Children have always been close to my heart. But I would also have liked to become a painter. I feel it is a missed opportunity in this life. If I could choose now and start anew, I would choose both: child welfare and painting. With a proper education – the Kunstgewerbeschule, for example.
That is what I would have liked. In retrospect, I feel a deficiency. I would do both. As a child, I rejoiced when I was allowed to draw and paint. But I was not supported and encouraged in it. In my education, painting played no role at all. A woman who paints was strange. Almost dangerous! It was only during my time in Olten that I bought canvas, brushes, and pens. With the enormous workload, however, there was hardly any time for this hobby. But I visited exhibitions wherever I had the opportunity. Olten, Basel, Zurich, and also Paris. The Impressionists, van Gogh!
In my retirement, I picked up the thin thread again. I attended various courses in oil, watercolor, and also peasant painting. Overall, however, I learned self-taught; I copied great masters and then looked for my own way. My first exhibition took place on the occasion of my 80th birthday.
Painting has given color to the past 25 years. Like a big Fall.
From Anneliese Schnell: Wer denn, wenn nicht ich (Who, if not me). Dornach 2020.
DrawingSofia Lismont – Translation: Monika Werner
