ECSTATIC ANGELS FROM BERLIN AT JACKSON JUNGE GALLERY

Ecstatic Angels, Nikolaikirche, Berlin, 10 x 13 inch ink drawing by George C. Clark    SOLD

I drew these baroque carved-wood angels in the reconstructed Nikolaikirche in Berlin recently.  It has been selected to be in the exhibition ANGELICIES: A LOOK AT THE MODERN DAY ANGEL at Jackson Junge Gallery, 1389 N. Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago.  The exhibition opens Friday, November 18, 2011, with an artists' reception from 6 to 9pm, and will run through the holidays.

I did the drawing on a single sheet of paper that formed facing pages of a bound sketchbook.  I made a copy print of the open sketchbook, retouched out evidence of the center crease, and signed and photographed the print to make the digital image posted above and at What's New From George C. Clark.  At the gallery I will be showing the original drawing which I have taken out of its binding and am now flattening before I frame it.  I will sign it with the date I drew it instead of the caption "Ecstatic Angels."

Update 10pm November 18:  I just got back from the opening reception and I am happy to report this drawing is sold.

BERLIN CATHEDRAL FROM THE SPREEUFER

Spreeufer, Berlin, 10 x 7 inch ink and watercolor by George C. Clark    SOLD

 I drew this from a riverside table at the Spreeblick Cafe in the Nikolaiviertel section of Berlin.  This is an old part of the city reconstructed after WW2 devastation by the East Germans in the 1980s.  Some of the buildings were restored where they originally stood, some were moved from other locations, some are new copies of totally destroyed structures, and some are new buildings designed to blend with the old.  When I visited Berlin 20 years ago right after the Wall came down, the Nikolaiviertel struck me as having an artificial Epcot Center quality, maybe because it was such a contrast to the rest of East Berlin which was grey and dingy and still pock-marked with wartime damage and full of ugly new concrete Soviet-style structures.  They are the same buildings and it is only 20 years later, but this time they seemed more natural and lived-in, and the former East Berlin is the most happening part of the city.

I started this drawing while waiting for my lunch, then finished it after the meal, which was very tasty, by the way.  The German restaurants and cafes are very good about not expecting you to leave until you ask for your bill, but I felt guilty occupying a prima riverfront table so I ordered a gooey expensive dessert.  Chocolate sauce and several flavors of ice cream were involved.  I had to do it for my art!

Starting my drawing at the Spreeblick Cafe, Berlin

JET-LAGGED IN BERLIN

Jet-lagged in Berlin, 9.5 x 6 inch ink drawing by George C. Clark

Just back from two weeks in Germany.  I arrived in Berlin at lunchtime after having slept only a fitful hour and a half on the transatlantic flight.  Had lunch at Savignyplatz and reacquainted myself with the neighborhood before returning to the hotel for a 90 minute nap.  ”Must stay awake until local bedtime,” I told myself, then headed for a Helmut Newton exhibition at the new Museum für Fotografie located in an old imperial court building behind the Bahnhof Zoo.  Fortunately it was Thursday, the day most Berlin museums are open late.  Then I had a late supper and finally crashed at 10pm local time.  What do you do when you find yourself suddenly wide awake in a foreign city at 3 o’clock in the morning?  If you’re me, you go in the bathroom of your Kurfurstendamm hotel room and draw a portrait of yourself reflected in the mirror and the adjustable round magnifying mirror.