Berlin Panorama

Ich hatte endlich eine Gelegenheit gefunden, das Sennelier Skizzenbuch  zu probieren, das wir im Barcelona USk Symposium bekommen haben. Von der Terraces des Information Center des Humboldts Forum hat man ein 360 Grad Ausblick Berlins. Man kann die Museumsinsel, der Berliner Dom, das Fernsehturm, die Baustelle und andere wichtige Gebäude.

I finally got an opportunity to use the Sennelier Sketchbook we got in the USk Symposium in Barcelona. On top of the terrace of the Information Center of Humboldt Forum there is a 360 degrees view of Berlin. From there you can see the Museum Island, the Cathedral, the Television Tower in Alexanderplatz, the construction site of the castle and other Berlin important buildings.

Ich hatte auch ein kleines video gemacht

Here is also a small video I did:

Coffee Watercolors - Kaffee Aquarellen

As I said I had an exhibition at a coffee fair. So I decided to use watercolors related to coffee.
I was very busy having other exhibition at the same time. The last sunday I painted 3 watercolors on a row. Here are some of the watercolors. Of course they are for sale:

Wie ich vorher erzählt habe, ich hatte eine Ausstellung bei einer Kaffee Messe. Deswegen hatte ich mich entschieden Kaffee Bilder zu zeigen. Ich war sehr beschäftigt, da ich eine andere Ausstellung gleichzeitig hatte. Am letzten Sonntag musste ich schnell drei Aquarellen malen. Hier sind einige von denen und klar, man kann sie kaufen.

Home coffee, 2004, ca 41 x 31 cm   

I did this watercolor when I was living in a small village in Nord Hessen. I was living in an old Fachwerkhaus (that old German Wood structure) surrounded by many objects like this.

Diese Aquarelle hatte ich vor ca. 9 Jahren gemalt. Ich wohnte zu dieser Zeit in einem Fachwerkhaus in einem kleinen Dorf in Nord Hessen. Es gab viele Objekte wie diese um mich herum.

Cafe in green, 2013, Cafe Blinis in Bergmannstr, ca. 42 x 30 cm

Cafe Gipfeltreffen, 2013, ca. 42 x 29 cm

This cafe is very close where I live. It has a fantastic Berlin atmosphere. I really like it. In fact last Sunday when I was painting I realized that I didn't like any of the sketches I had for doing one last painting, so I run down to the cafe and did a fast sketch while taking a coffee and a wonderful cake.

Dieses Cafe liegt ein paar Meter von meine Wohnung entfernt. Es hat eine schöne Atmosphäre. Es gefällt mir sehr. Am letzten Sonntag  merkte, dass ich mir ein Bild fehlte. So bin  ich schnell zu dem Cafe gegangen und habe ich diese Skizze gemacht, die als Vorlage für die Aquarelle nutzte.

I did just a thumbnail: ca. 6 x 10 cm 

Then I went home and used as a reference for this watercolor. I think the fact that I still had the scene fresh in my head helped a lot in this watercolor.

Man kann merken, dass ich das Bild noch in Kopf hatte, als ich es gemalt habe.

Cafe in Berlin, 2013, ca 42 x 30 cm 

Goerlitzer Bahnhof U-Bahnhof

I went with Sven to paint outside, it was warm. We didn't go far away. The Goerlitzer Bahnhof  Metro Station was a good subject. We painted and talked. Painting is a good way to get to know people.

Ich habe mich mit Sven getroffen, um draussen zu malen. Wir sind nicht weit weg gegangen. Der Görlitzer Bahnhof U-Bahnhof war ein gutes Motiv. Wir haben gemalt und uns unterhalten. Malen ist eine gute Art Leute kennenzulernen.

the watercolor is for sale

More Cafe Liebling

Two sketches of Cafe Liebling.

The first one 2 weeks ago. It was still warm to sit outside. Watercolor on Moleskine Sketchbook

The second yesterday. There are still sunny days but it is getting colder. Watercolor on Stillman & Birn Sketchbook. I tried yesterday for the first time this freebie I got from Stillman & Birn. They noticed I use watercolor and then send me two sketchbooks from their Beta Series to try. The paper is great! 270 gsm and the colors shine through the white.

One coffee under the sun

A guy drinks a coffee in the Marheineke Markthalle in Kreuzberg, Berlin. I was interested in the shadows projected in the floor.

Coffee Cult in Kreuzberg

I just got up. I am cat-sitting for a friend in Kreuzberg again. I will go down a have a coffee. I love the place. Do you understand why?

The watercolor is for sale.

Ok, where I was with my virtual life?

My virtual life (the blog) experiences right now a time gap of 1 month to my real life. So lets go back to Kassel and share with you what I experienced when I came back from Canada.

Cafe West End: I just love the place with the perfect light coming from the windows...

Melchior Cofee in the NeuFahrt Street with is Wi Fi (since I have to blog a Wi Fi is a good argument when I choose a coffee shop)

Enjoying a exhibition in the Fridericianum Museum (on Wednesday is free) hearing music from this installation and sketching at the same time.

and of course the Orangerie: here on a fast sketch.

And in a bigger watercolor

Horses on Duty

What I love about being an urban sketcher is that I have many opportunities to learn from people and their work. How interesting is the job of the mounted police in the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC) for example! I always thought that horses were just a decorative element in the police departments but I learnt that their work is very important and useful in the city. Mounted Police are excellent for controlling crowds in pedestrian areas: it offers the police great visibility and the people can easily see them from a distance. Also the contact between police and people is more direct in that way. The day I went to the barn to sketch Constable Coombs and Day, they were preparing the horses for an important event at Government House.

Constable Day is cleaning Dobbin for work. She and Dobbin have been working together since April 2009. Dobbin is a five year old black male Percheron, born in Ontario. Dobbin stands 17.3 hands high and weights 1850 lbs.

Fraize is a 12 year old Percheron. He is 17 hands high and weights 1912 pounds.

On June 27 2011 at 6 PM there was a reception for the Governor General in the Government House in St. John's. All the Lieutenant Governors of Canada were present there. Constable Coombs and Day with Fraize and Dobbin from the Mounted Unit guarded the entrance.
Here is a link to the RNC if you want to know more about the Mounted Unit.
I also publish this in www.urbansketchers.org

Delight: Bay Robert's View

I paint urban landscapes, I don't paint nature. However last time that I was in Bay Roberts standing on a hill facing the see, surrounded by the amazing colors of lichen growing between the rock I have the urge painted it, at least I gave it a try, I felt challanged to reproduced this imposible colors...
First I did a sketch in my moleskine, that I alredy posted in my blog. But the next day I have to come back again to do a bigger watercolor. Gosh! I love painting outdooors!

St John's watercolor

A view from the Rooms, third floor. It was a rainy day and the fog was covering the Harbor. It is good to have a warm place where you can draw in rainy days. People tend not to see around when it rains. The afternoon light filters through the fog and the green shines in a surreal glow.

Peter in his kitchen

I asked Peter if I could made a portrait of him after I saw standing in front of a window. He asked me if he could write something while I painted him. He keeps journals. This one is the third he is filling with his though. He started sometime ago when he became a journal as a present. His handwriting is very small and quite nice. The kitchen is very gemuetlich and the afternoon light falls over the kitchen table.

I avoid drawing when I do my watercolors. I try to work with shapes and not lines.

A nice day outside

It was a beautiful sunny day. In day like these I love to paint outside. I was sitting in a small park where the Gower Street begins.
By the way I found a nice window to paint in rainy days. I was painting in Gower Street and a guy came out from his house and said that he had a very nice view from the bow window in the second floor. People in Saint John's are really friendly. I visited him yesterday to check the view and he invite me for a warm tea and we had a nice chat. Painting a city is not only about buildings but also about its people and how they feel there.
Ah! He was right: The view is wonderful!

187 Gower St.

It was a nice day to paint outdours. The sun was shinning and I have to take the jacket off to be able to paint.

Bay Roberts

Around the coast in Bay Roberts you would find many of this small sheds. I did the watercolor on site. I always start with the shadows in case the weather changes or the sun moves.

A room with a view

Well although it is suppose to be spring in St. John's, there are still many chilly days and warm days are the exception.
When I started this watercolor, it was sunny but windy, and the wind here is cold. After an hour sitting there in the cold I decided it was to much and went home. I left the watercolor on the shelf for 2 weeks until I could come back and finish it.
I prefer to paint live rather than from a photo, and I prefer to do it in warm place.
So dear St. John's blog reader if you a have a nice room with a view that you can lend me for an hour or two (or 20 minutes if I just do a fast sketch) I would be very grateful!

Going Downtown

I found Joy sketching in the Rocket Cafe. this is a great place to be creative with the old tables and the good coffee.

After that I take the number 10 Metro bus to go Home. This was my first time in the bus, so I did a sketch.

Hungry Heart Cafe

Rawling Cross, St. John's
The first traffic light in Saint John's was here and was manually operated by a policeman that standed in the corner switching it on and off.

Duckworth street, Saint John's

Saint John's is full of colorful houses. The sun was shinning on Eartern Monday so I went downtown to paint. I always like to do some big watercolors on site. But it requires some planning and good weather and the strenght to carry a ton of materials in my bag.

Fred's Records

In the days of internet and wild downloading you don't find a record store very easily. I mean this old places where you can get lost and find great music because people are there and advice you to hear this or that. Fred's Records is one of this places. Very vintage, a huge space, something that you probably find only in St. John's. I have to go back and do and sketch from the interior, but enjoy this one from the outside for the moment!

Newfoundland, Canada

So I am already two weeks in Newfoundland in an adventure that will take me 3 months and I can only say WOW!!!
The Island of Newfoundland is in the atlantic coast of Canada. It has the most amazing nature: Stone, ice and water in a wild combination. The coast is magnificent, full of places to paint. The architecture also is beautiful, wood houses in pastel colors that shine with the sun (ok, the weather could be bad arround here, but in good weather everything glows!)
And the people are so nice and gentle. There is also a very lively art community, surprising by the small population, but you have to see the place to understand that if you don't get inspired by these what else can. So I guess I will be busy sketching this months.
Here is the Quidi Vidi Cove, there is even a local bier made here in this place.