Arthur Fischer Colbrie

I work intuitively in my artistic practice, which produces abstract works that arise from the inspiration of the moment.





Even as a small child, I was fascinated by the world of pictures. At that age, it was still mainly comics and comic heroes. Soon I practised bringing colourful heroes to the page myself. At school, my enthusiasm for drawing and painting disappeared a little more with every tree and flower I had to produce on paper. And thus my passion for pictures disappeared for many years. One day, as chance would have it, I was visiting some people I knew and discovered the fantastic pictures they had painted. I was able to watch them work over their shoulder a little, and my fascination was reawakened. I had barely gotten home when I rushed back out to the shops, and my first pictures followed soon after. Since this encounter with artists, art has become a part of my life. After a recent long pause for personal reasons, my girlfriend discovered my pictures behind my cupboard and encouraged me to begin painting again. My enthusiasm was quickly triggered again, and since that time I have been painting whenever I can.

Imagination knows only one limit, that which it sets for itself.

Acrylic paints, various putties and charcoal have proven themselves to be the ideal main materials for my spontaneous and intuitive style of working. Thanks to their high tension and strength, canvas backgrounds allow thick layers and vigorous application, also with a palette knife.

Working at speed allows me to fully immerse and submerge in the world of colours and shapes. Abstraction and playing with colours are my passions when it comes to art (and have been since I first started painting). My style is characterised by long, even, curved strokes that make my works easy to recognise. I express feelings and emotions from the pit of the stomach. The characteristics of the rough and uneven base surfaces highlight and support the abstract style. Bold colours people know from the pop art scene catch the eye with their brightness, and the interplay between them means new details are always emerging. In highlighting details lies another point of abstraction, such as with the big eyes of American painter Margaret D. H. Keane’s earlier works. This style can also be seen in female manga figures.

Art CV

2005 – Began painting (self-taught), inspiration Felizia Wolf
2005 – Various sculptural works
2006 – Course in abstract painting (Adult Education Centre)
2007 – Drawing course with Peter Schrittwieser (Graz)
2007 – Art project at “C’est la vie” (Graz)
2008 – Painting course in Graz area for children and young people
2009 – Artistic break (personal reasons)
2016 – Began painting again thanks to fresh inspiration
2017 – Various design and painting works
Long-term exhibition at Graz University of Technology
Exhibition and opening at “Bar Lounge MELS” (Graz)
Exhibition and opening at “LA VITA” (Graz)
Exhibition and opening at “NAIL BOUTIQUE” (Zurich)
2018 – Various design and painting works
Opening at Alegri AG in Glattpark (CH)
Exhibition and opening at Hotel-Gasthof LÖWEN (Vaduz – Liechtenstein)
Exhibition and opening at Galerie Lindenhof – (Zurich)
2019 – Various design and painting works
Course in portrait painting with Barbara Ellmerer (Zurich)
Exhibition and opening at Kellergalerie (Zurich)
Exhibition on Wopart – (Lugano)
2020 – Various design and painting works
Drawing course with Andreas Frei (Zurich)

One cannot teach a person anything – one can only help him find it within himself.
Galileo Galilei

The word “coach” originally meant “carriage” and, as the name suggests, in fact used to mean moving people from one point to another. Nowadays, the term “coaching” is largely known from sport and describes the process of accompanying someone when they are in a difficult situation or are overcoming a challenge/reaching a goal.

I offer coaching in designing and developing an idea, but also in the concrete realisation of an idea. This can either be from a blank canvas to the finished picture, or help with details relating to technique or design. Either one-on-one or in a group, it is possible to wonderfully immerse in topic of abstract painting and for new, undiscovered, aspects to be naturally uncovered.

The sketch reveals one’s talent,
and the execution reveals one’s true art.
Marie von Ebner Eschenbach

My design method is much like that of Walt Disney, who had a sofa set up in each one of his offices, to give his employees the chance for ideas to form in their minds. Then the next step was the drawing board – for me it’s the sketch book – to put ideas on paper. Finally, it’s about giving the object a form and, as in this so-called “Walt Disney strategy”, reworking it to finally bring it to life.

Design, creative forming by hand; touching and feeling the material and the shape. Especially with sculptures, all the senses are engaged. How does it look? How does it feel? How does it sound and smell? These are not only questions that the odd observer may ask, but also questions that the creator asks him/herself again and again. Due to my inclination towards working fast and intuitively, in the past I have mainly chosen soft materials that are quick to process, such as Ytong and various natural materials. These materials are characterised not only by their softness and the resulting speed with which you can work with them, but they also belong to those warm materials which can only be properly perceived by touching them. This property bestows a special radiance which in the finished works can not only be felt, but also seen. Each irregularity and imprecision makes the finished work something very special and lively and makes it stand out from the norm.