North Pole and Greenland
David McEown
Painting the polar icescape in watercolour on a large ice floe very close to the North pole, July 31, 2024.
89°43'36.94" N , 134°36'58.09" E . (photo Daisy Gilardini)
On the evening of July 30, 2024, we reached 90 degrees north, the Geographical North Pole. The following day, we disembarked from the powerful hybrid electric/LNG ship Le Commandant Charcot onto a large, stable ice floe nearby. We had a full day to work on our projects, and I had the opportunity to paint several watercolours of the pressure ridges, fog bows, and melt pools. The temperature hovered just above freezing, creating ideal conditions for laying down washes of colour that almost froze on the paper. This painting are part of a large body of watercolour i have done over the last 20 years observing the changes in the ice pack and arctic ecosystems. I hope to publish a collection and exhibit this work soon.
It was an incredible privilege to return to this extraordinary place, having previously visited as artist as an artist in residence back in 2007 and 2009 on a Russian Nuclear icebreaker. Special thanks to Daisy Gilardini who invited me to join as she was a special guest speaker for PONANT featuring “Women of the Poles”, an initiative led by French think tank Le Cercle Polaire. (many of the paintings from this trip are available for sale)
Video highlights from the North Pole
While always on the lookout for polar bears, I love painting the endless variations of shapes, tracks and transparencies in the sea ice plus the challenges of painting outdoors in almost freezing temperatures that sometime provide fascinating crystal effects.
“Polar Bear Reflections n.2”, 15 x 22 inches watercolour
Eastern Greenland
Eastern Greenland colours of fire and ice greeted us on the way back from our recent North Pole trip. This short video features a few watercolour paintings in progress and lots of iceberg inspiration. (video by David McEown and Daisy Gilardini )
