German artist Thomas Riesner was born in Leipzig in 1971 and still lives there today.

Starting in elementary school, he often veered toward painting "abstract" art, instead of concrete drawing. He retained this style and later changed it to "abstract figuration.”

Riesner usually painted at home -- without any professional training or guidance.

“I didn't have any specific role models,” Riesner explains. “When I start a picture, I only have a certain idea, but often something completely different emerges.”

Riesner identifies with the Outsider art movement.

For Highbrow Magazine