the land of ice

I think Iceland is my kind of country, it gets me. Apart from Reykjavik the people are scarce with the sheep greatly outnumbering them; the landscape is a stunning representation of the beauty derived from the earth battering itself; the weather is dramatic meaning beautiful sunsets and mists, and the country is steeped in whimsical myths and legends.This all satisfies my atmospheric imagination and longing for peaceful moments. Its also a great country for all the arty people like me, the photography opportunities are endless!

Iceland is a natural wonder of the world in its entirety. Driving through it and watching the landscape glide past proves this, and as there is practically one main road through the whole country; all the most stunning spots just rise up along the road in front of you. Water that plummets down from great heights and water that can explode up from the middle of the earth. The sulfurous smoke that rises from the hot ground and the icebergs that float on the cold water. The endless lava fields left after an eruption and the volcanoes that caused them.
When driving and immersing yourself in the scenery it becomes effortless to believe the tales you're told. The mist does appear to make the two rocks on the mountain look like trolls leaning in for a goodbye kiss as the sun turns them to stone, and elves could stop construction work to save their homes. Seeing such a creature poking out its head from behind a bolder or stroll out of the mist, in many ways wouldn't have surprised me. But unfortunately its said only people with a 'sense' or a 'gift' can see such things, and it has yet to be proven I have either!
I also noticed some littler things about Iceland; like everything smells like egg because of the sulfur from the geothermal heating, the majority of the cars are like snow mobiles and it seems the bigger the wheels the 'cooler' you become, and paying is scary for us Brits as standard Icelandic krona is in 1000's. Also due to the minimal population a tour guide said to us 'watch out for the traffic as you cross!' and as I looked, there was only one car present on the horizon. Rush hour consists of more than eight cars on the road, and even then over half are bound to be tourists. Trees are also almost nonexistent in Iceland, besides from mini Christmas tree forests planted by the government, and when Icelanders go abroad they are often said to complain about trees blocking views. 

Feelings inspired by the country, here are some of my favourite sketches and photos from the trip:

catching tonight's dinner

Icelandic horses make horses back here look like potatoes

an iceberg at the Jökulsárlón  glacial lagoon

misty mountains

a fulmar in flight 

once all Icelandic houses were like this. 

icelandic cuisine 

Gullfoss waterfall, an example of how beautiful falling water can be,

and Strokkur, an example of how beautiful exploding water can be!

Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon. Breathtaking doesn't cover it.

a step back in time 

(if you are lucky enough to visit Iceland, make sure to download Sigur Ros's music. It can do that special thing of coaxing out the atmosphere around you and heightening its beauty. It grows and changes as the landscape does, and it probably helps that the band is Icelandic!)

music inspired drawing

As a way of practicing illustration styles, and as a way to have some fun!, I played a little game. I shuffled all my music, and sketched the first image and idea that came into my head listening to a song. These are some of the things I came up with, drawing them in about two plays of the song.

'will you be there, when the day is gone. will be there, under the same sun' 

(Under the same sun-Ben Howard)

'and we got miles away from anywhere...'

(Benjamin Twine-George Ezra)

'Can you fill the silence...'

(The Silence-Bastille)

(Wasting My Young Years-London Grammar)

'Don't be wasting your time, on your own'

(One Day-Kodaline)

(Children Who Start Fires-To Kill a King)

'The only tears come from our heads when we concentrate'

(Anti-D-The Wombats)

I was happy with the way some of these turned out, but of course they were just quick biro sketches and not finished pieces of art! This was one of the most productive forms of procrastination I've found in a long time, so I recommend having a go.