Willy Waldner was raised in Basel's quaint city neighborhoods with their varied apartment building facades. The influence of these facades can be seen in his paintings today. He completed his apprenticeship as designer/decorator at the department store Globus, graduated from the vocational arts school in Basel, and studied architectural modeling. Prior to retiring from his day-job, Willy was head of decorations at Migros Basel. He was also exam expert and chief exam expert at the School of Applied Arts in Basel. For many years, he was an avid painter of lanterns and masks for the Basler Fasnacht (Basel's Carnival). He also created caricatures for a Basel magazine. Some of his paintings can currently be viewed at  the Galerie Noodlebärg, an art gallery in Basel's old town. Willy is intrigued by old-fashioned architecture, odd sanitary installations, and antiquated electrical wiring. Combined with humor, he projects these fascinations onto the canvas with aquarelle paint. The overall objective is to get people to smile.