TOOLS

What do I need to make an idea possible?

A tool allows me to go beyond what I could achieve with a single brush. It can create several lines at once, define a movement or give a form a clear boundary. I often start with a visual idea and ask myself how I can translate it into a physical tool.
The tool therefore becomes part of my method. It can open up possibilities that could not be achieved by hand alone, and sometimes even changes the original idea. While it is at the centre of the process, it recedes once the work is finished. What remains is the image.

OTTOTOOL
Wide Brush
70 cm · First Ottotool · 2018

OTTOTOOL
Movable Brush · 2019

OTTOTOOL
Adjustable Stencils · 2021

OTTOTOOL
Rotating Brush · 2022

OTTOTOOL
Star Stencil · 2022

PROCESS

How do I make the system work?

The structure of my works is usually carefully planned – from geometry and centre points to brush spacing and proportions. The actual result, however, only emerges through the act of painting.
Colour, pressure, speed, rhythm and movement have to work together. It is about many small nuances that I have developed through years of working directly on walls. The system provides the order, while the brush leaves its own trace. Despite the clear construction, something physical and unique remains in every work.

WALL TESTS

Testing tools, colour, shading and techniques directly on the wall.

Testing a smooth colour transition within a circle.

Testing another technique for creating smooth colour transitions within a circle, using a custom-built paint dispenser to achieve much finer colour gradations.

Laser-aligned brushes to manipulate the shape of each stroke through controlled pressure.

Experimenting with three equally wide brushes arranged at 90° angles. Rotating the tool creates overlapping strokes that form an almost three-dimensional shape.

A study in contrast, layering circles in a single colour over a gradient of greys. The graphic fades in and out depending on the tonal contrast.

Investigating how to construct and adjust a brush to create a rhythmic pattern, inspired by digital optical illusions. The aim was to recreate a similar effect using an analogue painting technique, designed to emerge at a specific viewing distance.

Testing colour interactions by placing analogue colour filters over the camera lens.

PERCEPTION

How does the work take shape?

In the end, what matters to me is whether the work feels coherent as a whole – in its composition, colours and the relationship between positive and negative forms.
I am interested in how a work changes from near to far, and how the deliberate placement of forms can create new shapes that sometimes only become visible from a distance. I use optical effects intentionally, but what interests me most is the way of arriving there: developing a physical method that makes a result possible that would not have the same quality by another means.