husavik, iceland
husavik is a whaling town a few miles south of the arctic circle in iceland. the glaciers loom in the horizon and a thick layer of clouds hang low most days. the pattern and entropy of the rigs, boats, ropes, buoys, tides, fish and people compel me to look within the evidence and folds of the everyday life here. the light is constant as the sun only sets for a couple hours and even then a glow illuminates shadows and the aurora borealis shimmer in the sky. summer is the wave of energy that seems to be welcome for the dark days of winter inch measurably into the days, even in july.
everything is mandated by the cycles, by spheres and water, so this is what i study.
I sought a subject that enjoys probing in odd crannies and undefined places, looking for clues to convoluted problems or enigmas. The time and focus necessary for such probing is not readily available but I insist on spending the time to do so and the few moments of modest epiphanies, when suddenly something becomes clear, has validated the time spent. The painting below is from Husavik, where the bounteous debris and material seemed to mound and grow in strange places like the back alley of boathouse. My interest s in the distinctiveness, often crisp or hard surfaces, abrupt juxtaposition, asymmetrical balance and attention to things - textures, colors, materials, forms- for their won sake, apart from the mass.
husavik harbor 1
mixed media painting on paper
3" x 6"
july 2010
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