There are so many galleries in Berlin. They have a place called ‘Museum Island’. It’s near the Dom. It has free entry on Thursday evenings, 6 til 9 pm. I have been to the Bode Museum (Will write about that later) and The National Gallery. Three levels of paintings and sculpture. I felt that some sculptures were parked away in the corners of the buildings when they should be somewhere accessible to the eye from every aspect. And some of the large paintings were in too narrow of a hall to be able to take it all in. But other than that, this gallery houses some amazing works by amazing artists. There is a lot of work by Adolf Menzel, and a particularly amazing portrait of him done by the artist Giovanni Boldini (above). I also enjoyed works by Sabine Graef, Louis Corinth, Franz Von Stuck, Max Beckmann and Arnold Böcklin’s “Self portrait with death playing the fiddle”. (Also above)

Ok, that is me done for now..I have to go read some more.

This is a large buildng..Huge even. Pretty easy to navigate yourself around if you have a map and just use your “common gallery sense”. We looked mostly at just the paintings. I have to say that a lot of it does not bode well with me…I can appreciate that it must do something for someone out there. There were quite a few works that did really stand out.. Meredith Frampton’s “Portrait of a Young Woman” (1935)(above) really did it for me. An almost life size, full body portrait of a lady. She is wearing a long silk dress, fashionable of the times. She stands next to a small modest table with a vase of flowers and on her other side, a cello..All things that beauty is considered to be. The style is fairly modernist, but the treatment of the skin tones and the hands, especially the fingernails, is incredible (for lack of a more sophisticated term).
There were several other pieces that I enjoyed, and an installation that I found pleasing to the eye, but little much else, “30 pieces of silver” by and artist named Cornila Parker.
And there were a few works by Joseph Beuys that I just do not appreciate personally, but there was one work that I can say I can’t appreciate to the point of I down right think it’s silly. Yes, silly artwork.
A video projection of about 5 or 6 different ‘works’ by Paul McCarthy, titled simply “Projection Room 1971-06″. There were works of people doing certain; I guess you could say, grotesque things, or just looking gross…I think they are meant to shock or whatever.. Someone in a nun costume, a man dancing and grabbing his penis, a man in a bath, a woman with shit all over her face, etc. I found it so silly. I think work like this is made for the sake of just making it rather than having anything to really say or showing any technical skill. It’s disappointing but sadly what you expect when you go into a building that has “modern” or “Contemporary” in it’s title..Or subtitle.

But I enjoyed seeing some works by Salvador Dali, Leonor Fini, Dod Proctor and a few Francis Bacon’s. And Claude Monet’s “Waterlillies after 1916” was hanging in there…An amazing painting, but, what is with the gold frame?? It threw me a little, it looked like someone had sponge gold paint on to it to make it look authentic…I hope they take it out of it one day.

I could have seen the pigeons, but, I wanted to see the art…Flying rats don’t do it for me, as it might do for the Pigeon Man and many a tourist, no offence.. But the National Gallery of London truly does hold some MAGNIFICANT work. It was pretty busy when we went, but not as bad as it could have been, as it was one of those rare times that the sun decides to show it’s face.
I was really struck by a few artists in particular.. Such as Paul Delaroche and his large paiting titled “ The Execution of Lady Jane Gray”(above). It was beautiful in terms of composition, technique and colours, but it is overall, a very ‘polite’ painting. I still found it captivating.
Also, a very unusual little oil painting by Louis-Léopold Boilly, called “A Girl at a Window”(also above). Painted in 1799..I find it unusual as the painting is in black and white. And for it’s style, I guess you would be used to seeing paintings of the like in colour. But it was amazing, the detail of the glass and the little objects on the windowsill were definitely a treat.
Degas’ “Miss la La at the Circus Fernando” was hanging there too. Books do no justice to this painting. My friend Nom had pointed out to me that it was one of her favourites, and I could definitely see why.

London is crazy. In my hometown, Melbourne, I thought it was boozy and crazy, but London is the mother of boozy craziness. I feel that if I lived there, I’d probably go crazy. I was lucky though. I spent time with my friends in Deptford, who also have lovely friends around them (One of which I knew from Melbourne) so we were shown some nice places and I had a very good time. But the one day I did go out by myself, I came running back..Tail in between legs. That town could certainly swallow me whole.

I feel William Hogath’s work still rings true.

While in London, I went to the National Portrait Museum. I saw the John Constable portrait show..and I saw the Tudor gallery. I also went on a tour to Salisbury Cathedral, Stonehenge and Bath.We where talked at by a lady whose name I forget, with a piercing microphone for the whole trip. But we did see some amazing things and I am glad I went..It inspired me. I have had an interest in all the stories that surround Stonehenge for a while, and seeing the places where some of these people were was a very enlightening experience. There was a lot of talk about Queen Mary, (A.K.A.Bloody Mary) and I began writing ideas in my book..(Which is already half full and it usually takes me years to fill an ideas book!) I am currently reading a book about King Henry VIII and his six wives. It is by Antonia Fraser who has also written a few other interesting books that I must get my hands on..I am so happy to have found literature about these woman’s lives, rather than just their deaths. I am plotting ways to make some work about this…But more about that later…

I had a very good time. But I didn’t get to see everything I wanted and I already miss people from Deptford, so I will have to go back..I also want to go to Brighton and Wales.

It’s amazing how much time can fly when you are having fun. It’s been just over a month since I moved to Berlin. I have so much to write about but I am going to put them up in separate entries to keep it clean.. So first up, I went to London last week. My fellow artist and friend, Nom Kinnear-King lives there and was having a solo show and her and her partner offered to put us up…Which was very good and we had a lot of fun. We Helped Nom put her show up, so we were the lucky ones that got to see the work before everyone else did…I had about 8 favourites. The show was held at Utrophia, which is ran by two guys, Matt and Steve. It’s an lovely space in an interesting town.. It is used for all sorts of creative projects..Music, installation, exhibitions, there are even some studios in there. I highly recommend checking it out.
Also on the night, a band called Six Fingers performed, which went down very well. They are a six-piece band that I really quite enjoyed.

The opening night, Friday the 20th of March, was a success. There were plenty of people and if you can get to it, it is up until the 3rd of April.

14th of March
In the apartment, we have no internet or television. It certainly gives me a lot more time to think….I have never really read, I don’t like to bake, there’s not much to clean, and I can’t really do much in terms of art as I don’t have the space or equipment….and my guitar was 4 kilos over the luggage limit so it is still back in Australia..In Gene’s mothers house..In it’s nice hard case and fluffy interior…Smelling nice and not being played..(It has a lock and I have the keys)

So I think.
And I write.
I sorted through all my photos the other day. I deleted pictures of old friends and past boyfriends. Some I miss dearly, some I’m not to sure what happened but we do not keep contact and I am tired of reminders of people that just won’t make sense. I then also printed photos of family members and friends that I love and bought a photo album. Gene and I sat down last night and put them all together. It was good, he doesn’t really do that sort of thing, Gene is very not sentimental, but I am..I think he did it for me.

I listen to music a lot more now. Some artists on my itunes list I wonder why I ever had them in the first place.. I think perhaps I have them as everyone else did back at home. I listen to Billie Holiday and artists that I know from Melbourne. (The Stillsons and Fearon&Rough are the two I listen to the most.) It’s made me think about why I never did anything much musically at home, and I guess it was due to a number of things. University, laziness, and people around me that I found intimidating.

I think about what I want with my life. So far it has been good, apart from a few years here and there. I have achieved a lot that I wanted to. I got myself out of bad situations and put myself in a better one. I have had a lot of wonderful pets, good friends, eaten great food and I love my family. I also got married; I finished a University degree and a place that I never thought I would get into. And I only had to apply once to get in there. I have had exhibitions with some of my favourite artists and will continue to have more. I have met some of the most interesting and wonderful people and some of them are my very close friends. I have finally made it overseas and each day continue to see things I never thought I would see.

I appreciate my hometown, my family and my friends. I don’t have anyone to talk with. I have to awkwardly carry my laptop down the 8 flights of stairs (Knowing that I am going to have to climb back up again) to go to an internet café and get as much done as quickly as possible, and that is my only way of contact. My German is very limited so I can’t really make friends. But that’s ok for now. I think there is a lot I have to work on myself. Where I want to go with my art, get over somethings I have been harbouring for a while. It has also made me closer to Gene. There’s a lot of talk about what we want out of our relationship…and I think we are mostly getting what we want.

I like Berlin, but I am not sure if I will stay longer than 3 months. We shall see when my lease is up… I want to see more of the world.

My friend has just messaged me to tell me that there was an earthquake near Melbourne. Apparently, it reached 4.7 on the southeast coast. 

We moved into our apartment yesterday. We have 99 stairs to climb. It’s pretty cheap and has a very nice kitchen. The ‘lounge’ room area is large so I will be able to draw while I look for a studio to paint in.

I have only been to one art exhibition this whole week. It was in an amazing building in Wedding. The exhibit was by two girls who went to exhibitions and stole the beer bottles. (Here in Germany, you can return your glass/plastic/cans to most supermarkets (there’s a special machine) and in exchange you receive money). With that money, they bought the beer for their opening. The beer was the art (and the flyers of the shows they went to and stole the beer bottles fromin).

We have visited some amazing places, such as the Berliner Dom, Mauer Park,which has a large flea market on Sundays. It runs along the wall walk, there is a lot of junk to see, food to eat and music to hear. On the 3rd of March, we visited Sachsenhausen.. A former concentration camp. I am not to sure why I wanted to go there. I think it might be that I have heard about this so much in film, books, comic books, from people, and I have never actually seen the remains. It was an experience. It was very unsettling and made me question a lot of things. I don’t think I will visit a place like that again.

I have met up with quite a few people. People have been nice and helpful and I am beginning to learn my way around. The public transport system here is amazing. It is reliable and the longest I have had to wait for a train is 10 minutes. It costs roughly around the same amount as Melbourne (maybe a few dollars cheaper) but it is so intricate and actually runs. I guess it has to, fuel here is over twice the cost in Melbourne.

Everyone seems to own a dog. A bike. A baby. Or all of the above. There are recycling bins everywhere…Even bins for different coloured glass! (will post a picture soon)..

Over all, I think i am settling in ok. Apart from the fact that I really need some German lessons (The course I did in Melbourne was too long ago and I have unfortunately forgotten most of it). I am looking to enroll somewhere soon. I miss my mum terribly, and some of my friends. You know who you are.x

Anyway, that’s it for now.

So, I have arrived in Berlin. As soon as I got off the plane and put my things in the guest house, I began exploring and haven’t stopped.
We got approved for 2 flats, and have chosen one, so I shall be moving soon… It’s in a very old building and is cute and quiet.

I haven’t seen much in terms of paintings yet, as I think exploring it’s history first is more important. I have been in many palaces, cathedrals and the such and will be exploring the more darker side of the history here this coming week…

There are no words to describe being in a place that you have heard about all of your life, and then seeing it for real. (Yes, this is the first time I have left my home country, and will not be the last, if I go back at all!)

The camera has been idle until today and is already full. But I wont post anything up until I have something more to say other than trying to express the awe…

Oh, and the food, it’s amazing.