"Indeed the stark polar lands grip the hearts of men who have lived on them in a manner that can hardly be understood by people who have never got outside the pale of civilization."
Sir Ernest Shackleton

The visit to the historic huts of the Ross Sea is one of the highlights of our journey. These were the expedition bases of the heroic age of Antarctic exploration. In the morning we arrived at Cape Royds by helicopter from the ship parked 5 miles out on the ice edge. This is where Shackelton's hut was built during his Nimrod Expedition of 1907-09, which included an attempt to reach the South Pole. We were greeted by an international team of conservation experts commissioned by the Antarctic Heritage Trust fund to restore the roof in order to protect the contents of the huts. The setting is quite surreal, as the artifacts because of the dry, cold environment are so well-preserved. It is such a treat to return to the familiarity of painting manmade objects in such a vast and stark landscape.


Painting Shackelton's hut at Cape Royds, Antarctica (photo by David McEown)

Shackelton's Hut at Cape Royds (watercolor, 10x15)

I chose a view up the hill to place the hut against a dominant landscape. The temperature was right on the freezing mark, so I took a chance on not adding any medium to my paints and letting the sky and mountain washes in the background freeze, thus creating a one- of-a-kind ice crystal formation, so suitable to illustrating this place. I rendered the cabin in a traditional representational method. Paint does not freeze in the small strokes of the details, as my hand warms the paint on the hand-held palette. Also because the air is so dry, the wash dries as soon as it hits the paper. Just next to me are many thousands of adelie penguins in the world's southernmost penguin rookery.

Scott's Hut at Cape Evans (photo by David McEown)

Interior of the Terra Nova Hut at Cape Evans, Edward Wilson's bunk on right. (photo by Daisy Gilardini)

In the afternoon we fly to Cape Evans, where Robert Falcon Scott established his famous Terra Nova Hut in 1911. Since it's early in the year, this large hut is hidden by, yet sheltered under, the snowdrift. The stables still smell of hay, and the seal blubber Scott used for heating still looks fresh. Inside the artifacts, clothing and scientific instruments, are all on display, as if the men had just left. As an artist in residence on this current expedition, I was greatly moved to see Edward Wilson's bunk and supplies on the shelf, as well as Herbert Ponting's darkroom. Wilson was not only a great watercolorist, but also was the head of biological studies and a medical officer on this fateful expedition. Many men, including Scott, did not come back from the South Pole. This place is truly an inspiring place of adventure, discovery, and endurance.

The wind chill was just too much for painting on the site of the hut. So as Wilson so wisely did, I just drew a pencil drawing; I hope to complete the painting in comfort later on the ship. This is an afternoon of reflection and for paying respect.

-- David

More information
To read about Edward Wilson, the artist who accompanied Robert Falcon Scott to the South Pole and died with him on the return trip in 1912, visit http://www.edwardawilson.com/life.

The following year, a search party recovered Edward Wilson's drawings, paintings, and notes. Reardon Publishing reprinted Edward Wilson's Nature Notebooks in 2004. Reardon has published an array of books on Antarctica, visit http://www.antarcticbookshop.com/index1.htm to see the list.

Herbert Ponting, a member of Scott's British Antarctic Expedition (1910-1913), left startlingly beautiful photographs of icebergs and other aspects of the terrain. To see some of them, visit http://www.spri.cam.ac.uk/events/exhibitions/ponting/.

From one blog to another: David McEown and his party are mentioned in another blog that records their visit to Shackleton's hut on Cape Royds. Click on http://piclib.nhm.ac.uk/antarctica/?cat=6.

In this clear light, we see our first evidence of Peter the First Island. It is one of the most remote islands in the world. According to our esteemed historian, Robert Headland, only about 800 humans have ever set foot on this steep island, which is ninety-five percent covered in ice. We hope conditions are favourable to land. I may be one of the privileged few--or perhaps the only one--ever to paint Peter the First Island.

"Sketching on remote Peter the First Island."  (photo by  Ed)

At 2:30 p.m. there is plenty of calm, open water, although the ice pans and icebergs creep with unpredictable menace. Landing is quick and short, as the site is small and prone to rock falls and avalanches of calving glaciers from above. This is, again, an emotional rush--to visit such a remote and primordial place. I have only time to dash off a few ink drawings of a magnificent arch with deep, iron oxide red boulders. The specks of white above are a city of birds that call this home. Adelie and chinstrap penguins are nesting here; a few meters away snow petrels are tucked in the sheltered cracks of the basalt columns, as well.

The calm is deceiving, since the swells are huge and create a huge undertow that makes zodiac landings tricky. After working the maze of ice, our expert zodiac pilot brings us back to the ship. I dash to the fly deck to try to capture in watercolor this partially shrouded island. I love the play of reflections and how they are broken up by the ice pan shapes that I leave the white of the paper. The ice moves and shifts rapidly; thus, I can't draw too much ahead of time, so much of this painting is brushed on directly and attention is paid to the directional forces of the marks.

"Working on painting of Peter the First Island from the fly deck of the Kapitan Khlebnikov." 5:15pm  (photo by David McEown)

We leave Peter the First Island with the anticipation of 3 days at sea, as we head toward the Ross Ice Shelf. It is partially sea but mostly pack ice; only our icebreaker could manage to work its way through.

To be so far away helps me appreciate more what we often leave behind. Comforts of home, loved ones, and of course my Wednesday morning painting gang that are always so appreciative of this life of watercolor and who encourage me to keep on exploring.
Thanks!

-- David

"Peter the First Island" (watercolor,15x22)


Our zodiacs trying to find a path through the ice from Peter the First Island." (photo by David McEown)

More information:
Fabian von Bellingshausen claimed Peter the First Island for Norway, though he named it after the Russian czar, when he landed on the island in January 1821. The highest point on Peter the First Island is 1755 meters, the top of Lars Christensen Peak, which is a volcano (no one seems to know if it's active or extinct). Years later Ola Olstad claimed Queen Maud Land, the other island in the vicinity, for Norway, as well.

The Ross Ice Shelf is the largest ice shelf in the world; measuring between 600 and 3,000 feet thick, it is 600 miles long, roughly the size of France. An ice shelf is a floating ice sheet that's attached to land and is therefore considered permanent. To see fabulous pictures of the Ross Ice Shelf, visit www.vims.edu/bio/microbial/NBPishelf.html.

The chinstrap penguin, pygosecelis Antarctica, has a narrow band of black feathers which extends from ear to ear, just below the chin. To see pictures, visit www.antarcticconnection.com/antarctic/wildlife/penguins/chinstrap.shtml.