Together, with my partner Julie Livsey, I was artist-in-residence at Herhúsid (the Armyhouse) in Siglufjördur for one month in July 2016.

Siglufjördur is situated on a fjord on the northern tip of Iceland. In the first half of the 20th century it was Iceland’s herring capital. As the industry faded, the town faded with it. However, heritage was preserved by the creation of the Herring Museum in the early 90’s. Arguably, this led to further regeneration. Siglufjördur is now an up-and-coming town with1200 inhabitants.

When we were there in July there was a 4-day folk music festival that featured a range of musicians at several venues. The town is culturally rich. There is a folk music museum, a poetry centre and an artistic community. Guðný Róbertsdóttir and Örlygur Kristfinnsson are at the core of this community.

Creative people need time and space and Herhúsid offers exactly that. The residency is in it’s tenth year; the studio is spacious and bright. There are no distractions. We structured our days and during our stay I produced a number of drawings and paintings (based on sketches made on our daily hikes) and a short film. The mountains and the valleys around and about are beautiful and accessible. The landscape, and the rapid changes to that landscape – continue to impress.

We had an ‘open studio evening’ but this was our choice rather than a set requirement.

We were left with a feeling of wanting to return.

• Here is the film: –

• Here is an ‘out-take’ from the film: –

• And here are some of the drawings (all on paper): –

Tonal Stream – Charcoal

Black Liner – Mixed Media

Free Fall – Acrylic & Pastel

Snow Slab – Acrylic & Pastel

Fir Fall – Acrylic & Pastel

Fuse – Pastel

Monsta – Pastel