About the Art
George H. Wittenberg, III, AIA

I define "Postcard Art" as an original work of art mailed to someone through the postal system with the required stamps and cancellations incorporated in to the image. The works offered here are all original drawings created on site, using a combination of media - pencil, pen, ink, watercolor, washes and collage - stamped, and then mailed. Each card has "seen the views and traveled the distance" before I offer it to you here. See what others have said about my work in Reviews.

What You Get When You Purchase Postcard Art

Original Postcards: Prices vary and are based on time, intricacy, subject, and medium.

• Postcard Folder: Each Postcard is mailed in a specially designed folder of archival paper. This folder protects the Postcard and also provides a suitable gift enclosure.

• You may return your purchase if not satisfied. (You can see our return policy at checkout.) For questions e-mail or telephone George at 501-375-2465.

• I have selected several Postcard images to offer as limited edition Giclee prints. You can order original postcard-size prints through this website. I also offer 12" x 15" enlargements of these images (priced at $350 each) and 16" x 20" enlargements (Priced at $500 each). Order enlargements by email at info@postcard-art-gallery.com or phone me at 501-375-2465.



• My Giclee prints are created by the highly talented owners of the Highland Studio, who work with well-known artists on their limited edition prints. You will be pleased with these prints and, in my experience, will not be able to tell the original and print apart except by feeling for the stamp!



• My Giclee prints, as well as my originals, are created on high quality archival paper.



• Consider framing several Postcard giclee Prints as a single larger piece, or hanging a group of several individually framed Prints.

Displaying Postcard Art

Framing is a personal choice and should reflect the way you feel about the art. If it's a casual environment, a simple natural wood frame is fine. My images seem to fit comfortably in a formal ornate frame or simple contemporary one. They seem to either "dress-up or down" depending on the room. I have a friend who framed his in a very fancy carved wood frame with a large mat, and I was surprised at how good it looked, but it fit in his high-style formal environment. Others look great in small neutral, even white mats and simple square natural oak frames. I have some in very small frames sitting on my bookcase.

Mats, their sizes, numbers of layers and color can really set off the art. I always leave the edges of the Postcard exposed inside the mat since they convey part of the total artistic experience of the card itself. To make a bigger statement about the pieces choose a bigger mat and double or triple mat them. The cards are small and vary in size from 6, 6 1/2, 7 by 8, 8 1/2 to 10inches. I have used mats as small as 1 1/2 inches to as big as 3 to 5 inches. I think the size of the final piece depends on the placement in the room and the look desired. I like to keep the mat color neutral, but again, using a non-neutral color could reflect the interior design and compliment the colors of the piece. Matting can really set-off the art and give it the presence it deserves. And grouped originals or Giclee prints can "make" a wall.

The Story of My Postcard Art

My postcard paintings grew from two of my most beloved pastimes ... drawing and traveling. I have always drawn: Caricatures of my junior high teachers (which got me in trouble); a cartoon of the red-faced, overfed minister at our church (which got me into even more trouble). And as an even younger boy, I got to spend summers with my grandmother Lottie in New Orleans. Grandma Lottie trusted me enough to let me take the ferry by myself across the river to the French Quarter. On those days, I would wander and draw until twilight and have to run to make the last ferry back.

An Interactive Art "Happening"

I mostly paint on vacation - when no projects loom and sunny mornings stretch out into lazy afternoons and no one wants anything and I've found a good spot to observe. I pull out pen, paper and paint to "write about" what I see in the Postcard paintings. As an architect (my day job!) I love to be in and observe buildings and cities. Sitting in a space or in front of a famous architectural masterpiece or in a famous building brings a level of appreciation, joy and inspiration that is difficult to explain - except through the paintings themselves.

When I Paint Postcards & Why

I mostly paint on vacation - when no projects loom and sunny mornings stretch out into lazy afternoons and no one wants anything and I've found a good spot to observe. I pull out pen, paper and paint to "write about" what I see in the Postcard paintings. As an architect (my day job!) I love to be in and observe buildings and cities. Sitting in a space or in front of a famous architectural masterpiece or in a famous building brings a level of appreciation, joy and inspiration that is difficult to explain - except through the paintings themselves.

Choosing the Stamp & Mailing

Part of the fun of postcard art is choosing the stamp, placing it on the image, and mailing the postcard (which is sometimes the most challenging!). Buying stamps, special stamps, in a foreign language and currency is always a challenge. In Europe, one can still wait in long lines and have a personal experience with a postal official while purchasing. I've noticed how different countries respond to the change in their routine when I approach their window, and the people waiting in line behind me! In France a lady would not cancel the stamp "on the art", because she didn't want to damage the art. In Florence, when the post office personnel and I were totally confused over the word, "commemorative", an elegant Italian lady interjected herself, translated for me, and told me her story of meeting an American during the war. In Lucca, when I tried on my last day to interact with the official behind the glass, who was trying to leave early, another elegant lady, this time a Californian who lives part-time in Lucca, stepped up, told the official off in fluent Italian, and handed me the very stamps I was lusting for (she later told me this "window" was known as the rudest in Tuscana). And finally the wonderful staff of the tiny Barga post office who would congregate when I arrived to see what I had produced "this time", conversed among themselves about the local identity of each image, and exclaimed, "bella, bella, architectura."

Making & Receiving the Postcards

When I start out on a postcard expedition, I try to travel light. My folding stool, metal paint box, clip board, paper cut to size, brushes, pens, ink, and of course water, almost all fits into my back pack. Finding the building or site involves the usual adventure of travel - getting lost, maneuvering subways, managing schedules and weather. Sometimes (often?) the picture becomes the extemporaneous spot that resulted in taking shelter from a rain shower or a desire for one more coffee. Once I get to the view or the building, getting started is as easy as opening a few items and beginning. I need to visually soak in the place, feel the colors and decide on the "gesture" of the drawing to begin. Sometimes water, sometimes no water, sometimes pen and ink or pencil drawings form the base for the paint and washes. I never think of the stamp, preferring to let it be spontaneous, later. After the stamps are placed in the work and the postal clerks are convinced its OK to mail them with the address on the opposite side, I either hand them over or take them to a box and "drop them in"! This moment, after all the work, always gives me a sinking feeling of, "Oh well, its up to the Gods and the postal system as to whether I'll ever see them again in the same piece."

I have never lost a postcard in the mail! But several have returned with markings of the postal process on them: a smudge of machine grabbing, once a tear, stick-on bar codes in the USA (I remove them) and small creases from handling. All of these create a participatory mark that adds to the event of travel and the uniqueness of the Postcard Art process.

India 2005

George paints temples, palaces, landscapes and cityscapes in Dehli, Varanasi, and Rajastan, in the north, and Tamil Nadu, in the south.

Presidential Pavilion at the River Market

George shows his Clinton Presidential Library series, new scenes of Little Rock Little Rock & President Clinton Library, and his New Orleans New Orleans series at the Presidential Pavilion at the River Market in downtown Little Rock during the Clinton Presidential Library opening festivities, November 16-18, 2004. You can also see his work at the Clinton Museum Store, 610 Clinton Avenue, Little Rock.

2004 Mid-Southern Watercolorists Show

Click to see George's Moorish Mercantile Building, selected for the 2004 Mid-Southern Watercolorists Show.

Spain 2003

George painted in Cordoba, Granada, Ronda, and Seville, the heart of Spain's Andalusia, during May and June, 2003. He loved painting the Mezquita in Cordoba, the Alhambra in Granada, and La Giralda in Seville, as well as the "New" Bridge in Rhonda. See what he painted under Spain.

Frontier Airlines Magazine

Travelers on Frontier Airlines this spring read a Frontier Airlines Magazine article about George's postcard art. The article featured George's postcards of the western USA -- the Santa Fe region, San Francisco, and the San Francisco Bay area.

An excerpt:

"Inspired by his surroundings, he paints stunning watercolors of landscapes, architecture, people and places. These postcards make wonderful travel mementos and unique room additions."

Watercolor Magazine

The Summer, 2003 Watercolor Magazine carried 6 pages, illustrated with many examples of George's work. The story focused on his artistic techniques as well as how he mails the postcards.

An excerpt:

"George Wittenberg's unique postcard art incorporates a free-flowing style with strong line work. Throw in the interactive aspect of a postmaster's stamp and the result is a remarkable image that captures a sense of place."

American Way Magazine

Travelers on American Airlines read about George's postcard art in the October 15, 2003 American Way, which reproduced his postcard painting of Florida's famous old Biltmore Hotel.

An excerpt:

"Watercolorist George Wittenberg roams the world painting postcards - subjects range from the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables to the St. Germain in Paris - and mails them to his buyers from the town in which they were created."

George Wins First Prize at 2003 Mid-Southern Watercolorists Show, Arkansas Art Center Purchase Award


Ninety-four artists from six states entered 175 slides in the 33rd annual exhibition of the Mid-Southern Watercolorists. George Wittenberg won top prize: the 2003 MSW Founders Purchase Award of $1,500 for his 'MOMA - San Francisco,' based on the postcard he painted of the atrium of the SF Museum of Modern Art. His winning painting becomes part of the Arkansas Arts Center Foundation's permanent collection.

Arkansas Democrat Gazette (2/9/2003)

A Sunday feature article, "Architect opens Web gallery of postcard art," by Scott A Johnson in the February 9, 2003 Arkansas Democratic Gazette, explored how George's concurrent careers - urban designer, architect, and artist - relate. How he in each of them intensely visualizes spaces and how people interact with them. It quotes him: "Nothing can replace the intensity of the image and the memory of the spaces like spending an hour and a half or an hour painting it."

Some excerpts:

Wittenberg's travel art was recognized when he was winner of a $1,500 purchase award at the 2003 Mid-Southern Watercolorists as the Arkansas Arts Center. The winning piece, Museum of Modern Art - San Francisco, was based on a postcard created in 1999 at the new museum designed by Swiss architect Mario Botta . . . Wittenberg began creating postcard art in the late 1970's after reading about a similar project by another artist. Initially he worked in pen and ink, but soon found he needed a less time-consuming medium. Watercolors have proved ideal . . . "I like the watery effect, and I also like the quickness of it . . . Watercolor has to be immediate. You have to come up with the idea, get it planned out and do it fairly quickly." . . . Wittenberg's (art) work continues to reflect his "day job". Architectural themes remain a common subject . . . "I think going and seeing those spaces and experiencing them - knowing them as I've known them since my first trip to Europe in 1967 - has translated into make (Little Rock's River Market District) into what we all wanted it to be: a people space." . . . At first (his postcards) were sent to a wide circle of friends, but the artist soon found it difficult to get recipients to relinquish the miniature works. Now he sends most to his daughters, Jessica Howard and Toby Murray, both of whom live in Little Rock, or to himself at his 4,000-square-foot loft-style warehouse in Little Rock's Quapaw Quarter. None has ever been lost in the mail, he says.

Links to Exhibits and Related Sites