For our next adventure into Iceland I thought it would be really interesting to explore what life was like historically. In a country where there is obviously a lot of rock and turf, and a seeming dearth of trees, what better thing to think about than how people lived for 1000 years before modern architectural technology?
I googled “traditional Icelandic houses”as Reykjavik is full of modern buildings and not a lot of older ones that I could see. This made me curious. Native resources created perfectly warm houses. People need shelter, and creatively use what is at hand. Early on around 950 CE, native birch trees were for building, and later wood from shipwrecks or detritus found on the beach was used.
There’s a really great website called The Ultimate Guide to Turf Houses in Iceland and it is filled with the history of preserved buildings, including houses, barns, churches, and schools. Turf buildings deteriorate quickly if not maintained.
Below is a really good video on that web page, which I’m linking below. It has some great information in addition to the aforementioned web page.
Anyone who paints from real life and then references a photo of the same knows that photos do not get all the information. This is even more evident when you paint from a photograph of something or someplace totally unfamiliar. Such is the case here – stone buildings from somewhere in Brittany, downloaded from a royalty-free site for the primary purpose of trying to render stone buildings in a painterly fashion, not a nit-pickingly detailed fashion.
First round – colors applied to a pencil sketch in a very wet and general way. As color and paper dried, some details added and attempts at creating contrast done. It took awhile as I didn’t use my trusty hair dryer to speed things up.
I like to desaturate my color scans to see how the picture I am painting works with contrast. IMHO, not too bad, but still in need of stronger contrast. I used my brush in LR to get an idea of where to make things darker, and using that as a reference worked on the arching greenery in the middle and other areas, as well as choosing a source of light – the sun – from the left somewhere.
As I looked at the reference photo, I noticed a window I had not seen in the tunnel below the arching greenery, as well as shapes and areas of light and dark. Was there space without greenery beyond that arch? Was there a turn to the left at the end of the tunnel? How did all these buildings all interconnect? The fact is – I don’t know! So, artistic license as you will, reality is also important as I would like to figure out what I am dealing with, especially when painting the challenging and unfamiliar – old, stone buildings.
Wonky perspective, inappropriate contrast, but I rather like the stone buildings and interplay of shadows, such as in the foreground. The shadows lead the eye (good question where!) and add some interest to an otherwise dull foreground. The light in the reference photo was very flat, so I made up my shadows. As the focus was on the buildings and rendering them in a way I liked (which I do to a degree) I was not especially concerned with the plants.
Looking at the paintings, I am rather pleased with them, but think that perhaps the center upper roof might need some horizontal texture, or do I need to use some ink to define some of the shapes better?
Your thoughts would be appreciated . . . .
Anne said she liked the first one better – it is lighter. In LR I increased the exposure a little bit.
India ink, watercolor, sketchbook. Wildcat Beach is one of the most beautiful beaches along the California coast, and what makes it interesting is not only do you see the ocean, you see the other side of peninsula, more water, and you want to wander along its top, and on the shore, or sail around. There is a lot of mystery here, beauty on a sunny day, strange and eerie in the fog and mist of the summer coast.
Several years ago Josh and I spent a few weeks traveling around the Olympic Peninsula in the state of Washington. It was such an amazing place! In particular I loved the Hoh Rain Forest and the beaches – vast, wide, wild.
The thing that amazes me about the northern Pacific beaches, ones in Oregon and Washington – as well as into Canada – are the sea stacks. They are tall rocks, worn away by wind and wave, but they are not barren. Pine trees grow on them – some have more, some have less. I think it would be a wonderful thing to live on one, in a warm cave (with running water and few other things!), to be at one with the sounds of the world . . .
More pen and color. This time I tried to have a more delicate touch with color. I inked in most of the drawing with a fine Micron pen, added color – mostly cool – and then drew more lines and dots with a thicker pen to outline and add textures. The sky was done after wetting the paper and dropping in color.
Today is one of those busy days, but I have promised myself a bit of painting or drawing every day. This morning I thought I would do more saguaros, as seen from the road on our trip to Tucson. Every morning, the sky is usually a bright, clear blue, but as the day progresses, the skies change and clouds develop. What a delight to someone where skies are blue for days on end, nary a cloud in sight!
Ink, for this drawing, is the iron gall ink I have made, and a stub pen, on watercolor paper. After it dried, colors could be applied. Perhaps the colors are a bit heavy and a lighter touch might make a more effective painting. That could be something for tomorrow.
As the watercolors dried, on the opposite page in the sketchbook are the cactus flowers were ready for more ink. Below is the original from the other day.
Part of the drawing was begun with ink, specifically the large cactus on the left. The rest was done with direct watercolor. This morning I thought I would add some ink to see how it affected the rest of the painting – did it help enhance it or make it a mess? See below.
Now I have kept my promise to myself and feel satisfied as only doing something you love can satisfy. Not a lot but a bit. Even a taste of something can make your day!
Ink, Yarn & Beer 