"I want to capture the essence of the forest, that you breathe in it and smell the forest when you walk in it." Freelance artist Birgit Rakette took this quote by van Gogh as her motto during her stay at the artist hermitage. Her time in the nature of Rietzer Berg was supposed to be a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life in the city with its noise and distractions. She was constantly reminded of the much greater closeness to nature during her time here. Be it due to the fact that it got dark early and then due to lack of distractions there was little to to.

Or because of the storm the first night when she could not sleep because of the acorns drumming on the roof. Nature provides the framework and determines the daily routine - an unfamiliar feeling for the city dweller. And for a plein air painter, nature also dictates the working hours - as soon as the sun came out, the trained teacher and graphic designer grabbed her paint box and set off to paint the landscape on Rietzer Berg. She mainly used acrylic paint and primed her paintings in blue beforehand. She was particularly fascinated by trees and made friends with the oak tree outside her window after spending so much time with it.

In her two weeks at the artist hermitage, Birgit was extremely productive, painting one or two pictures a day and making numerous sketches. Also her "oak jewellery" on wood now adorns the landscape park. This great productivity was possible because of the quiet and lack of distraction that she otherwise has in her artist life in Berlin. Because after a few initial exploratory moves, she was able to focus entirely on her work and just paint.

Some of the works created here and many more can be admired in their next exhibition at the municipal cinema "Die Kiste" in Berlin-Hellersdorf. The vernissage is on November,11.2023.

"I want to capture the essence of the forest, that you breathe in it and smell the forest when you walk in it." Freelance artist Birgit Rakette took this quote from van Gogh as her motto during her stay at the artist hermitage. Her time in the nature of Rietzer Berg was supposed to be a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life in the city with its noise and distractions. She was constantly reminded of the much greater closeness to nature during her time here. Be it due to the fact that it got dark early and then due to lack of distractions there was little to to.

Or because of the storm the first night when she could not sleep because of the acorns drumming on the roof. Nature provides the framework and determines the daily routine - an unfamiliar feeling for the city dweller. And for a plein air painter, nature also dictates the working hours - as soon as the sun came out, the trained teacher and graphic designer grabbed her paint box and set off to paint the landscape on Rietzer Berg. She mainly used acrylic paint and primed her paintings in blue beforehand. She was particularly fascinated by trees and made friends with the oak tree outside her window after spending so much time with it.

In her two weeks at the artist hermitage, Birgit was extremely productive, painting one or two pictures a day and making numerous sketches. Also her "oak jewellery" on wood now adorns the landscape park. This great productivity was possible because of the quiet and lack of distraction that she otherwise has in her artist life in Berlin. Because after a few initial exploratory moves, she was able to focus entirely on her work and just paint.

Some of the works created here and many more can be admired in their next exhibition at the municipal cinema "Die Kiste" in Berlin-Hellersdorf. The vernissage is on November,11.2023.