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Rudi

"My name is Rüdiger Junior. I was born in 1968 in the city of Algier in Algeria when my mother worked there in the German embassy. Two years later I moved to Germany where I grew up. Very early I had an interest in the beyond and wanted to express myself through painting, drawing and creating all sorts of things. I passed an art school entrance exam but my parents wouldn't agree to my studying art. So I'd practice in my free time while I studied other subjects. I ended up studying in Switzerland where I got a degree in hotel business. My parents traveled a lot and I always had an unsettled feeling, like a gypsy, always on the road. I worked in Italy, Switzerland and France, and finally landed in Thailand in 1991.

"Here I initially worked in a restaurant but quickly rediscovered art. It really was a breakthrough. I have been painting ever since and creating artistic works every day for four or five hours. But unfortunately, this alone doesn't pay the bills and, although I wish I didn't have to do anything else, I have to make a living. So I also manage and play music in a pub. I am a composer and a multi-instrumentalist. I play keyboard, drums, bass, and guitar, and I particularly love jazz.

"When I practice meditation and yoga, I can see things growing inside me. Through this work I meet a famed monk who gave me books with mantras written in Pali. Upon chanting them, I felt them rising in the sky. It was a very familiar feeling. I am not a religious person, but rather spiritual. I believe all religions come together in the universe. I take a bit of each religion, the best part, and make my own beliefs.

The artist explains himself and his art in a poem.

Art is the manifestation of the unseen
A channel of love and compassion rises through my spine –
Bringing out colors in sparklin' tones –
That enhances my nerves and bones

Let this love be universal
And be for everyone
Reach out and grab the sun –
Before the rainbow covers you in mist
Please, let me be part –
That's what I call art

Deep meditation sends me on a journey into myself
Bringing out hidden treasures to the surface
So the world can see life is beauty, life is free

The further I travel the clearer it gets –
I'm not here
I'm lost in time –
Swimming in the eternal ocean of the Universe
Cosmic moments for me to taste
Our life's sometimes such a waste.