Laurelines

Iceland: last sketches

Much of what I made in Iceland were sketches designed to prime the pump in my painting studio once I returned... more private, more shorthand and oblique than my usual ones. But here are some that fall more into my normal scheme of things. 

The fields surrounding Hverfjell crater are basins of abstract shapes, curves and ovals. I saw dark chocolate with powdered sugar and caramel sauce, too, in the colors and textures there.

I wish I could post these two sections below of the one drawing and show them connected as they are in real life, so you could see the tiny islands scattered pell mell  through Breidafjordur.

Across from Budir bay on the Snaefellsnes peninsula are ridge after ridge of volcanic mountains, stretching as far as the eye can see.

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On the way to northern Iceland, I was sketching in the car, first a little snow flurry and then the snow came thicker and faster. My marks got more stacatto and urgent... all of a sudden, we were in a snowstorm. The car fishtailed. It was quite scary. We made it, obviously, but not without increased reverence for nature's power in Iceland.

The land forms swoop and slide, as below... when they don't jut and jab.

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The pen I used below had water-soluble ink, unbeknownst to me. Thus the grayish casts in the washes. Probably appropriate, all things considered.

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So now, I'm hatching plans for my NEXT trip to Iceland, wherein we will pay a visit to the south and east coasts. I've got glaciers on my mind!

Iceland: made it and back!

It was definitely touch and go, but we made it! And we loved it! We did almost crash our car in a sudden snowstorm, but, well, here I am, wiser than before about the power of that dramatic landscape. You underestimate it at your peril.

This trip, I drew quickly, quickly, as you have to to be able to capture all that energy that Iceland is always emitting, in one form or another.

 

 

If I squinted my eyes, I could pretend that these steam plumes and clouds were little volcanic eruptions. Not to make light of the the danger and power of volcanic eruptions, but you know me... I'm in a volcanic mode this year.

My husband and I scrambled to the top of Mt.Hverfjall, a crater of a volcano that last erupted 2500 years ago. It was, to say the obvious, awe-inspiring.

I made a very, very quick drawing of the land around Budir, on the Snaefellsnes peninsula. We fell in love with this area four years ago and we fell in love with it again this time. I have other sketches of this area to share.

And we visited again our favorite Icelandic café in Hellnar, where the world's best bread and the world's best fish soup are served in tiny quarters, tucked into a hill overlooking the sea.

Here is a sketch I did of this café four years ago, just for comparison.

More to come!