I get asked this question time and time again. At exhibitions, in the studio, or when someone spots a mandala in the shop: “What effect is this picture meant to have?”

I am certainly able to answer that. Each of my independent works is created in an atmosphere of joy, love and compassion. That is the fundamental attitude I infuse into the mandala whilst painting.

Well, but that’s not the whole story.

Energy begins when painting

A mandala doesn’t just come about by chance. I spend many hours on a piece, placing dot after dot and letting it grow intuitively from the centre outwards. Even at the start, I don’t yet know what the finished picture will look like.

My inner state is also a factor here. I consciously focus my attention on what I wish to imbue the work with. Joy can be bright and lively, or completely still. For me, love means being attentive. Compassion supports without demanding anything in return.

For me, something of that remains. I am convinced that a work of art carries with it the energy in which it was created.

This idea is not new. Wassily Kandinsky explored the ‘spiritual in art’ in depth, along with the question of how colour and form can express an inner reality. For him, the inner world formed the very heart of artistic creation, as can be read in the digitised original edition from the University of Heidelberg.

In my mandalas, this becomes something unique. Colour, symmetry and the radiant centre give them their visible form. For me, the energy in which they are created is just as much a part of the work.

Colour never acts alone. I have already described how differently we perceive individual shades in the article ‘What really determines the effect of colours’. For me, however, the energy of a mandala cannot be reduced to a colour palette.

What resonates with you

Then the mandala leaves my studio. It finds its way into a living room, a medical practice or an office, where it encounters people whose stories I do not know.

There are certain reactions I hear time and time again. “What energy!” people say when looking at my pictures. Others find them meditative or say they can lose themselves in them. The gaze lingers on the centre. For a moment, everything else fades into the background.

But not everyone sees the same thing in it. A work of art may, for one person, evoke a sense of tranquillity above all else, whilst another may perceive strength or confidence in it.

To me, that's not a contradiction. The energy with which I paint is clear. How it comes across to a person is a personal matter.

I can tell what I put into it. Only you can say which parts of it resonate with you.

Compassion needs no explanation

Let’s take compassion as an example. A mandala created with this energy would, in my view, be well suited to a place where people need care and support.

A hospital ward would be one such place. The artwork does not fulfil any medical function there, nor does it promise a cure. It brings a sense of warmth and care into the room. Perhaps it will become a quiet haven for someone when so many other things are proving difficult.

This kind of effect is subtle. It does not need to be identified straight away to be there.

Commissions allow us to create something together

With custom mandalas, things work differently. Here, the person I’m painting for helps to determine the intention behind the work.

Some wishes are very clear. The mandala is meant to give courage, radiate strength or serve as a reminder of one’s own balance. Perhaps it is meant to embody support or accompany a new beginning.

Other ideas begin simply as a feeling. The colours and shapes have not yet been decided. At first, there is merely an energy that will find its place in the finished work.

This energy becomes the starting point. We discuss what the mandala should embody and the space for which it is being created. I then translate our shared intention into colour, form and my intuitive painting process.

My own fundamental approach remains the same. Joy, love and compassion underpin the work. The personal intention gives it an additional direction.

You can find out more about this collaborative process on my page about Dream piece.

So what is the intended effect?

My answer is clearer today:

I paint joy, love and compassion into it. In the case of a wish mandala, the intention chosen together is added to this.

I’m not going to tell you exactly how this energy will affect you.

Perhaps you feel a sense of calm. Perhaps strength, warmth or confidence. Perhaps the mandala simply draws you in, even before you can explain why.

Beides darf gleichzeitig wahr sein. Ein Kunstwerk kann eine klare Intention tragen und trotzdem jedem Menschen auf eigene Weise begegnen.

So, in the end, one question remains:

What effect do you notice?

Feel free to have a look at my originals. Which mandala draws you in, and how does it make you feel?