Greenland, Iceland
Qaqortoq, Greenland / Completed / Yao Cheng
GREENLAND:
I really wanted to include at least one painting that takes place around blankets of snow for my Travel series! When I was researching destinations around the world, Greenland stood out for me. The colors of this town against a backdrop of white felt like a great place to start. Snow is an interesting element to paint- it requires so much restraint on the part of my painterly brain. I have to hold back just enough so that the snow can really be the star of the show. I mean, the colorful houses are also starring here, but the snow is just as important. I also love painting snow because it’s a great excuse to use lots of guaoche!
Details
My favorite part of painting cityscapes- putting in all of the little details that bring the painting to life.
ICELAND:
At some point, I will be paining an accompaniment to my Reykviak print. The architecture with the dramatic backdrop of mountains is just too good to not require a proper revisit! In the meantime, this first piece was my attempt to understand how geometric shapes of the buildings can pair visually with nature. You can find it as both an Art Print and as a Tea Towel! As a unique keepsake, it’s been a popular gift for friends and family who recently traveled to Iceland.
I cannot wait to see what other winter pieces I’ll be adding to this series! Come back to this post for future updates. But for now, I’ll leave this post with a very common occurrence during my painting weeks. Paintings all over the floor of my studio… Why I do this, I do not know. The only answer I’ve come up with from a decade of doing this is that it provides just the right distance for me to see the artwork and assess where I’m with it without standing up! Also, the bottom left is a sneak peek of a painting of Turkey.
