Icelandic inspiration and the work I've made so far.

Wow, It's hard to believe I've been here for over two weeks. I've not been great at uploading photos, but my theory is that I've been too busy getting into the swing of things with painting and also enjoying being here in Iceland! Since I last wrote I have been working on three pictures, one I have finished (below) and the others I am currently working on. They have culminated from the walks I have done around Stöðvarfjörður. Sometimes with fellow artists here at The Fish Factory and sometimes alone. 

My ideas before coming here were to explore what it is to have solitude. A quote which has really stuck with me is from Tom Hanks, "Loneliness is to be avoided, solitude is to be sought."

The old Church. Now a Guest House. 

The mountains hiding in the mist. From our lounge window.

Something else which is integral to my inspiration here is the human footprint on the landscape. The colourful corrugated iron houses, the effect of the extreme weather on most buildings and often the way in which they blend into the surroundings. Thick grass growing over bird hides, grass and turf covered houses and old stone settlements gradually camouflaging into the mossy ground.

I would like to explore these thoughts further and see how they develop, integrating this human and structural element into the project. 

On another note this weekend just gone we went on a road trip to the North! We saw some epic sights and visited some really interesting places including bubbling and steaming Geo-thermal sites, the capital of the north Akureyi where we sampled Icelandic Fish and Chips (really good) and had a taste of the night life! Looked at the pretty port town of Húsavík, soaked in a 'Hot Pot' (Hot Tub) made out of an old cheese making vat, went to Iceland's version of stone henge in one of the most northernmost villages, Raufarhöfn and went to the one of the most perfect looking Icelandic towns of Seyðisfjörður. I will put all the pictures from the trip into a separate post otherwise it will be a photo overload! Below are a pick some of my favourites from around our village, Stöðvarfjörður.