Doreen Gehrke Art
Original Abstract + Surrealistic Paintings For Collectors + Art Lovers
Contact Me For Commission Work (+ Current Work)
I create emotional landscape paintings. They can be abstract, semi-abstract or surreal. Regardless of the medium, all my paintings have one thing in common: they convey to the viewer the feelings experienced when in that place.
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All artworks are for sale. You can either buy through my website or via Singulart or Saatchi Art. Please contact me if you need further information about a specific artwork.
Latest Artwork For Sale
Ice Flowers At Sunrise – Watercolor Painting
24 x 30 cm (unframed)
My latest artwork for sale, Ice Flowers At Sunrise, captures a fleeting moment of quiet observation—looking through a frost-covered window into a softly emerging landscape. Delicate crystalline patterns, created with a foil technique and white gouache, form organic “ice flowers” that partially veil the scene beyond. Behind them, luminous layers of blue and a warm horizon glow suggest the first light of sunrise touching distant mountains. The piece explores themes of perception, transience, and the subtle beauty found between clarity and obscurity.
My Artworks
Volcano (Landscape)
The Volcano (Landscape) series brings together mixed-media paintings that capture the elemental power and symbolism of volcanic landscapes. Characteristic features include heavily textured surfaces, bright, glowing red tones contrasting with earthy and dark layers of color, and sculptural reliefs reminiscent of cooled lava, ash, and erupting craters. The works oscillate between abstraction and landscape depiction: lava flows, volcanic cones, and eruptive forms emerge and simultaneously appear to be swallowed up by the material. Consistent throughout is the use of intense materiality and dramatic color, capturing the moment of permanent transformation. Thus, the series reveals the ambivalence of volcanoes—destruction and renewal, threat and creative energy.
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea series brings together mixed-media paintings that capture the changing moods of the Baltic Sea. Characteristic is the combination of intense color layers, textured surfaces, and the incorporation of natural materials such as stones and sand. The works oscillate between abstraction and landscape impression: ocean currents, coastlines, and geological forms appear to emerge and disappear into the painting’s surface. The consistent use of texture and relief lends each painting a tactile depth. The result is a series that allows the Baltic Sea to be experienced as a vibrant space full of movement, contrasts, and mysterious transitions.
Sails
The Sails series is dedicated to the sail as a symbol of freedom, distance, and the longing for endless voyages. The oil paintings combine maritime expanse with an intense color scheme that translates the sky, the sea, and the movement of the sails into a poetic visual language. The contrast between dynamic sky formations and the calm depths of the water is characteristic. The sails appear as luminous symbols that transport the viewer’s thoughts out to the open sea. Together, the series evokes an atmosphere of departure and boundless expanse—an invitation to experience freedom and adventure in painterly form.
Miscellaneous
Works of art that do not belong to a series
Scotts
The Scotts series is inspired by a journey through Scotland, during which countless photographs of landscapes, mountains, and coastlines were taken. The paintings capture the characteristic colors and textures of these landscapes—from earthy browns and rich greens to deep blues and contrasting whites. All works are designed in mixed media and combine painterly surfaces with highly textured surfaces and incorporated natural materials. This creates relief-like compositions in which colors and forms flow into one another, bringing the raw, powerful atmosphere of Scottish nature to life. The series shares the idea of not merely depicting landscapes but reinterpreting them as a tactile, sensual experience.
Putbus
The Putbus series is a homage to the white princely town of Putbus on Rügen. It brings the city’s neoclassical architecture into an artistic dialogue with the colors and structures of the palace gardens. Abstract and semi-abstract mixed media works merge nature and architecture and open up new perspectives on the special atmosphere of this city.
Ocean´ s Secrets
The Ocean’s Secrets series explores the mysterious depths of the underwater world. The mixed-media paintings combine complex shades of blue with relief-like structures reminiscent of currents, sediments, and hidden formations of the seabed. Characteristic is the interplay of tactile surface and color depth, creating the impression of diving into the hidden layers of the ocean. Subtle details such as stones or mineral textures reinforce the impression of a secret, unexplored world. Together, the series conveys an atmosphere of mystery and tranquility—a homage to the hidden secrets of the sea.
Desert
The Desert series is dedicated to the intense colors and textures of the desert. The mixed-media paintings utilize warm yellow, orange, and red tones, reminiscent of dazzling sunlight, heat, and shifting dunes. They are characterized by relief-like surfaces, incorporated natural materials, and fine cracks that evoke the texture of sand and stone. The dynamic nature of the compositions conveys movement and, at the same time, a quiet expanse—the tension between hostile harshness and fascinating beauty. Together, the works depict the desert as a place of extremes, full of energy yet meditative tranquility.
Usedom
The Usedom series is an artistic homage to the beaches of the Baltic Sea island of the same name. All works depict views of the Baltic Sea – sometimes in vibrant movement, sometimes in tranquil expanse, always characterized by the interplay of light, sky, and water. Mixed-media techniques create relief-like structures that vividly emphasize the breaking waves, the fine sand, and the dynamic cloud formations. Thus, the paintings not only have a visual impact but also unfold a palpable depth. Each work captures a different mood on the Baltic Sea – from the colorful evening light and the powerful spray of the waves to quiet, almost meditative moments on the beach.
Arctic
The Arctic series combines mixed-media and oil paintings that visualize the fragile beauty of the Arctic and, at the same time, its threat posed by climate change. Characteristic are high-contrast color fields of white, blue, and black, depicting ice, water, and melting glaciers. The works combine painterly depth with richly textured surfaces that reveal cracks, fractures, and processes of dissolution. A consistent theme is the tension between the majestic clarity of the Arctic landscape and the traces of its destruction. Thus, the series addresses not only the aesthetic fascination of the Arctic, but also its fragility—as an artistic reflection on the consequences of climate change.
Vineta
The Vineta series is inspired by the legend of the sunken golden city of Vineta in the Baltic Sea. The paintings combine abstract and surrealist imagery with relief-like structures and incorporated materials such as fabrics, shells, and glass. Characteristic are the luminous contrasts of gold, blue, and violet, evoking the sparkle of a sunken city beneath the sea’s surface. Folded fabrics, textured surfaces, and three-dimensional elements create an almost sculptural effect, in which the mysterious and mythical nature of the legend becomes tangible. Together, the series conveys the impression of a sunken, yet constantly resurfacing world—an artistic interplay between reality and legend, between the depths of the sea and an imaginary cityscape.
Broken Desert (Series Completed)
The Broken Desert Series brings together six mixed-media paintings depicting fragile, fractured desert landscapes—places of extreme silence, vulnerability, and existential tension—and is a completed body of work that will not be expanded further. The cracked surfaces are reminiscent of parched soil, traces of heat, time, and erosion, while also referencing the effects of climate change on our natural habitats. All works in this series are created on recycled canvases that have been painted on before. Fragments of older motifs, concealed layers of paint, and underlying structures remain deliberately visible and influence the expression of the new compositions. These overlays lend the works a temporal depth—like geological layers in which memory, change, and vulnerability are inscribed. The desert plays a central role in my artistic work. In the Broken Desert Series, it is not depicted as a concrete place, but as an emotional space: abstract, semi-abstract, or surreal.
Abstract Sattelite Ink Paintings
A series of ink paintings inspired by the fascinating play of colors and structures of our earth. These artworks depict imaginary landscapes in expressive, natural tones combined with metallic accents.
I worked with ink in natural colors as well as acrylic ink in metallic tones, white, and black. In some cases, alcohol was also used to create exciting breaks in the color areas. The colors were allowed to flow with plenty of water or guided by movements of the paper – with and without a brush. The heavily textured watercolor paper also provides unique textures.
Seascape Pastel Paintings
The Seascape Pastel Painting series explores the quiet vastness of the sea through soft transitions, reduced compositions, and subtle color harmonies. Sky and water gradually dissolve into one another, and the horizon becomes both boundary and threshold.Layered pastel creates velvety surfaces and luminous depth. Gradations of blue, violet, and muted rose evoke shifting light, changing weather, and the gentle movement of water. Light appears as a diffused presence — emerging and fading within the fields of color.The compositions are intentionally minimal. Broad horizontal zones structure the image, while softened edges maintain a sense of suspension and calm. Rather than depicting a dramatic scene, these works present the sea as a contemplative space — open, immersive, and timeless.The seascape becomes not only a place, but an inner landscape shaped by stillness, atmosphere, and quiet emotional resonance.
Ocean and Water Drops Series
Ocean and Water Drops is an ongoing oil painting series exploring the quiet dialogue between vastness and intimacy, between the infinite horizon and a single drop of water. The ocean represents immensity, depth, and timeless movement. In contrast, the water drops appear as fragile, almost suspended moments — small yet powerful, holding within them the same essence as the sea itself. Each drop becomes a metaphor for individuality within the collective, for presence within infinity. Through luminous color gradients, soft transitions of light, and minimalistic composition, the series creates meditative spaces. The horizon line serves as a threshold between sky and water, consciousness and reflection, inner and outer worlds. While the seascapes evoke calmness and contemplation, the isolated water drops introduce a subtle tension: they seem to float outside natural order, as if time has paused.
Waves Series
The Waves series explores the sea as an emotional landscape, where movement, color, and atmosphere become a reflection of inner experience. Rather than depicting a specific coastline, these works capture the shifting moods of the ocean—moments of tension, calm, light, and transformation that mirror the emotional rhythms of human life. The series combines watercolor with experimental techniques, allowing spontaneity and control to interact. In several works, pigments are applied directly from the tube and spread across the paper using tools. Wet-on-wet processes allow colors to flow and merge organically. Through these methods, the water becomes more than a physical subject. It transforms into a metaphor for emotional states—restless, luminous, unpredictable, and constantly changing. The Waves series therefore invites the viewer not only to observe the sea, but also to experience the atmosphere and emotional resonance embedded within each horizon.












































































