Winter, 2008

I will be joining this voyage aboard the Kapitan Khlebnikov as artist in residence with Quark Expeditions.  From Ushuaia Argentina, to Christ Church New Zealand, we will explore the Antarctic Peninsula, Phantom Coast, Ross ice shelf , Mcmurdo and many rare sub-antarctic islands.  I hope to add some journal entries to this page throughout the voyage.  The attached map shows the proposed route.  I hope to post paintings from these expeditions on my recent works page soon after the voyage.  Please send an email regarding any comments or questions about this trip.  I look forward to feedback when I arrive back home!

(click map for larger image)

West Antarctica

Semi- Circumnavigation Journal

  • Nov. 14, 2008,  Board the Kapitan Khlebnikov eary in the morning in the port of Ushuaia.  All the seasons are on display.  Snow, rain and sunshine pass through the fresh blankets of snow on mountains.  We depart port and head out the Beagle Channel in twilight.  The open ocean swell picks up at 1am in the morning and I am rocked to sleep.

  • Nov. 15, 2008,  Many grays, and light rain are the backdrop to the moderate swell that we feel while crossing the Drake passage, the ship is surrounded by many seabirds.  Showers sprinkle blooms in my watercolour washes of 2 studies, painted from port side stern.  Wonderful horizon value transitions of violet and golden grays envelope the 360 degree sky.  Tomorrow we will see the South Shetland islands.

  • Nov. 16, 2008,  Cape Petrels by the dozens levitate effortlessly around the ship while the sight of land is welcome after the Drake crossing.  We drive by Zodiac to Half Moon Island, where Chinstrap penguins greet us. I paint below an orange stained rock outcrop with view of Livingston Island and a seal singing in his sleep.

  • Nov. 17, 2008,  Heading south along the Antarctic Peninsula, the weather is stunningly clear and waters still, except for waves that echo the calving glaciers. The ship anchours at Necko harbour and for my 5th time here climb the ridge to a spectacular view of the bay and glacier.  Again I start another painting that I will finish back on ship because the paint is starting to freeze.  Afternoon is spent cruising in paradise bay, it is overcast and snow is falling, however the blues of the ice really show well against the neutral gray.

  • Nov. 18, 2008   We awake to an Antarctic blizzard, still spring at this time of year.  First stop is Palmer station, an American research station.  They are doing great work on studying ozone hole and radioactivity in the air.  In the afternoon the ship takes us further down to Peterman Island via the Lemaire Channel.  Unfortunately it is overcast and peaks are hidden it the dramatic pass.   Still early in the year but the channel was relatively free of ice.  Peterman Island is home to Adelie and Gentoo penguins as well as blue-eyed shags all nesting side by side.  As the climate has warmed over the last several years more and more gentoos are arriving and there is less Adelies.  It is really snowing hard with a strong wind.  I observe and do my best to not get the camera wet!

  • Nov. 19, 2008,  At 7:21 am we cross the Antarctic Circle, Latitude 66 degrees 33 minutes, S Longitude 67 degrees, 24 minutes W.  While entering the ice pack a leopard seal and baby are on the ice.  It is snowing to hard to get a decent picture.  The ice and low visibility block our objective to enter "the Gullet".   We then have to go out back to open seas and go around Adelaide Island.  The Ship is rolling many are not feeling well.

  • Nov. 20, 2008,  This morning the sailors are shoveling the hard snow out of the Zodiacs as we prepare to land at Rothera , a British Antarctic station.  We are greeted to a very enthusiastic and informative tour around the station, great work on biology, marine and terrestrial, as well a staging place for research work in the Interior.  The clouds lift and reveal the great surrounding peaks as we depart later in the afternoon, onward to so more unsteady seas.

  • Nov. 21, 2008,  Full sea day onward to Peter the 1st Island.  I gave a photography lecture and had record 35 passengers draw penguins with me in the afternoon workshop!  Day was gray, but light at late day was glorious.  It does not set at this latitude now.

  • Nov. 22, 2008,  Awake to large icebergs and a roaring wind. In the distance is Peter the 1st Island.  Very few have ever stepped on this island, one of the most isolated in the world.  It is sunny and the island is stunning with its icecap and jagged shore, however it is impossible to have a safe zodiac landing.  I paint two small sketches from the fly deck, and the paint freezes instantly.  Later I will start to use glycerin and ox gall medium to delay the freezing.

  • Nov. 23 - Dec. 13,  Successful completion of the Semi Circumnavigation of Antarctica.  From landing on top of the Ross Ice shelf, Cape Royds, and the wonderful Emperor penguin rookeries such as Cape Washington, this trip was memorable.  I look forward to posting paintings and catching up on this journal from this journey on my Recent Works page soon.