"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.