This morning I went for a lovely 3-mile walk with a friend down by the river then came home and worked with my contractor then taught Open Studio. Once they left, I had some lunch then came right out to the studio, excited to be here!I put some finishing touches on the piece I'd done yesterday - a few things had bugged me, so I fixed them up. I made the line of trees lighter - something that isn't evident in this image - and worked on the light at the top of the mountain so it is more discernible from the cloud above it. I also evened out the strokes on the water/snow-covered ice on the right so it reads more like snow-covered ice.
Then I prepared for my evening class tonight, getting paperwork and copies together. Finally! Time to start a new piece! This image is from Myvatn, a beautiful fresh water lake in northern Iceland which is home to zillions of bird species. In places in the lake there are geothermal springs so the water never freezes. In other spots, it does.
We stayed in a cottage called Dimmuborgir, a lovely complex with several cabins directly on the lake. The breakfast room is in a glass-walled room overlooking the lake - what a glorious way to wake up and begin the day! Chris and I enjoyed the smoked trout and other delicacies they served. After breakfast, we came outside and were tugged on by a couple of very friendly pups. Having nothing else to do, we followed them through the snowy weeds past this boat to the lake side. One of the dogs slid out onto the ice and immediately began digging frantically at the ice, pushing aside the snow. I decided the dog knew I am an artist and wanted to create a piece of art for us, regardless of the risks (he fell through a few times but was completely unaffected by that - perhaps it was part of the performance!)
Because Iceland doesn't have many trees, especially not in this particular spot, sticks were at a premium. The dog found one and started playing with it with Chris. They played tug of war for quite a while until a companion dog came over to play. Yes, this was play!
It was snowing a bit, as you can tell if you look carefully at the water, but it wasn't too cold, and it was definitely fun enough to head out to see what was happening in the area. We went to Dimmuborgir, a fantastical place with bizarre rock formations created by a volcanic eruption. We stayed there for hours photographing the rocks and caves. Perhaps I'll draw some of them one day. They were bizarre!
And here, finally, is the piece I'm working on right now from Dimmuborgir. Hopefully I'll get back to it tomorrow and with get to finish it!
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