About Yo

My name is Yo Rühmer and I was born in Darmstadt in 1970, where I studied communication design. After graduating in 1995, I worked as a freelancer for various advertising agencies. I have been a freelance illustrator since 1999. After initially only drawing for advertising agencies, I now illustrate more for book and magazine publishers. During this gradual change, my target group gradually became younger and younger, but I don’t see myself as a pure children’s and schoolbook illustratorAs a balance to my purely digital work as an illustrator, I have been painting ‘en plein air’ since 2012, i.e. outdoors, mostly in nature, always with oil paints. I try to incorporate everything I learn about color moods and light into my digital painting style.

In May 2020, my book about plein air painting, in which I have packed everything I have learned and with which I want to share my enthusiasm with as many people as possible to motivate them to paint outside too.

I also give plein air lessons: I offer individual workshops, group day workshops through Boesner and week-long painting trips through Artistravel.

You can now find my new online course on Domestika plein air painting in oil for beginners.

I also maintain the website Pleinairmalerei.de. It’s a platform that I set up so that everyone who paints out here can present themselves, find each other, exchange ideas and network.

If you want to know more about me and my plein air painting:

I was interviewed by Artistravel in German:
Instagram Interview

And in English
from the podcast Painting Insights
YouTubeVideoPodcast

and from BoldBrush:
YouTube interview

I welcome feedback, commissions for illustrations, workshop inquiries and, of course, interest in buying my oil paintings!