The Painting Always Wins — Stefanie Woschek on Loss, Return, and Why Art Is Her Purpose
Stefanie Woschek has painted across three countries, survived a decade away from her canvas, and come back with 60 works and a clarity she didn’t have before. This is her story — in her own words.
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I’ve been painting for as long as I can remember. In primary school I had an art teacher — a tall man with red hair and a beard. One day, he gave us a task and afterwards it turned out that I had made something completely different. Instead of a low grade, he gave me the best grade even though I hadn’t solved the task. He liked my painting anyway. Today, I think he gave me a great deal of self-confidence by doing that.
Until my twenties, I always painted after school, only interrupted by writing or reading. But education and work pulled me away from my creative path.
After moving to Denmark in 1983, I felt more and more that I had abandoned an important part of myself. In 2001, I rediscovered my connection to art while attending some painting lessons. The moment I stepped into a studio and smelled oil paint again, I knew I had found my way back.
That renewed passion led me to establish my own gallery in 2005 — north of Copenhagen, in a small village near the sea. I taught art, exhibited, sold almost all of my work, and experienced one of the most fulfilling periods of my life as an artist.
The financial crisis of 2010 forced me to close the gallery and sell everything, including my home, and return to Germany in 2014. A difficult chapter followed — marked by grief, personal loss, and nearly a decade away from painting. The loss of family members and the abrupt shift away from my creative life profoundly affected my sense of identity. I was working in an office. It was terrible.
“Art was not simply something I do — it is my purpose.”
Yet in 2022, an unexpected turning point arrived when a coach encouraged me to paint again. It was difficult at first. I tried several times. And then, gradually, I reconnected — and discovered something I hadn’t been able to name before.
I am a highly sensitive person. Only around 30% of the population share this trait. It means I am deeply attuned to moods, noise, light, smells, and the atmosphere in a room. I like to observe. I don’t talk much. I need time alone to recharge. I really love my own company.
Since 2022, I have also become more aware that spirituality is a major part of who I am — and this can be seen in my paintings. I blend every colour myself; I never use paint straight from the tube. I use my intuition constantly. I have a dialogue with each image — sometimes a discussion, sometimes a fight — but the painting is always right in the end. I’ve had to accept that.
During these years, while working a 30-hour office job, I have created around 60 works. I believe in quality, not quantity. It takes me about a month to develop a new painting — from the first idea to the finished piece.
I love writing too. Back in 2011, I wrote a novel about a postman named Mr. Schwanenflügel, who almost lost the love of his life because he was so consumed by work — until he finally rediscovered love again. You can read the whole story at stefanie-woschek.de.
In my gallery in Denmark, people had time. They wanted to hear the story behind every painting — and afterwards, sometimes because of the story, they bought one. I miss that deeply. This blog is my attempt to recreate that experience online: to slow things down, tell the real story, and let the work breathe.
