Echoes In The Sky
Echoes across time
Whispers of adventure
Sagas retold
Hearts burning
Dreaming
Echoes in the sky
(poem by Retta Stephenson)
November is now Vevie's 12th outing with the Virtual Paintout gang, led by Bill Guffey (HERE). The year has flown by! One more month and Vevie's travels are over, for she has decided to retire and curl up in her snuggly warm bed.
Vevie (rhymes with Stevie)
But for this month of November Vevie traveled, via Google Street View, to Iceland. Brrrr! We ended up in Northeast Iceland, in a place I have no idea how to pronounce:
Noroausturvegur.
Having been first settled by the Vikings in 874 AD, Iceland is the unofficial protectorate of Viking poetry. Though known as fierce warriors, it surprised me to learn that for Vikings, POETRY was a way of life! They considered it a gift from Odin, and to tell a good poem was to earn one's Viking name.
For my November painting, I chose the following view. It was so typical, with a lone tree and house, a large expanse of land near water. And of course, I couldn't resist adding some Northern Lights!
I played in Photoshop and chose this color scheme, flipped the house to face inward, and added the Northern Lights...
First I toned the canvas with yellows...
Here's the underpainting...
Decided I didn't want the yellow that strong, so washed it over with purples and blues before I went any farther...
Okay, NOW I'm liking the sky! Also worked on the next layers of the foreground and house...
Vevie has joined the scene, the Northern Lights are glowing, and Lo! there are ancient Viking symbols and Rune lettering in the sky. Vevie looks up, dreaming of times gone by...
Though the land is open and sparsely populated, this close up shows the windows of the little house glowing with a friendly welcome to travelers...
Close up of a few of the Viking symbols...
Close up of Vevie, sitting quietly under the night sky, listening... remembering...
And the finished image (can click any pics to enlarge):
"Echoes in the Sky"
Northeast Iceland
9 x 12 acrylic on
wrapped canvas
Happy painting,
Retta
Wow! The yellow you did add warmed up the picture. It didn't seem so cold. When I first read you were gong to Iceland, the thought popped into my head: What could you possibly paint in Iceland besides ice and snow? You have shown originality and style. Especially with the sky - love those runes and the color!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Karen. And that's what I thought at first, too. Ice and Cold! But is seems that the little google street view vehicle had to wait to drive around in spring/summer weather, so there was more than what I expected.
ReplyDeleteIt was fun to read the history of Iceland, and how the Vikings valued POETRY! So I had to include some Viking symbols and lettering. This was a fun one.
Really enjoy your Vevie travel series. Love the way you describe how you got from start to finish too. I would never have guessed that's how it works.... I'm still about 10 year old level when it comes to painting :)
ReplyDeleteMiss you will email soon.
Lots of love and blessings
Hi MargieAnne, thanks for visiting. It's been fun "traveling" with Vevie. Her last outing this year is to Venice. It's going to be a fun one. :-)
DeleteWhat a totally marvelous painting... and I LOVE the in progress pictures/description. Vevie is a lucky puss to be there, remembering, and enjoying the view first hand!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Robin, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
DeleteMerry Christmas and happy new year to you Loretta! Love watching your process. Thanks for taking pictures and taking the time to share.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Debby, and Happy New Year to you too. And it's exciting to see the pictures you are taking of your new studio, and watch it unfold!
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