field trip - arctic coastal voyage by the light of the full moon february 2022
Norwegian Arctic Coast
exploring a changing winter landscape
I first visited Norway forty years ago when my parents were posted there for 3 years. There was snow in Oslo from November to April 2 metres deep around the house, the city roads were compacted ice. I have returned regularly since then with my Norwegian husband and there is no snow at Christmas, ‘grey’ winters of rain and ice have become the norm, no reflected light off the snow to alleviate the dark winters.
I spent the winter lockdown of 2021 reflecting on the past four decades visiting a country I love, researching the impact of the changing weather in the Arctic region and the melting glaciers.
It was good to have time to read and research, The British Museum’s exhibition “Arctic: Culture & Climate” was open intermittently with an informative accompanying book, “Ice Rivers” by Jemma Wadham was published, an excellent book recording the devastating story of shrinking glaciers worldwide over the past 25 years and Rachel Carson’s 1940s book that was years ahead of it’s time.
arctic coastal voyage
I was back in Norway on the Hurtigruten Coastal Express - part cruise part working boat with my seafarer mother. We spent 11 days stopping day and night at small coastal towns dropping off and picking up supplies, a lifeline for these communities since 1893. We departed from Bergen turned round at Kirkenes 5 miles from the Russian border, a multilingual town where the signage is also written in Russian and a centre for the Sami, one of the indigenous cultures who roam without borders in the polar Arctic Circle.
into the arctic
within an hour of crossing the Arctic latitude 66° 33' line the light changed; it became incredibly bright, clear and SO blue - working with this beautiful palette back in my studio has completely changed the atmosphere
umber
The blue pigment I use contains cobalt that produces wonderful subtle blues when mixed with umber ochre. Due to the intense northern light Scandinavian’s have mixed their paints with burnt umber for centuries to achieve the faded palette we associate them.
the black and grey textured lines on the snow covered mountains translated well into hand stitch marks
pop up studio
on board the ship I made a cosy studio space and using my homemade pigment watercolour paints captured the blues, greys and whites of the passing landscape
arctic paintbox
homemade cards
“changing winter landscape” exhibition
open studios 2022
