Flade Isblink Peninsula is the easternmost point of land in Greenland. Our goal is to reach the northernmost point of land, but ice charts show ominous, multiyear ice along the north and down the east coast. With the limited time given for this expedition, the risk of being trapped
gives way to a desire to explore the rarely seen northeastern fjords. We now drift by in 10/10ths 
ice cover. The satellite Polar Ice Charts are nature’s grand paintings; the charts' huge jagged shapes and patterns are an inspiration. In his briefing this morning, the Captain said that it's not the ice he looks for but the winds and currents. If the forces are not in our favor, the winds will pinch the icebreaker, and it will have nowhere to move. The ice thus slow our progress.

Understanding the underlying forces in painting also can influence decisions to avoid being stuck or sunk by dreaded blooms or unwanted backwashes! In painting with watercolor, especially on dry paper, the force of gravity influences the direction of which way the wash will run or the bead will hang. Working on site in this colder climate, I like my paper at fairly steep angle, maybe 45–70 degrees, because I then have control in knowing the bead will always flow down. Painting at this angle will also help me avoid puddles. Pools of standing water can freeze over, or just not dry, in the time I have to paint on site. Also by having paint always draining to the bottom of the paper, I avoid excess buckling of the paper. Nonetheless,  it's always important to soak up the gathering water at the bottom to avoid its creeping back up and destroying the bottom part of the painting.

I use a Masonite board that attaches to a photo tripod. I can thus change the angle of the board and can paint standing or sitting. With bull dog clips I attach my homemade folder, made out of plastic corrugate (neutral grey in color). The folder is 16 x 22 inches, so I can put several half sheets inside. Without having to pre-stretch the sheet of 140-lb. Winsor & Newton cold-pressed paper, I  secure it on the outside of the folder, again with clips. If I use tape to subdivide a sheet or create clean borders, it's best to pre-tape indoors where it's warm. Tape will not come of the roll without tearing when it gets really cold. As for water—I hang a collapsible water container on one of the clips.

At Flade Isblink Peninsula, the easternmost point of land in Greenland, the farthest north we will achieve on this journey, 80°54.5’N, 13°58.5’W, it's snowing horizontally, but it's balmy for this place, just at the freezing point! Nonetheless, the wind chill makes it painful on the fingertips. In this case, I place the easel into the wind and lean it against the backpack (which can fit my painting folder). I place the painting inside the folder but keep it open with a clip to create a snow deflector.

Snow, sleet, dust and jacket sleeve all still get into the painting, which makes it all the more valuable as and record of the whole experience! On this 15x22-inch sheet, the paint is not quite dry, nor is the painting finished before we have to pack up and head back to the ship. Sometime I will use spacers like twigs or, in these extreme environments, flat stones to prevent the painting from being blotted  when stuck into a folder. However, in this case, packing the wet painting, which is mostly of rocks, creates an interesting effect. When I place the painting on a clean sheet and peel it apart later in the thawing-out process, I like the variations that have occurred.

Of historical note, on September 6, 1909, Robert Edwin Peary transmitted the news that he had reached the North Pole with Matthew Henson and an Eskimo sledgeparty on 6 April 1909. One of the Eskimos was named Oodaq, which became the name of the northernmost island on Earth.