCOME BACK. 19 canvases. Painted over a long period of time. 29 December 2019, 5 hours non-stop; 30 December 2019, 5 hours non-stop; 31 December 2019, 6 hours non-stop. Others celebrated New Year’s Eve, I painted. Arrived home. Home is where you feel comfortable, not necessarily where you live. The idea was to have 19 people hold it in front of their faces, side by side, but I can’t find 19 people. Or someone films it with a drone. It would look great.

Is that a way for you to relax?#

Indeed. It’s reassuring. When I’m painting, I don’t think about being single. The longer I paint, the more relaxed I become.

How does that make you feel?#

It’s relaxing for me. And most of the pictures turn out well. So I usually feel good about it.

How long do you need for one picture?#

It’s hard to say. First, I think about what picture I’m going to paint, then how, usually starting with the background. White on white, too. That has to dry first. Sometimes in the morning, sometimes in the evening. Sometimes eight pictures in one day, sometimes none for a long time.

When you paint a picture, is that after a day’s work?#

That depends on the to-do list. I often paint the background early on and then finish the rest after work. At the weekend, I spread it out.

Thank you for your questions.
@mondstern

If you would like to follow me#

instagram.com/mondsternundsterne