About

Once upon a brush stroke… how to sketch a cartoonist and illustrator

I am Markus Ryf, born in May 1978 in Berne on a lovely Thursday. The latter may not be very informative but it ads to the story telling:-)

After twenty years of troubles with fine art, in 2013 I found my happiness in creating cartoons and illustrations. It was in 2016 when I fell in love with Zurich which gave a whole new lease not only on my personal life but on my artistic life too.

Although being on the funny side of art there are several fine artists I admire. For example Felix Hoffmann – a swiss artist/illustrator who is famous for his beautiful children’s books and sublime stained glass windows. Even several Ancient Greek vase painters I admire deeply such as the Kleophrades painter who created this stunningly beautiful Dionysos on a red figured vase 2300 years ago.

I love it to work with vivid lines and vibrant colours. So bear with me on this journey through art and nature, history and culture…through all aspects of life making our lives worth living…

Cooperation Joanne Finnegan

In 2019 I met Joanne Finnegan on Instagram. She is a british artist living in the Zug area. In deed she is a gifted expressionistic painter and what she does with colours is just magic! In her paintings you can almost feel the gentle breeze swirling down from Mount Rigi and hear the playful waves of Lake Lucerne. Meanwhile we are close friends and decided to cooperate to enrich each others work. We will see where it leads to…