Sometimes I think back wistfully to the first Lockdown. After years of spending more time in the lab than with a pencil, the pandemic took over. The world came to a standstill. There was short-time work or simply no work at all. Time was suddenly not an ultra-scarce commodity. We baked bread, went for walks in the woods until even the dogs refused (at least my dachshund mix at some point just stayed in front of the forest entrance and made no effort to voluntarily take even one step into the green darkness). I had capacity again for things I enjoyed and I used the new-found free time to draw. I opened an Instagram account. The rest is history. The illustration bug wouldn’t let go of me and soon drawing was more than a hobby.

But the world started spinning again. Faster and faster. Before I could quite realize it, I was back to full-time work. At least not in the lab anymore. But unfortunately not as an illustrator. However, this dream remained burned into my heart as a goal. So I drew before work and on weekends. I listened to illustration podcasts on my lunch break, and at some point, entrepreneurship podcasts. I found my illustration niche with pencil drawings. Meanwhile, work shifted more and more back to the office. With compulsory attendance, time was again wasted senselessly in streetcars, subways and buses. Nevertheless, I stuck to my rhythm. For the last few years, I’ve been getting up an hour early to fit in a morning drawing session before my workday starts. Sometimes I add another drawing session in the evening. For the past year, I’ve also been training to be a media designer on the weekends to gain a little more creative credibility.

With this amount of workload, my time was just somehow enough to make small artworks and expand my portfolio. But with drawings alone, no illustration business takes off. So at the beginning of the year I reduced my employment to 30h/week. Now I had one day left to at least keep my dream alive. Even if only in a kind of coma.

For years I have been doing extremely much in parallel. Not everything with all the attention it deserves. Much only so well or badly that it is somehow enough. In the evenings I do aerial acrobatics. Reduced to the absolute minimum to feel even remotely fit and to keep my athletic skills at a reasonable level. Along the way, I started planning my own wedding. And ever so casually, my employment contract ends in July and a new job search looms on the horizon.

In recent years, various doctors have advised me to urgently reduce stress. My migraine attacks increased, I had sleep disorders, anxiety, muscle twitching, ringing in my ears, constant colds. But I also had a mission. Namely, to pass on my love for animals, nature and environmental protection in an aesthetically pleasing way through small works of art.

Was it worth it? There’s a lot of sweat and a lot of hardship in my work. But a life without illustration would be worse. Nothing is more beautiful than holding a finished picture in your hands after many hours and knowing that you have created a memento of a faithful companion for someone. Or a work of art that puts a smile on someone’s face every time they look at it again. Or the knowledge that unknown people share my love for animate nature.

And after all these years, the boat is finally ready to be launched and sail. My stores are stocked and online. My website is up and running and I’m looking forward to taking on commissions!