Painting in full nature on the island of Rügen, Germany
This summer I had the unique opportunity to go and paint on plein air on the Island of Rügen at Gut Üselitz and I wanted to share my experience here with anyone who has a similar interest in plein air painting and German culture and history.
Getting inspired by Caspar David Friedrich
I started my journey in Munich and took a 4 hour train to Berlin. Once I arrived in Berlin I went to the Alte Nationalgalerie to view the very famous collection of paintings by Caspar David Friedrich. As a painter it is fascinating to go through a museum and look very closely at the real paintings. You may have seen the Instagram reels of artists circling around paintings examining every centimetre of the painting. That was definitely me when I was looking at Friedrich’s paintings. When looking at a painting I am trying to understand the many choices famous painters like Friedrich made throughout the painting process…the colour choices, the brushstrokes, the value structure, the composition etc.
Caspar David Friedrich - “Greifswalder Hafen” - 1818/1820
On Monday morning, inspired by the colours Friedrich used I went to the art store Modulor to buy additional oil paints: Prussian blue, cobalt blue, earth yellow, Naples yellow and chrome yellow. The store is very large and has a section for good quality and economic oil paints. It definitely was a good choice to stock up on any oil painting materials I forgot before travelling to the Island of Rügen.
Packed with my plein-air painting set, my oil paints and brushes, I took the 3 hour direct train from Berlin to Stralsund. Before taking a taxi at Stralsund station to Gut Üselitz, I packed a good amount of food to eat for the next days at the supermarket next to the train station.
Gut Üselitz
The taxi journey from Stralsund to Gut Üselitz took around 30 minutes over some very picturesque countryside roads with large yellow and green fields. Gut Üselitz is tucked away in full nature and surrounded by water, which makes the journey even more worthwhile, especially if you are a nature enthusiast. Gut Üselitz is a very historic German “Herrenhaus” built in 1553. If you are interested in the history of the property, you can read more here: https://ueselitz.de/das-gut/
Painting nature when being surrounded by nature
On arrival I immediately unpacked my plein air painting materials and started to work on a first sunset study. For me it usually takes 1-2 plein air painting sketches to get myself back into the plein air painting mindset and this first sunset study was a good first start even though I didn’t fully finish it that evening. I was invited by a family staying at Gut Üselitz to join them for dinner and we very much enjoyed the sunset with some great BBQ cooked food.
The next day it was spectacular waking up surrounded by nature. Not long after the sunrise I started my next plein air painting. It was very quiet and peaceful in the morning and it was possible to fully submerge myself in nature. I often think that painting a landscape in the studio is very limiting as it is not possible to fully grasp how the landscape feels, smells and looks unless you are standing in it. This is exactly what painting at Gut Üselitz allows you to do.
A lunch break at a nearby traditional German dairy farm
After the early morning painting session, I took a lunch break at a nearby dairy farm. It is advisable to plan any journeys outside Gut Üselitz in advance as taxis or other transports are not always available. With some planning I was able to get to the nearby village and the dairy farm and enjoyed a traditional German lunch and cake.
Afternoon painting
Once I got back to Gut Üselitz in the early afternoon I started my next painting (shown at the beginning of this article). For anyone loving greens and yellows, Gut Üselitz is definitely your place. I really enjoyed having enough time for myself to paint and being close to a place where I can leave all my painting materials, can have a break and eat whenever I want. For me places like Gut Üselitz are a lot more beneficial to learn how to paint than being in a public park or on the street. Painting takes a lot of concentration and in my view the space you are in really matters.
Departure
The next morning (after enjoying the amazing sunrise) I departed again for Berlin. It was a quick trip for me and I recommend staying a bit longer, but it was well worth it for anyone wanting to learn to paint a sunset, sunrise and water reflections while being fully surrounded by nature. You can even paint wild rabbits if you are quick enough! It felt a bit like being on a nature Safari three hours from Berlin while at the same time staying at a very traditional and historic German “Herrenhaus”!