About

My name is Fabian Lavater. I am a Swiss artist & illustrator currently based in Basel,c ity of art.

My inspiration comes from the beautiful sport of surfing, the ocean itself as well as all other things mother nature has to offer. Growing up in Switzerland, my childhood outdoor adventures mainly took place in the Alps or in the Mediterrean Sea. It took me 21 years to finally discover the beautiful sport of surfing, and I am hooked ever since that first wave.

Being landlocked in Switzerland, I usually would go on surf trips to the France, Spain, Portugal, the Canaries or Morocco as well as some longer trips like an around the world trip and recently living and working in Biarritz for 1 1/2 years.

I loved drawing ever since I can remember, so it was a natural step when I shifted from drawing super heroes to drawing waves and everything around the surfing culture. Inspired by the amazing creative community on Instagram I too started sharing my art, which lead to 69K followers on this platform in the last couple of years. 

For a long time drawing was more of an intense hobby besides studying (not art). After graduating with a masters in sustainable development with a major in economics and an unsatisfying year trying to live the corperate life, I decided to make art my career path. 

Having a masters degree in sustainable development hasn't left untouched though. In the last couple of years I went through a long process of being more aware. Being more aware of myself and the environment around me. That being said, I also started to change some of my behavior, such as stopped eating meat and avoiding dairy products as often as possible. 

This shift has not only had an impact on my eating habits, but also on my mobility and buying behavior. 

Therefore I claim for myself to choose the products I sell my art on carefully. Being a small business, I don't have the impact on suppliers I wish I had. Nevertheless, I try to always choose the most environmentally friendly product available. Unfortunately, due to our economic system, this makes them more expensive (e.g. organic vs non-organic cotton). 

I do hope though to be part of the change this way and appreciate the extra money you are willing to spend compared to cheaper alternatives from the big brands.