Lydia van Fondern – Portrait artist and more…

Fascinated by faces, I try to capture emotions and express my interpretation of them and, in the process, show a little of who I am. And if I can awaken feelings in the viewer, and move them with my pictures, so much the better.​

I work mainly with pastel chalks, rendering with my hands and fingers (often a glance in the mirror tells me that my nose must have helped too). I love the direct contact with the medium and the paper – it’s almost like touching the face itself.

Who am I?

Lydia van Fondern was born in Neheim in 1971 and graduated in 1991 from what was then the Graf-Gottfried-Gymnasium. In the years that followed, she completed an apprenticeship as a horse trainer in Bavaria (“you can still study”) before emigrating to a small Greek island two years later. There she started a family and has a 17 year old son. After a break of more than a quarter of a century, for the last two years she has dedicated herself entirely to art.

The passion of art

A passion for drawing is among my earliest memories. It has always been there. However, after leaving school, somehow “life” got in the way. My own indecisiveness, and a lacking in both direction and self-confidence, led me to a small Greek island where I have been living for more than 20 years. It was only when I came into contact with art again after 25 years that I was able to accept myself and stand by myself. It has changed my life – and my outlook on it – fundamentally.

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