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Sunset from “The WWOOFer Cross”
October 5, 2022
watercolor en plein air
4”X6”
Dusk Study of Nordvoll Beach
October 4, 2022
watercolor en plein air
4”X6”
Nordvoll Beach at 3pm on a Rainbow Day
October 7, 2022
Watercolor en plein air, painted with sea water
4”X6”
Nordvoll Beach, Facing towards Tromsø
September 2022
Watercolor en plein air
4”X6”
Rendered iPhoto of August 3rd Sunset, Room Window View
January 25, 2023
Watercolor, 4”X6”
The following iPhone photo series are snapshots of when I painted during my fjord stay in the arctic north (most were completed within 10-30 minutes en plein air, French term for painting outdoors). Top to bottom go chronologically through my experience from July to October, 2022. I never left the farm for more than one night when I camped in a DNT Cabin on our local plateau. As a result I have a unique compilation of how the fjord changed over the seasons. The paintings reflect my day, if I worked that day I would paint in the evening. If I had a day off, likely I packed my small watercolor travel Moleskin notebook which traveled in my daypack snug against extra socks and sourdough sandwiches. I was never sure if the weather would hold, often the wind and rain made it hard to stop and paint or the pace of the group. But this is what made the watercolors that much more special, they told my emotions in a way that iPhone pictures just can’t. The little book has become my most prized possession because of the treasure hold of memories inside. The paintings immediately transport me to the feeling, weather, friendship, smells and sounds. Painting to me isn’t meant to be at a desk in a studio. Fun fact, the travel notebook has come with me to every country I’ve explored since 2020 (India, Nepal, Germany, Italy, Norway, France, and Canaries Spain).
sunsets starting at 5pm in late September, I was racing to paint in the daylight after work.
Watercolor + salt, experimented by using sea water to paint! That day we had full rainbows over the stormy fjord. Early October.
The spectacle that Tromsø is known for: northern lights go by aurora borealis or polar lights more commonly in Europe. I saw them for the first time September 1st when the night was growing but not quite pitch black enough to see as clearly as they are pictured in the adjacent photo, one month later at around 11pm. The sky was always so clear that the constellations were picked up by my iPhone camera, too.
The hour long bus route along the fjord from Tromsø filled me with inspiration to paint. I liked a good “blind” paint session at my desk to loosen my perspective and imagination.
