“My goal is not to paint one single stroke with fear. I do not want to be afraid to preserve something already well done,” says Torsten Wolber, a portrait painter based in Cologne, Germany. His fearless approach to art, however, was developed over time. He remembers that he was no more interested in drawing than any other child.
“Since we moved around a lot during my childhood, the last move at the age of 11 ended up being less harmonious and exciting than the others before. We had moved to a very rich — and unfortunately also arrogant — area.” During this time Torsten began drawing as a means of escape and to hopefully gain the respect of his peers. “I was still the strange duck, but at least I was cool because I could draw. And for what I’m hearing this still works!”
Torsten was first exposed to painting by way of the magazine, MAD. “The covers in Germany at that time were repainted for legal reasons by a classical painter who was really very very good. I was hooked immediately and looked at these paintings for hours.”
Torsten later went on to study graphic design, including layout and typography. His preference was to purse a field in illustration, but this wasn’t very common in the late 80s in Germany. “Later, I did move to illustration, but I must admit that the study was useless for someone like me who wanted to draw and paint realistically,” he says. “But it was much hipper to devote oneself without basic training immediately to one’s basic expression. Bottomline, I had little competition in my niche and had a successful career as an illustrator for over 25 Years.”
Believing that the beauty of art is its journey, Torsten does not try to define his art. His art is his journey whereby he will never reach a permanent destination. “The path I have traveled so far I would describe as the expression of intuition, strength and freedom, having discovered these qualities in this order. The freedom is ultimately what fascinates me the most, to recognize my own blockages and to let the expression flow even more authentically,” he explains. “At the moment I´m still like a child who is practicing to let go of the handlebars of the bicycle. Such an adventure and so much to learn.”
Torsten’s portfolio is full of portrait painting. Using the German express to describe his initial feelings of portraiture, he says portrait painting “was always the king discipline” and too difficult for him to master. “I went around it like a cat around the bush. But, my first attempts were promising, and since then I have painted hundreds of portraits until my own style developed,” Torsten says.
He empathizes with artists who might get lost in the examples of so many wonderful and talented artists and think: I want to be able to do that. Or this! Or that! “My advice to younger artists is to take a deep breath and listen to yourself. What is the thing that feels easiest and most natural [for you] right now? This is your unique expression; every artist has this.” Instead of relying on the fixed ideas about what art should look like and how it should affect people, Torsten believes it’s more important to listen to one’s inner voice, and he has heeded is own advice. “My developed style is a bit surprising for me, really. It looks so …confident. But it feels authentic to me. So although I’m a bit of an introvert, I’m proud and happy to present my art and enjoy to be present at art fairs and openings. Because this is me, nobody could critique this away.”
Torsten believes it’s important for to paint “without being blocked” for any reason, resulting in art that can be unexpected yet rewarding. “In the middle of painting, I destroy parts of the picture with wild strokes. I want to remain free until the end and not neglect the expression, my intuition because of a particularly beautiful and successful parts of the painting. The same applies to the edge quality, the density and effect of edges is formed only in the course of the painting itself, usually at the end, where I once again emphasize important areas.”
Another creative endeavor has been nagging Torsten since the beginning of 2020 — dance and movement. “I myself have always loved dancing. I dance a lot with my wife, and we both just love dance theater.,” he says. “Early in 2022 there will be some work on this topic, otherwise I´ll be blocked. Which is definitely not the state I want to be in.
To see more of Torsten’s art, visit allaprima.de.
