Rikke Line Andreasen is a Danish artist who finds inspiration in both the busy energy of city life and the peaceful beauty of nature. In this interview, she shares her thoughts on creativity, her creative process, and the emotions behind her work.

She talks about how growing up near the sea and forests shaped her deep connection to nature, and how living in cities like Copenhagen, London, and Berlin has influenced her love for culture and people. Through her paintings, she explores important topics like environmental destruction and social issues, often mixing natural elements with man-made objects.

Rikke also opens up about her creative process—how colours come naturally to her, how her studio space in Vesterbro helps her focus, and how painting people she knows well feels effortless. She shares the challenges of staying inspired, the joy of losing herself in her work, and the surprises that come from art collaborations.

A little bit about me and my work
I am a City person, currently I live in Copenhagen, previously I`ve lived in London, Barcelona and Berlin. I love living in an urban city with all its noise, light and vibrant life, with people from all different cultures, and different environments, and where music, Food, Architecture, Theater and Art are easily accessible. I grew up in a small town by the sea, surrounded by beautiful Forests and fields. And when I’m in nature today, I almost feel that I am in a holy place – nature’s beauty, wildness and fragility are magical to me. Therefore it hurts me and it scares me when I see how we humans destroy and pollute our Planet.
I try to express these feelings in my paintings.

I paint the images that for some reason pop up in my head, or I deliberately provoke inspired by something I have heard, seen or experienced. Once an idea for a painting has manifested itself in my head, it stays until it has been painted onto the canvas. I know the painting is finished when the idea has left my mind. Currently, my work involves mixing nature with man-made objects. This theme began 14 years ago when I painted a series of deer from the idea of making my interpretation of the traditional paintings of “the roaring stag”. In these works, I tried to create a beautiful world in a grotesque universe by adding some edge to the traditional motif through contrasts, humour and irony. As an extension of my deer paintings, I continued in the animal kingdom and painted goats, bears, a moose and Birds.

This time I chose to make the “ugliness” such as garbage beautiful by neutralizing the colours, but still keeping it in focus by making the texture lifelike. I constantly seek to challenge myself by trying out new paint styles and experimenting with the reproduction of textures such as glass, metal and plastic. I try to keep my paintings balanced somewhere between reality and fantasy. I “Forbidden Love” I painted because I was provoked by Russia’s gay legislation, and “Self-defence on sale“ – because I am horrified by the USA`s Weapons legislation, I have used Barbie dolls to emphasize how wrong I believe that their human priorities are. 
I hope the audience will view my paintings with contemplation, but also with a smile.

1. What draws you to certain individuals, and how do you translate their charisma into your art?  

The better I Know, and the better I like a person, the easier I find it to paint them, during the last 30 years, I have painted hundreds of portraits, and the ones I have painted of people I do not know- have caused me lots of doubt and frustration, whereas sometimes I have felt, that when I have painted friends and family, the paintings have almost painted themselves and filled me with great joy throughout the process.

I like the idea -that my paintings let the viewer make up a story themselves and in that way get the feelings it brings.

Rikke Line Andreasen

2.   How does your studio space in Vesterbro influence your creative process and inspiration?  

My studio is my place of sanctuary, here is everything I need to paint, draw or be creative in other ways, there is enough space and high ceilings, and I can work while listening to audiobooks, podcasts or music without disturbing or being disturbed by others, I have had my studio since August 2022, and I am grateful every day, before I shared space with about 40 others -for eleven years, in a closed sausage factory in the meatpacking district here in Copenhagen, it was with various creative people, architects, photographers, ceramicists, etc. and it was, of course, lots of fun and very social, but also very difficult to find peace and contemplation, back then, it was what I needed and a exciting change from having worked at home in my apartment for many years.

3.    Your work captures atmosphere through color—how do you decide on the palette for each piece? 

Colors are my superpower, and colors may be the one thing that I know I’m good at. I rarely decide on a color palette before I start a painting, putting colors together and mixing colors has always come very easily to me, and I usually just start painting and then I come up with the colors along the way.

4.   What emotions or stories do you hope viewers take away from your portraits?  

I don’t want the viewer to feel a certain feeling or a specific story, and therefore I’m not too happy to explain a whole lot about my works either, I like the idea -that my paintings let the viewer make up a story themselves and in that way get the feelings it brings, there are some of my works where I tell a story, but if the viewer doesn’t see it in the same way, I only think it’s beautiful, and there are other paintings I’ve done where I haven’t thought of anything, but just wanted to paint it, and it’s great if other people tell me what they think it’s about.

I work best when I’m happy and positive when I’m inspired I enter a kind of trance where time, place and hunger disappear and I’m at one with my painting.

Rikke Line Andreasen

5. Have you ever been surprised by how a subject’s presence transformed your artwork?

yes, I have painted several paintings with my colleague and best friend Djana Vallespir, a close collaboration, in which we, independent of each other, conceived each painting based on a common idea and motif, but expressed it on separate canvases. This approach resulted in portraits of humans and portraits of animals and insects, with detailed up close motifs, painted by the two of us with our expression, and every time we finished each half of the painting and joined them together it was a great surprise.

6.   What keeps you inspired and motivated as an artist in today’s fast-paced world?  

I am not always inspired or motivated, sometimes I have periods when I don’t have the imagination, desire or strength to take the brush in my hand and stand at the easel, and it’s an empty feeling to have, I hate and fear those periods, many artists are inspired and motivated by the darkness, I am not, I work best when I’m happy and positive when I’m inspired I enter a kind of trance where time, place and hunger disappear and I’m at one with my painting, it’s the best feeling to be in, and I paint without really understanding how. other times it’s just almost impossible to get started, I start something I don’t put my soul or my thoughts into, I just have to find something and start drawing or painting something equally valid, and then maybe it will turn into something I care about, or I discard it, it also helps me to go to an exhibition, or the theatre and let other artists gives me hope and a will to get started.

Rikke Line Andreasen’s art is more than just something to look at—it’s something to feel. Whether she’s painting people she knows, exploring social issues, or experimenting with colours and textures, her work invites us to see the world in new ways. She believes that every viewer should find their meaning in her paintings, and that’s what makes her art so powerful. Her story reminds us that creativity is always evolving, and that inspiration comes from both the joys and challenges of life. To learn more about Rikke, click the following links to visit her profile.

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