In the Arctic, temperature has increased at twice the rate as the rest of the globe, and could increase by another 8°C (14°F) by the end of this century. The warming atmosphere along with new weather pattern extremes is causing Arctic sea ice to melt at an alarming rate—12% per decade—that suggests the Arctic will be ice-free by 2030. The impacts of dwindling ice cover in the Arctic are far-reaching, from species endangerment to enhanced global warming, to the weakening or shut-down of global ocean circulation. See: https://www.wunderground.com/climate/SeaIce.asp
So one of the plans I have for my Arctic trip is to make frozen blocks of water-colours based on the colours I find in the Arctic, and then to allow these to melt and flow across paper - reflecting the melting of the Arctic ice.
I've been doing some initial experiments in my studios in Shetland and Somerset with water-colour pigments and ice; grinding down pure pigments with a glass muller to make my own water-colours...
the equipment |
grinding water-colour pigments using a glass muller |
adding water-colour medium and water |
Pouring the watercolours in blocks ready for the freezer:
Pigments ready for freezer |
Allowing the blocks of ice pigments to melt onto damped paper:
Melting blocks of iced water-colour |
Results -
There are lumps of pigment sitting on the surface which I quite like - probably frowned upon by watercolour purists! But I like the textural qualities that are emerging.
Initially I've used ordinary tap water, but have just mixed up some water-colour using sea water gathered from Lerwick Harbour, and distilled water gathered from the studio dehumidifier.
So I'll be trying these out soon...