Crossing the Antarctic Circle occupies this morning's activities. All passengers anticipate the crossing of the latitudinal position of 66 degrees 33'39"minutes south. My job is to photograph the Global Position System on the bridge, as the display records our accomplishment. However when pack ice had slowed the ship, we saw an extremely rare Ross seal lying on the ice, on port side, as if to greet us 15 minutes before the crossing.

Bright snow fog and light snow: a good morning to conduct a workshop indoors.

By mid-afternoon the fog had lifted, and while we were entering the spectacular Marguerite Bay, islands greeted us. I set up on the bow to paint a cloud-shrouded island top. Bergs would drift by, thus I would sketch quickly, making value notes. When painting pack ice on a moving ship, I draw in the ice pan shapes--keeping in mind a vanishing point. The ice edges lead the eye deep into the painting. Creating an illusion of space is a big objective in capturing these places. Thus, controlling the values on the peaks is important. Strongest contrast comes forward, and less contrast recedes. 

"Towards Marguerite Bay" 10in. x 15in. watercolor

"Painting from the bow, entering Marguerite Bay"
photo by Brigitte Westaway

This evening provided our first real display of an Antarctic sunset. Captain parked the ship in the pack ice that was surrounded by seals to prepare us for tomorrow's landings. Temperature had dropped below freezing, as it usually does when the light is extraordinary, and one's medium is watercolor, which is prone to icing mid wash!

Painting Sunset while ship is parked in the pack ice, Marguerite Bay. Temperature minus 5 degrees Celsius
photo by David McEown

This was a good opportunity to experiment with additives to prolong working time and give me more control over blending. Ice crystal effects are very interesting sometimes, but not always desirable. Alcohol can be effective, but often evaporates so fast and leaves marks. (Vodka is not scarce on this Russian ship; however, it may be more useful to drink it to keep the artist warm!) What happens when a wash freezes on the paper is one thing, but the biggest problem can be the palette, where mixing areas freeze, creating slush. To prevent this, I hold the palette from the thumbhole and heat from the hand and a hand warmer inserted into a glove really help.

"Sunset, in the pack ice, Marguerite Bay, Antarctica." 10in. x 15in. watercolor

For this evening's painting I added some straight Ox Gall medium by Winsor&Newton to one of my pans, and scooped up a bit in a brush, for more flowing washes. In some areas where I found even this mixture icing up, I added a dash of straight generic glycerin.  The glycerin stays elastic, and I can scrape and blend it around. I hope to do some medium per water test charts (testing the proportions to see which ratio works best), as we venture further south into the Ross Sea.
 
Besides the common questions about paint freezing, passengers ask me daily if my hands get cold? I hate painting with a glove on my painting hand, and for some reason my hand doesn't get cold. When I'm relaxed and energy is really going from the heart through the hand, through the brush and on to a page, my hand stays warm. Dressing in extra warm clothes and eating good food helps keep the artist's body warm so the painting hand is free to feel the brush. I do however use beggars' mitts (fingers cut off), with good palm grips for the icy, salt-coated railings around the ship.

-- David

"GPS, Crossing the Antarctic Circle." November 19, 2006. (photo by David McEown)