Artist Annette Baberg is displaying her vibrant abstract paintings created using the pouring technique at The Little Prince Café in Lüdenscheid's old town through the end of November. The exhibition, titled "Everything is a Matter of Taste," features colorful works that allow for diverse interpretations, with the artist donating five percent of proceeds from each sale to the café.
Baberg, who works under the artistic pseudonym "Netti," can only control the color selection and size of her artworks when using the pouring technique. How the colors blend and flow together on the canvas remains a surprise even for the artist herself. This unpredictability is part of what makes her abstract paintings so fascinating, as they invite multiple interpretations from viewers.
The Lüdenscheid resident has been working with acrylic flow technique for several years, having set up a studio in her attic that is lined with thick cardboard to accommodate the messy artistic process. As a civil servant who is about to retire, Baberg has found in pouring art a creative outlet that combines technical precision with artistic spontaneity.
The pouring technique requires more than just acrylic paints. Baberg uses a pouring medium, thinning liquid, water, and silicone oil to create her art. Getting the right mixture ratio of these materials is crucial for the flow technique to work properly. "The special art lies in creating as many small and large cells as possible," she explains. These cells give the works particular vitality and are both a characteristic of the painting technique and a desired effect.
Unlike conventional painting, Baberg doesn't apply colors to the white-primed canvas with brushes or palette knives. Instead, the colors are first layered in a glass or container and then poured onto the canvas. "The forms are created by the flow of the colors, by tilting the canvas or blowing the colors with a hair dryer or even a straw," she explains. This technique creates organic, flowing patterns that would be impossible to achieve through traditional painting methods.
The artist selects her colors based on moods and emotions. Blue, green, and turquoise in various shades are colors frequently found in her abstract pictures. Baberg gives each painting a title based on what she associates with the image – she might call a piece "Sunrise," "Struwwelpeter," or "Blue Fantasy." However, in the eye of the beholder, the small and large format pictures can allow for completely different interpretations. When rotated 180 degrees, the impression becomes entirely different, adding another layer of visual interest.
To enhance the visual impact, the creative artist offers her works only framed, preferably in white to complement the white background of the paintings. Her artwork already hangs in medical practices and private settings throughout the area. On request, she creates paintings according to individual wishes regarding color scheme, size, and frame color, making each piece potentially unique to the buyer's preferences.
This exhibition at The Little Prince represents Baberg's first public showing of her work. Those interested in purchasing a piece can contact Diana Geim, the contact person at the café. The artist's decision to donate five percent of each sale to the café demonstrates her commitment to supporting the local arts community that is providing her with this platform to showcase her work.
