#4 of 100 Creations in 100 Days, "Home for the Winter"

#4 is finally finished! I began the piece about a week ago and wasn't able to get it finished until today! The reasons for that: it was a busy week; we were out of town one day; but mostly it took a while because it is very complex - the perspective of the boat is a challenge - in the past I would have gridded it to make it exact, but I chose not to grid it this time, so it took a lot of time to get it right (I hope I got it right!) The textures are also tricky - the grass, the water, the reflections, and especially the wood in the boat - but that was my favorite part - I really enjoyed making the wood look aged.

Home for the Winter
pastel painting
18"x24"
$750

I am imagining that this row boat has been around a long time - that it was made by the owner whose family has (in my mind, at least) lived on the lake since the middle ages and is now making its living as a host at the cabins they've build in addition to their older living of making smoked trout to be sold throughout the country. I imagine them taking the boat out in the seasons other than winter to fish for the trout and just to enjoy the lake. For now it's moored in a small protected cove next to their family home which has more recently become a guesthouse. The family has hired several young people from Eastern European countries to help them run the place - cleaning rooms and cottages, setting out the breakfast, speaking with visitors when they arrive, etc. The owner doesn't speak any English, so it's helpful to have help who do, though I'm not sure how they communicate with each other, as the help don't speak Icelandic!

The main building feels like a single story family home which has been expanded to become a guesthouse. Their location is perfect, directly on the lake, and across the street from Dimmuborgir Rock Formations (more on that later). They added a beautiful glass room on the back where visitors have breakfast overlooking the lake. What a treat! There are also two rows of 1-2 BR cottages near their house. We stayed in one of them which had a kitchen and a nice living room/dining room that looked directly onto the lake. The weather wasn't gorgeous, but it was still wonderful to be able to see the lake and to be surrounded by nature AND be in a comfortable house.

Our first morning at Dimmuborgir Guesthouse, after our breakfast in the room overlooking the lake, we came outside where we were greeted by a couple of very welcoming pups. Having nothing better to do, we let ourselves be led to the lakeside, past this row boat, to where the one pup could access the lake easily. He went straight onto the lake and began digging fast and furious into the ice, at times breaking through and following into the 7" deep water. He didn't seem to mind - he just hopped right back out and started in a new place! I don't know what he was trying to do, but the marks he made looked like an abstract painting, and the sounds he made resonated through the ice and sounded like New Age synthesizer music. I was enthralled watching him!

Once he was done creating his art for us, he hopped back on land and grabbed a stick and insisted we throw it for him - though he wouldn't let go of it! There aren't many sticks in Iceland since there aren't many trees, so we played a lot of tug-o-war and cavorted and laughed for quite a while until we gave in and let the dog keep the stick. Of course that was the moment when he gave it up so we'd keep playing!

Across the road from the guesthouse was a set of rocks called Dimmuborgir also. They were formed by an ancient volcanic eruption and looked like troll homes or some other fantastical structure. We spent about 5 hours there fascinating exploring, following the challenging path into and out of caves and arches and so many other amazing places. It was so much fun!

The largest cave we saw.  Large enough to provide shelter
from the weather. We wondered if people
had ever lived there?  

A little guy we saw at Dimmuborgir who
seems very appropriate for our snowy
icy weather today!

Here are a few pictures of the day today - so gorgeous I kept going outside to admire the view. I think this is what we're going for when we decorate trees - this sort of beauty with the lights and tinsel - but Mother Nature does it so much better than I've ever been able to!

The back of our home with the deck that's in the process
of being constructed to the left and brilliant sparkling
trees surrounding it all.

#3 of 100, Down by the Lake, Early Winter Morning

Today's a busy day for me with appointments from 10:30 AM - 8 PM so I had to get up early to get into the studio for a decent amount of time.  Today I was called to create a painting from a photograph I took in Laugarvatn, a small village on a beautiful lake in southern Iceland on the Golden Circle. When I take groups of people to Iceland, we stay in Laugarvatn at Heradsskolinn, a hotel in an old school building which was designed by Iceland's most famous architect.  I love staying there.  The atmosphere is terrific; the owner, Sverrir, has become like a brother to me; the location is perfect; and the views are stupendous.

This particular picture is from Dec 2018 as I was making my way to Rekjavik so I could leave the country of my heart after 47 days in Iceland.  I stayed in Laugarvatn for a few days visiting with Sverrir and reminding myself why I fell in love with the place.  One morning I walked around the lake as the sun rose and watched the landscape appear: mountains, frozen lake, bushes, marshes grasses, houses, and path.  I walked around the lake as far as the eye can see in this picture but didn't continue on as the ground was too soft and the path too illegible.

Thanks for joining me on my journey of creating 100 Creations in 100 Days!

Down by the Lake, Early Winter Morning
pastel painting
18" x 18"
$375 until 1/14/19, then $550

If you're interested in purchasing this piece, please contact me at SusanSingerArt@msn.com.

January 5 - April 15, 2019: 100 days of Creating!

Dec 7, 2018 I returned from 44 days in Iceland during which I traveled with my husband for a week, spent 30 days on Hrisey, a tiny island in the north of Iceland, entertained my adult children for Thanksgiving, created 30 pastel paintings, explored the island, went horsebackriding, visited friends I've made on other trips to Iceland, and more.

The view out my window

I spent at least 30 days in "art brain", my descriptor for how I feel when I have no responsibilities and can simply slide into the sublime feeling of doing art and creating and thinking about beauty and aesthetics constantly.  When I returned to the States, I was blasted with duties and noise and cars and responsibilities and Christmas gifts to buy and consumerism and tasks, tasks, tasks.  It has been quite an adjustment.  In the midst of that, my son had spinal surgery in Connecticut so we went up to care of him, inadvertently taking strep throat with us which he caught after surgery.  Thankfully we are now well, and, most importantly, he is well, and life is finally getting back to semi-normal.  I'm almost feeling like I've arrived in the US,  not just my body, but also my spirit.

But arriving here is not sufficient.  I want to thrive here like I did in Iceland.  Every day when I woke up there, I pulled back the curtains to see the weather, saw the sun was rising, hopped up, pulled on my coat, grabbed my camera, and ran outside to see what there was to see. Sometimes I even changed out of my pjs.

The light bounced off the clouds like notes on a xylaphone

Sun at midday, between the two distant mountains.

The entire day continued in like fashion.  When the weather was good, I explored the island, walking through the tiny town with 150 residents to paths which cover much of the island. There is an energy center where I would sit and meditate occasionally.  There are paths by the sea where the views of mountains and coves and rocks and plants filled my soul.  In the fjord, I could often hear, and sometimes see, whales blow their spouts.  On the other side, near town, it fascinated me to watch the ferry come back and forth all day and the hustle and bustle that ensued as a result.  But my favorite thing to do was to watch the sun.  It rose between 10 and 11 and set between 4:30 and 3, depending on the date.  I could tell you exactly what its arc was because I could see it from my studio window and often photographed it as it rose, traveled across the sky, and set.  Towards the end of my stay, it spent more time hiding than present as it dipped behind distant mountains for a couple of hours during daylight hours.

Lying on the grass enjoying the sunset's effects on all sides

The sunrises and sunsets could be spectacular.  One day I went to the field behind our residence so I could watch the effect of the sun on the mountains on both sides of the island.  For I time I lay down so I could simply turn my head to see the sights.  There were enough clouds in the sky that the sunlight reflected off them beautifully in the west.  There were even tiny little clouds that danced with peach-colored sunlight like the notes on a xylophone, from one to the other. On the east side, the snow-covered mountains glowed first gold then over to orange as the sun lowered in the sky.  There was even action in the North, at the mouth of the fjord, where the light struck the cliffs and water, creating its own beautiful symphony.  This continued unabated for over 90 minutes.

Glowing meadow behind the residence with fish-head
 drying racks in the distance

When the weather was grey and gloomy and didn't invite me outdoors, I stayed in the residence and played in the studio, mostly painting pastels of the landscapes from photographs I'd taken.  I drew 30 pictures in 30 days including drawings in my Visual Journal.  My brain never needed to shift to thinking about logistics or practical problems the whole time I was there until it was time to leave.  At that point, it snowed over 24" and I had to figure out how to get myself and my suitcases off Hrisey, to Akureyri, then on to Reykjavik and home.  Suffice it to say, with the help of many kind people, that got worked out, and I got home Dec 7, welcomed by my loving husband.

The light on the eastern mountains in the morning

Now that I'm home, I'm innundated with practicalities and financial realities and more things to do in a day than I can manage to get done.  And I miss my time in art brain, sliding around images of beauty surrounding me, thinking of nothing more than how to apply pastel to paper most effectively.  It was a luxury I knew to appreciate but didn't quite realize how much I'd miss.

So I'm looking for a way to have it again.  I work well when I have goals, so I've decided to make 100 creations in 100 days.  That could include pastel paintings, drawings, essays, collages, photographs in final form, paintings, poems - any artistic output.  I plan to work in the studio at least 2 hours a day, sometimes more, to acomplish this goal.  I will post the final products in this blog and on Facebook so I have some accountability.  All the work will be for sale, and I hope that most of it will sell. To that end, I will price it lower than my work generally is priced, but only for 7 days after it's posted, then it will return to its regular price.  Most days I will finish a piece, but some days I'll do more than one, some days I may not have any finished work, but I will have 100 finished pieces at the end of the 100 days. I will aim for quality as well as quantity, but I will also allow myself to work with my favorite querry "I wonder what will happen if I...?!" because this isn't about production, it's about the joy of creation and the delight in discovery and getting myself to play!

If you're interested in seeing how this goes, you're welcome to sign up for the blog or to follow me on Facebook at Susan Singer Art (https://www.facebook.com/SusanSingerArt/).  I plan to post about this each day in both places.  The time will be from Jan 5 (today) until April 15 - yikes!  Tax day!  I'll be in Paris for 9 of these days (March 22-30) so my topic will certainly change then!  It's gonna be FUN!

I feel excited about this possibility.  Sometimes I sit around the studio on the computer or my phone, doing nothing when I could be LOVING my life and LOVING the creative process.  My hope is that this goal will prod me into doing art instead of sitting there doing nothing.  Wowza!  I'm off!