Every friendship has something that makes it special. Or something that someone else finds special. Muriel & Niels The special thing about the friendship between Muriel & Niels for me is that it has lasted since kindergarten. The world is very fast-moving and many things are constantly changing. For children in particular, a whole new world sometimes seems to open up with each new year of life. This is even more true during puberty. Muriel & Niels both grew up in the same Cologne neighborhood, where they still live today. In the meantime, they have both grown up and are each curr ..read more

Often artists paint to express their own feelings, which I do as well. But this time it was kind of the other way around: whatever mood I was in before starting my painting session, it was shaped by the painting while working on these energetic three friends from India. I was always in a good mood afterwards. Art Can Make You Happy Art can do this to you. Art can make you happy. Often we select a piece of art because of some more or less conscious feeling that arises when look at it. Maybe it is a landscape painting that reminds us of a vacation situation. Or a portrait of our favorite anima ..read more

This year I am going to complete another set of paintings for the series Schoolchildren in Tanzania. The first two are finished already. Read more about this series in this article. Msasani Primary School All schoolchildren that I have painted for the series “Schoolchildren in Tanzania” attend the Msasani Primary School in Dar es Salaam. Over the years, many children going there have been sponsored by the small German charity association Tansania AG des Friedrichs-Gymnasiums Herford e.V. The school is a public one and doesn’t not charge any fees, but of course books and uniform cost money, a ..read more

My Atelier Sommerkunst had an intern for the first time. It was an exciting time with an extremely appealing result: A film was made! But read the following internship report yourself and then watch the resulting documentary film. Introduction Hello, my name is Muriel Akaab. As a prerequisite for completing my three-year training to become a Design Technical Assistant, it is necessary to go through an internship in the field of media design/art. My first choice was with Seona Sommer, a successful freelance artist. On social media I had a deeper look into her work. Her website also told me a ..read more

Buy this artwork and 100% of revenues will be donated for the help of the Ukrainian people. Feel The People As artists, we always depict the world in one way or other. We create images that don’t need any words or that speak when words are missing. Many of us want to make others to have a closer look at something. For me, it has always been most important to encourage people to look into each other’s eyes. Whether it is someone you know already or a complete stranger. Whether it is your neighbor or someone living in a different part of the world. Look into someone else’s eyes and feel what i ..read more

Read what is so special about double portraits and find out how you can become a part of my new “Friends” series. Double Portraits This recently finished painting from the series “Friends” shows two girlfriends in Rajasthan, India, and they were photographed there by Anjan Gosh. Friends (Rajasthan, India) Oil on canvas | 70 x 100 cm 2022 Reference photo: Anjan Gosh I just love the bright colors of their dresses and how they are embracing each other. I think there is something really special about double portraits of close friends. The models do not only interact with the photographer, which ..read more

Digitalization is happening everywhere. In the arts as well. Artebinaria is dedicated to create new ways of experiencing visual art in augmented reality. If you have an iPhone or iPad, you can now test it with my artworks. What is AR? And How Does It Work With Art? If you have lately visited a virtual museum and moved around with your mouse or cursor in order to have a closer look at the artworks on display in different rooms, then you were visiting a virtually created space that may or (in many cases) may not exist in reality. This is called VR or Virtual Reality. AR or Augmented Reality, o ..read more

Many of my artworks are based on my collaboration with professional photographers. Read in this series about how both sides benefit from each other. How a Few Words Can Change a Lot Last year in March, CK started following me on Instagram. Only two months later, he made a very bold approach and sent me this private message, “I wish I had the opportunity to work with you. ” I didn’t know what exactly he wished for, so I asked, “What kind of working with me? Learning how to paint?” His reply was really sweet, “No, I would really like to be your photographer in your work. Also I’ll be the one t ..read more

I am very excited to announce a new project that will allow me to curate and organize an international exhibition in Cologne in 2023. And planning is in full swing already! The Idea If you have been following me and my are for a while then you know how much my art is inspired by the international collaborations that have developed over the past two years ago and also by my trip to Tanzania in 2019. My artistic journey has picked up tremendously since then. I feel so in tune with what I’m doing and painting. On the one hand, I have found wonderful new friends who share the same mission as I d ..read more

I look back on a successful year! This fills me with deep gratitude and great motivation to start the new year with confidence. Painting Record I have never painted so many pictures as this year! In addition to those you can see in the cover image, there are two commissioned works that I can not (yet) publish. I can’t really explain how this was possible. Surely, it has to do with the strict working schedule that I imposed on myself some time last year when the pandemic stopped all other endeavours. At the beginning of this year, I pledged to continue this schedule no matter how much freedom ..read more