Light is symbolic for me as the force that animates and gives life to all forms. In watercolor the light bounces off the white of the paper and back through the glowing pigment molecules that form the storied veils of washes—some transparent, others more cloudy. This light never lets up, as 4:49 am sunrise tugs me from sleep, even this late in the season. The ship drifts quietly and a foggy overcast and snow flurries blow in, like a soft blanket, which feels like a good excuse to sleep in a bit; however, before I close my eyes a cool white light starts to reflect off the ceiling and fills the room to accompany the sound of waves lapping at a shoreline. Out the porthole a massive Pantheon shaped iceberg is forming out of the fog.

We have stopped here in Franz Joseph Fjord, Greenland, and will take the opportunity to zodiac cruise around several fantastic icebergs. This is a major fjord connecting to an extensive system of subsidiary and tributary fjords. The fjord extends for over 160 km and Katabatic winds keep it often ice free in summer except for displays of grounded icebergs such as these. A few sketches are all I have time for, as we are circling the variety of shaped icebergs: from pinnacle, wedged, domed, tabular, and a double, towered with its own featured turquoise bay (these bergs are called drydocks). Most mysterious to view and paint are the blue caves. If an iceberg calves off or rolls over, revealing fresh ice, it often appears with incredible variety of blues. This ice is very old and dense; thus, it has very little oxygen in it, so that only the blue light waves are seen. Later as the ice is exposed to air, the rest of the light waves scatter and mix as white light. To capture the height of these bergs, I prefer to be lower deck to have the perspective of looking up. To make the blues glow, I often work in wet in wet sections, starting with an underpainting with light Winsor violet, scarlet lake, with a touch of aureolin yellow. Into this wash of very transparent colors, I drop a more semi-opaque turquoise blue and often use Holbien’s horizon blue. These are very cool, sometimes greenish blues; however, the darkest blues sometimes will include French ultramarine mixed with Winsor violet. What makes the iceberg painting work, however, is the background or negative shapes and some evidence of scale. Attention to the waterline and the size of waves or water undulations can create that sense of space.

Iceberg cave and zodiac. Photo by Daisy Gilardini