Artist biography - Oil Paintings, Watercolors By Swiss Artist TA

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About a genius artist in painting and drawing

1954 9th August, born in Berne, Switzerland, as single child of Gustav and Mary Adam-Frei. My family roots go back to 1625, when my ancestors invaded from Holland... I have painted and drawn since childhood, whenever the weather was too bad to play outside.
1966 Was introduced to Pop&Rock music by a friend, whose older sister had a record player - immediately became a Kinks and Rolling Stones fan till today... (Where have all the good times gone?)
Summer 68 Missed it! :-( I was too young unfortunately...) Today I like the Progressive Rock Music styles of that period. BTW Summer 68 is one of the best Pink Floyd songs ever. (on Atom Heart Mother)
1969 My world of Escapism nearly had a 19th Nervous Breakdown when Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones died on 14th of July... - Joys and worries of an average teenager concerned mainly with the opposite sex and the secrets of the "eternal femininity"... but mixed with heavy doses of "lonesome wandering star" Steppenwolf attitudes! :-)
Influenced mainly by Surrealist Artists like Juan Miro, Max Ernst, André Masson, René Magritte and medieval Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Breughel . Never liked Salvador Dali too much - too cold and intellectual for my taste, admire his craftsmanship - Other influences were Symbolism and Jugendstil, painters like Moreau, Klimt and Chagall
1973 Saw the Rolling Stones in Berne for free! ...Slipped in under arms of big heavy Hell's Angel door watcher :-) saw Ten Years After, Golden Earring, Barclay James Harvest (played with Bern's Symphony orchestra!) Audience, Van der Graaf Generator, Rhavi Shankar and many more in concert.
1974 Matura Typus B / Grammar School in Berne CH
1975-78 Tried to live the antiestablishment hippie way of life in a community of 12 people... smells and scents of cannabis in whole house...
1975-81 Art Teacher studies at Bern' School of Art&Design. During this time period, conflicts arose between wanting to be a free artist and depending on Daddy's financial support. Trying to lead a double life resulted in alcohol problems, which you can see in pictures from that period.

and
1978-79 Studied abroad semester at Epsom School of Art&Design, London GB. If not in pubs, I spent most of my time in London's fantastic museums. I appreciated mostly British painters like Turner, Constable, Bacon and French like Manet, Vuillard and my all time favorite: Georges Braque !
Loved the British and their sense of humor, but hated their food! I had hallucinations of fresh vegetable and Swiss "Birchermüesli"! he he) Started to paint in oil. Saw Frank Zappa and Spirit concerts
1983-84 I lived in an alternative community in Italian Alps, cut off from the rest of civilization, (no radio TV or newspapers) we were eating ultra fresh eggs, breeding sheep, shitting under open sky and chasing flies :-)
1985 to present Every 2nd year: exhibitions in different Swiss towns with quite a bit of success
1985-89 Lived in atelier/studio in an ex-butchery (loft). Always late in paying my bills! The postman always rings twice! .-)
1989 Great six months' trip to Portugal/Spain in a 2CV automobile (2 cavallos e un burro!..He he) Mostly slept in my car - repeated in 91 and 93 <
1989-98 Working 50% as taxi driver for my butter and bred. Other 50% serious artistically work and development - (watch pictures from that period in:

and compare...!)
1993 met Brigitte from Austria, my sweetest Protection Angel! (blonde and blue eyes)
Totally stopped drinking alcohol until today...
1994-98 Art Therapy studies at ITP Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Berne CH
until presence Live single with my cat "Gypsy" - black with white face and feet - in a ground floor apartment near Berne near the river Aare. Only birds' singing noise here and of course my Kinks and Stones CD s, which run all day while painting...
1997 Nov., after long hesitation I bought a 200 mmx Pentium Computer, 64 RAM, 4GB in order to write my art diploma work - call it my Slave Calculator Monkey and became addicted to net surfing immediately, I haven't touched a paint brush since...