Winter Sun - Berlin

A rare sunny December weekend day! But, I still need to get my exercise in. So I went over to Museuminsel first. The sun was casting a very dramatic shadow on Alte Nationalgalerie, my hands were shaking (because I'm absolutely rubbish with columns) but it came out much better than I thought! Definitely better than my first attempt of the same subject. (Also was somehow recognized by a colleague who was walking by, even though I was in my cycling gear, which was totally different from my bookish office outfit) Well, I guess everyone in Berlin was out strolling around on this nice day.

 

After doing my rounds, I came back to the same area and parked myself next to a bustling Christmas market. By this time the entire street was in shadows and only the taller buildings had light left on it, so I quickly scribbled before speeding off to warm up at home.

When in Doubt, go to Nikolaiviertel

 Nikolaiviertel is really a special place, especially in the otherwise unbearable summer heat in Berlin. When it is suffocating outside, I usually treat myself to a shorter bike ride and then relax in the shade of Nikolaiviertel

TV tower and the corner of Zum Nussbaum

The good old Knoblauchhaus

The Hochbahn Stations of Berlin - a tour in Spring

Decided to do a tour of the original Berlin Hochbahn stations while the weather was nice! I kind of noticed there were only a handfull of train stations in Berlin could be described as aethetically pleasing, rather than purely utilitarian, as I cycled my way around the city. Only afterwards did I connect the dots and realized that these "nicer looking" stations are all the same train line, and also built in similar time period. 

Done over 2 weekends in May/June

U Bülowstraße

U Nollendorfplatz

U Wittenbergplatz

Oberbaumstraße + Schlesisches Tor

U Schlesisches Tor

Sunset at home - Karl Marx Allee

 When the day gets longer and longer it feels wasteful sometimes not to utilize it to the fullest. There is a convenient green patch dividing the 2 directions at Karl Marx Allee. The traffic is chaotic and noisy I know, but the view is also superb (which could not be said to many other neighbourhoods I've lived in) To the east there is Frankfurter Tor, to the west the Fernsehturm. I really didn't even bother moving, just turned and faced the other direction to work on the second one.

Eastward View

Westward View

Nikolaiviertel - Round 2

 I really felt like I didn't do Nicolaiviertel justice in my last attempt, so I decided to swing by again on Sunday (since I can't bike far anyways with my sore legs) after dropping a book off at the library. 

Really happy with how this one turned out. Nicolaikirche's back garden and a small restaurant to the right. I went a little too hard on the blue in the beginning, but the overall balance still worked out...kind of? I stood on a shaded sidewalk and rested my stuff on the huge window sills. But I also stood above a ground vent and *almost* dropped my brush down there

I wondered through Nicolaiviertel didn't find anything that caught my attention + pedestrian traffic free + allowed me to stand in the shade (it was sizzling under the sun, but perfect temperature in the shade) So I ended up wandering out of its perimeter and into the Innenstadt Park) The Poplar snow was dancing through the air, the Dom was half in the sun. It was perfect. I'm also perfectly aware I looked like a creep,  standing unmovingly in the shade for longer than necessary, when everyone else was relaxing under the sun. So I only lightly sketched a few people in the end so as to not draw even more attention to myself.

I literally just filled up on my May Green pan a week ago, now it is already almost empty. I am really using green like there is no tomorrow

Ascension Day @ Glienicker Brücke

 The stars have aligned on Ascension Day: sunny, not too hot, and only a weak breeze. So I decided to shoot for the farthest target yet: Glienicke Bridge at the border between Berlin and Brandenburg (Potsdam) 32km one way from home, so in total a 64km ride. This is by far the best looking Berlin border I've seen...the southern and eastern ones were kind of meh...the bike infrastructure was also fantastic (by Berlin standard) all the way into Potsdam.

I stood on top a stone bench to get a broader view, and the sun was definitely burning my right leg

After sizzling in the sun for ~30 minutes, I decided to find a shady spot to cool down before heading back. There was not anything remarkable in the park nearby, but the strong shadows from the trees made for an interesting composition (really, green leaves and sun will make anything look nice) I first sat down on an empty bench to rest my legs and think about next steps, but then an old lady came by, said Hello and then sat next to me on the same bench (?). I was a little shocked so quickly moved myself away from the center of the bench. After 2 minutes I decided it was too awkward and so got up and moved myself and my bike to the below vantage point. Maybe I'm too introverted even for Germans...ooops

On the way back I really had to force myself to concentrate on riding, because even the most mundane neighbourhoods looked super nice in the afternoon sun. Thankfully, this distraction helped me reach home stress free despite my aching legs and growling stomach.

Green, lots of green, and lots and lots of green - Berlin Parks

Swung by 2 parks after reorganizing my pallette a little the day before. I introduced "Bordeaux 362", which turned out to be a very powerful cool red, and "Naples yellow" (in designer gouache), to help with my opaque needs, and took away "Sepia Brown" (I can't even remember when I last used it)

Bürgerpark Pankow. I was surprised by how peaceful it was, even at the goat pen! There was even some nice music

Volkspark Friedrichshain. This one was a little more lively, but there were still a lot of quiet spots. The shadows from the tree were the most entertaining! It wasn't always sunny, but the sun was out often enough for me to capture the (occassional) shadows

 

Warming up for Spring in Berlin

I bike past this church almost every weekend and admire its beauty, but never got a chance to properly sketch it until this weekend. Because of its colour, it looks nice even in the dead of winter or on a super gloomy overcast day. 

The shops and food hall around it were all closed because it was a Sunday, so I had no trouble stopping my bike in front of a closed store front and used it as my supply stand. The new leaves were just shooting out in the most vibrant green. Even though it is not May yet, it is indeed time to whip out my "May Green"

 

Taking back what I said about Berlin's dreadful autumn

Berlin put on a stunning show of colours this weekend. As I was on my errand runs on Saturday I noticed the colours are spectacular on its own even on a depressing overcast + slight drizzling today. So I looked up on a few sites and decided to go to Schloss Charlottenburg to get some autumn colours in. 

I had to make a stop in front of Brandenburger Tor because the scene was too perfect. Plus the bike racks on the side offer an unobstructed view (usually they are behind parked cars) 

The Schloss itself was nice but the portion close to the building was under construction. So the view with both the building and the trees didn't work out...Then I happened to retrace my step from a year ago and found a spot next to the Spree river. There were plenty of empty benches too (I assume it was too cold to sit down) As I started, a red boat also happened to pass by so I quickly sketched it in! Around this time the sky is getting darker and the colours don't pop that much anymore...so I quickly packed up and raced home, just as it was starting to drizzle...again ;A;

Encounter with graffiti artists (?)

It was the perfect combination between autumn sunlight and coloured leaves. I remember passing by this area numerous times but was always either too exhausted or had no painting tools with me. Also, it was a lone site out in the middle of nowhere. I was almost going to cycle past this area, but decided to turn back at the last minute and retraced my step back. The park itself was pristine, but the columns for some reason were covered in graffiti. Kind of charming, in a Berlin way. As I was working on this, a group of 3 kids were running around with the distinct clicking sound of a spray paint can...now I can see how this columned courtyard gets its decorations. One of them even stopped to check out my work, as I was putting in the finishing touches on the shadowed foreground (not sure if he could see anything from his height though) I guess we are all artists in a way?? 

A nice tree lined residential neighbourhood in Friedenau caught my eye, so I also backtracked to the traffic island to work on this. Conveniently, there was a plaque for a "Kaisereiche" next to the side walk, so I didn't even need to balance my water jar on the back of my bike!

 

Another weekend of sunshine!

I cherish any non-summer sunny days in Berlin. As October approaches, I know these days are numbered. Saturday was also a nice day out, but I had so many errands/chores to do on a Saturday that I ran out of energy before the sun set. 

I found myself a secluded spot in the shade right in front of the Berliner Schloss (for some reason I never noticed this building before seeing it in somebody else's painting, probably because I was always distracted by the sceneries on the other side of the street) It was a simple fascade that casted a long shadow and had a nice wall to lean my bike on. Just as I was starting, a man walked by and asked if I was "zeichnen oder malen die Gebäude nach". It took me a few seconds to comprehend the meaning of "nachzeichnen"- nobody has used this verb when talking to me before...And he wished me "viel Spaß" and walked away lol. Only when I was almost done did I notice the red thing behind the Berliner Schloss was the antenna of Fernsehturm. 

I already did the Deutsches Historisches Museum a few weeks ago, but I felt like challenging it the second time. This time it was the curvy reflective metal strips that caught my attention (it reflected the pink fascade of the Museum!) I feel like I underestimate the complexity of this building all the time, but the fascade's gradiant from yellow to pink is always unresistable. It was an enjoyable session, minus the constant shouting of the cup-and-ball scammers from the other side of the street...ughhhh

 

Capturing the sun, for as long as it lasts - Historischer Hafen Berlin

Another excellent location suggestion I got from scrolling through past meetup posts of Berlin Urban Sketchers. The temperature was too hot to cycle, so I prayed that this location has enough shade for me to hide under...and it did! There were plenty of trees along the Spree Kanal, and the streets were empty enough for me to park myself (and my bike) there next to the canal. A few local and tourists alike passed by. One older German lady even cracked a "mom" joke at me, claiming that my work looks nicer than the real thing. Thankfully I was able to respond in German and carry out a normal exchange with her (phew) I was debating whether to include that out-of-place modern apartment building in the background...but I guess it kinda worked?? sort of filled out the empty space on the left nicely

The second one was done a bit further down. I "borrowed" the empty tables of a cafe that hasn't yet opened. I was scared that I might get kicked out soon after, but thankfully the cafe does not open until 2pm and it just rolled around noon at that point. The Fernsehturm and old city hall were clearly visible, while the Rotes Rathaus was hiding between the trees to the left (for some reason I could never paint the Fernsehturm to any level of satisfaction) -the modern apartment block makes another appearance!

I changed up the pace a little bit by doodling in some linework for the boat (if not, I would have left the Hafen without actually properly drawing a boat!) Sometimes I do miss the details I could put in with lines. It was a lot of fun. There was one dude sitting on the boat...at which I was staring for a good half an hour.