An original work made over time.
A drawing begins with a face, but it does not end with likeness.
Every mark requires a decision: what to sharpen, what to soften, what to leave unresolved, what deserves to remain.
That slowness is part of the work.
In a photograph, an instant is captured. In drawing, the image is rebuilt through hours of looking.
The result carries both the person and the evidence of the artist's hand.
THIS IS not A
SKETCH
WHY CHOOSE
A drawn PORTRAIT?
A work intended to remain within a family.
SCALE
A face translated into a large-format artwork can hold a room with extraordinary quietness.
INTIMACY
Graphite and charcoal allow detail and restraint to coexist.
TIMELESSNESS
Drawing connects directly to one of portraiture's oldest artistic traditions without needing to imitate the past.
Choose drawing when you want the portrait to feel elemental, intimate and unmistakably made by hand.
Drawing strips portraiture back to essentials: face, gesture, light, material and attention.
It is particularly powerful for:
Selected publications featuring my collectors, sitters, and studio world
Featured in
Reference photographs are part of the process, but they are not the final destination.
I study structure, expression, gesture, atmosphere and the spaces between visible details. Elements may be strengthened, quietened or removed entirely.
The drawing develops through repeated looking: adding, erasing, correcting, returning.
What matters is not photographic accuracy for its own sake.
It is whether the finished work carries presence.
I USE THE PHOTOGRAPH
to look further.
I DON'T copy THE PHOTOGRAPH.
WHO IT is FOR
- a family relationship;
- a child at a particular age;
- a parent or grandparent;
- a marriage or anniversary;
- a founder or family legacy;
- a person absent but deeply present in family memory;
- a significant transition in one's own life.
For those drawn to the permanence of a handmade image.
It can be monumental or quiet.
What matters is that the person deserves more than a passing image.
Highlights
From reference to drawing
We begin with conversation and visual research: who the portrait is for, how the person should be remembered, what references exist and where the finished work will live.
The drawing develops slowly in my Cologne studio through graphite, charcoal and repeated revision, according to the work.
I work beyond photographic information, interpreting expression, light, structure and atmosphere until the image begins to hold its own presence.
03 — The finished work enters its space
Scale, framing and installation are considered as part of the final presentation so that the drawing belongs not simply to a sheet of paper, but to the room and the life around it.
02 — I build the image by hand
01 — We establish the portrait
Limited commissions each year · Complete confidentiality · Museum-quality presentation
One artistic medium. Three levels of experience.
A commissioned drawing can be commissioned through my Essential, Studio and Legacy Portrait Experiences, depending on whether you prefer a remote, Cologne-based or fully on-location commission.
Portrait commissions begin at €8,000.
THREE levels
OF EXPERIENCE
Your portrait does not become my content.
I never publish your name, image, home, story, behind-the-scenes material or even the existence of the commission without your written permission.
Some collectors choose to share their portraits. Others never do.
Both are equally welcome.
PRIVATE means PRIVATE.
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SELECTED photographic PORTRAITS
“We came for a photograph and left with an heirloom.
Atlanta made me feel myself — and somehow a little more iconic.”
— Helena M., Private Collector
FREQUENTLY
ASKED
QUESTIONS
Do I need to sit for the drawing?
Not necessarily.
Depending on the commission, I can work from a studio reference session, professionally created photographs, existing images or — in some legacy commissions — a richer archive of photographs, letters, objects and family material.
Do you copy a photograph exactly?
No. Photography provides visual information. Drawing allows me to interpret it.
The final artwork is developed through composition, selection, emphasis, erasure and repeated observation rather than mechanically reproducing a photograph.
What materials do you use?
My portrait drawings are primarily created in graphite and charcoal on archival museum paper. The exact material is selected according to the scale and character of the work.
Can you create a portrait of someone who is no longer here?
Yes, where sufficient visual and personal material exists.
These commissions require particular sensitivity. Photographs may be accompanied by stories, letters, objects and family memories that help me understand the person beyond a single image.
How large can a drawing be?
My range goes up to 160 cm on the longer side.
Larger sizes are possible.
A drawing asks us to keep looking.
If you are considering a commissioned portrait drawing, tell me who the work is for, what you would like it to hold, and where you imagine it living.
I personally review each enquiry before inviting a private consultation.
Some photographs record a person.
Private commissions from €8,000 · Cologne and selected locations worldwide
