From Chaos to Control: The Artistic Journey of Angelika Bender

Angelika Bender

How do you define your artistic style, how has it evolved ?

I paint very freely, always starting with a base that creates organic movement which usually results in a few surprises along the way. It's a very dynamic painting style and as such is able to capture a lot of different feelings and emotions. From my very first beginnings, I have always loved this sense of freedom, just throwing the paint and seeing where it goes. I have learnt a lot on the way, which allows me to "control the chaos" in order to achieve a certain outcome.

Can you walk us through your creative process?

I start with a feeling and then decide first how tactile the surface should be in order to achieve it. After that, I add a first layer of colours, which is usually very organic. I review the painting once it's dry and make changes, add other colours or details to finish the piece. This last step can sometimes take a few minutes - or several months.

What steps do you take from the initial concept to the final product?:

I always start the same way, with a very broad vision for a painting, I often don't even the know colours or shapes yet. I choose the colours and mediums according to this feeling and see where it takes me. Once I have that base, I will make only small changes and add details to finish the piece.

Are there specific environments, moods, or moments that spark your creativity most?

Living at the coast, the surroundings that I get to experience every day serve as my biggest inspiration. Watching a sunrise over the sea, going in for a cold swim or just smelling the salty air - everything makes me feel so connected to the nature around me.

Many artists have a particular theme or subject matter that they explore in their work. Is there a recurring theme in your art?:

Definitely the sea, both in its different colours and its movement.

What artists, past or present, have inspired or influenced your work?:

During the 2020 lockdown I watched a painting video by Jonna Jinton, a Swedish artist, and seeing her applying colour so generously and freely and -in a way - chaotically, inspired me to explore my own painting style in a smiliar way - which eventually lead to my own painting style.

In the evolving world of art, how do you stay current with new techniques or mediums, and have you recently experimented with any?:

I always experiement, I never recreate an artwork from the past. However, I think it's important to fully explore the possibilities of a certain technique, and sometimes that means not "staying up to date".

Can you describe a moment in your career that you felt was a significant breakthrough or turning point for you?

When I sold my first painting, the buyer (a woman from London), told me she had been looking for an artwork for her home for over 10 years until she had found my painting. She told me she really connected to the tactile quality of it, which I -at this point - was only experimenting with. After her feedback, I kept coming back to this technique and perfected it.

With so many diverse art forms and expressions, how do you decide which medium or method best conveys your vision for a particular piece?:

I keep trying new things, including new mediums and techniques, and sometimes this leads to artworks that come out exactly how I envisioned them - and sometimes completely different. But this is the part of the painting process that I love the most - not knowing where you will end up at the end.