The Trip to Akureyri, the start of bigger work...

A long, wonderful day today: Steinuun, Baer Art Center director, took us on a day journey along the upper northern coast, heading east to a town called Akureyri. It is the second-largest municipality in Iceland, just behind Reykjavik.  A coastal town.  We headed out around 10am, taking the northern route along the water- a longer drive, but filled with beautiful landscape vistas and dramatic scales.

We made a few stops, and drove through a couple of lengthy tunnels, carved into mountains (the longest was about 7 kilometers, or about 4.5-ish miles).  We stopped for a couple of hours in a small fishing town called Siglufjordur.  It was, for most of the 20th century, a major herring fishing and processing center.  There is a saying in Iceland: "herring is the silver of the ocean, and the gold of Iceland".  The reason:  herring fishing and processing became an economic lifeline for Iceland around the early 1900s.  Caught and sold for its oil, herring was also pressed and sold as meal for livestock and general farm use.  The herring ran thick and frequent in the waters off the coast for many, many years, creating a boom economy in Iceland...until the herring suddenly disappeared just a few years back, the result of over-fishing.  It is now starting to make a re-appearance, but nothing like the powerhouse it was during the 20th century.  Siglufjordur has a wonderful museum dedicated to this period in Icelandic history.  The museum is well-designed, more like an all-encompassing environmental installation, with boats, reconstructed processing plants, and video images that really capture the feel of the period.  Pretty cool place.

We left Siglufjordur after a tasty outdoor lunch, and within less than an hour we arrived in Akureyri.  A couple of hours wandering the city revealed some nice examples of the architecture of Iceland's residential and commercial buildings...best described as utilitarian and functional, with an occasional Scandinavian flourish.

We sat for a bit, as a group, at the cafe in the town's botanical gardens.  I managed to get a couple of pictures of the Baer group- the artists, as well as the founder and director (and our wonderful host) Steinunn.  This first image shows the group of artists in residence at Baer for the month: from left to right, Aki, me, Liz, Andi and Maya.  Aki is an architect, originally from Japan and now residing in Virginia, who also creates installation and 3D fine art.  Liz is a painter and mixed media artist from Seattle, Andi is a painter from Germany, and Maya is a photographer and mixed media artist from Denmark. I am thrilled to report that this is, in my humble opinion, an inspiring group of artists, and I'm lucky to be among them.

In the next photo, we replace the ugly guy on the left with Steinunn, the founder and director of the Baer Art Center, and a much better looking subject.  She is just a wonderful, kind, generous and visionary woman, and her hard work and efforts to make Baer a reality have resulted in an already incredible experience for all of us.  And we have only been here a week.

The trip to Akureyri ended with a group dinner at a local restaurant, hosted by Steinunn, and a long drive back to Baer.  It was a  memorable excursion, educational, inspiring, and a great bonding experience for us all.

Back to work today (Monday, June 10). Finished a charcoal drawing last night after the trip:

Hofsos: 6/13
charcoal on paper
18x30"

Today I stretched a larger canvas and began prepping it.  Thus far the only larger work I've done here has been in drawing form, so this launches the start of larger paintings. I also created a small study in oil:

oil study- drive to Akureyri

oil on canvas

8x8"

As I write this, the arctic terns are singing (loudly) outside of the building.  When walking, it is advised that you carry a stick to wave above your head when a tern tries to dive-bomb your scalp...which they like to do.    They are convinced you want their eggs.  Lovely beaks, but sharp.  

It is an hour until 7pm supper. Time for a break; more work tonight.  Bright as noon outside; it will remain this way, well into the evening.