Ideas, drawings and trails for the public good

Journalist and hiker ( Full member of Danish Journalist union since 2006)

I have a background in journalism and architecture and I sketch up, write and program all the stories here on HikingArtist.com.

Education: architecture and visual journalism

Royal Danish Academy of Fine Art 1991-2000 (Architecture, Design, Landscape and Innovation)
Danish IT University 2001-2006 Cand. IT (Candidate in: Digital communication.
Specialized in: drawn storytelling, innovation,  journalism, concept-visualization and design around hiking, sustainable living, landscapes, trails, ecology and thrive

Experience:

I have worked as a journalist, concept-artist and visual storyteller for more than 20 years.

Drawn journalism and watercolors

I’ve written stories and drawn up illustrations and concepts for many magazines and newspapers, including a few of the largest in Denmark on a regular basis.

And also worked with sketching up visual understandings and doing graphic facilitation, as a freelancer in more than 200 innovation and communication projects for both national and international organisations and companies. Mostly on thrive, innovation, psychology, climate change and biodiversity.

Focus on hiking, sustainability and thrive

I both present and share my knowledge in talks and also help live to debate and sketch up new understandings, stories and ideas about sustainability, thrive, biodiversity and climate change… connected to hiking.

When drawing up ideas and concepts I use both words and research existing knowledge and concepts, while juggling with my brushes, pencils, ink and watercolors… + Scanner, camera and laptop.

I work both live ( drawn reportage) and write / draw classic researched journalistic stories.

Basecamp ( 2021) in Copenhagen, Denmark

I work out of  Copenhagen, Denmark, and do most of my work with classic drawing techniques and timeless tools like brushes, ink, paper and watercolors, that I can use both getting ideas indoors and out on the trails.

Digital skills

In the digital world I use my background in computer science and digital communication to keep close to the edge of what is going on, from artificial intelligence, to social media and virtual reality.

I program, post, and maintain all my own digital work. ( mostly in WordPress and Photoshop etc. on a daily basis )†

Research

I work daily to keep updated on innovation, sociology, hiking, philosophy, psychology, climate change, design, sustainable living and technology –  And other subjects that are important for understanding where and how we can find new paths forward together.

Hiking

I’ve been into hiking in 30+ years, since 1987, after learning the basics on a mountaineering school in Norway for a year.

In the last around 20 years I’ve focused my hiking work on how we, our trails and places connect and interact, through storytelling, innovation and social activities, and how this can be supported by using digital technology and media.

In 2007 I started writing on Hikingartist.com to help share knowledge about hiking.

What I have found in my research is that the way we connect to the landscapes and to each other somehow works after very ancient hardwired patterns, and now the digital technology finds new ways to support and evolve these patterns.

  And I think maybe this knowledge can help us understand how to get ideas for, design and build better and more sustainable societies, communities and relationships… both with each other and with the planet.

Sketching up landscapes of understanding and paths

I work from a green vision to empower both cities and citizens to find ways to make us all thrive better and to, at the same time, get closer to finding more sustainable ways of living together and connecting better to the planet.

Contact

Please contact me if you like to support my work. Contact form

Support shop:

I also have my own webshop where it is possible to buy both prints of my drawings and watercolors, original artworks, and downloads. See my shop here: FritsAhlefeldt.net

All the best

Frits Ahlefeldt

Summer – 2021