Inspiration from Denmark & Sweden (& Iceland)

A collection of inspiration gathered in my last trip to Scandinavia.

Chalk Cliffs.

At Stevns Klint the white chalk cliffs are embedded with dark flint nodules. (Stevns Klint and the Fish Clay)

Flint.

Flint has a natural sheen and is usually found embedded in chalk. In a painting the chalk would be spackling; the exposed rock would be semi-gloss acrylic. Flint souvenirs from Denmark. The first one has a hole and I might make it into a bronze (age) necklace. Number 2 was Al’s find. It has tiny crystals in the centre – he was a tad upset when I scooped it. The third one was my find – I found the chalk rubbed into the grooves in the flint to be reminiscent of runes from the Viking age. The fourth is a piece of natural ocean-polished flint – very shiny.

Runes (written on the land).

A stone marker with ancient runes written on it at the National History Museum in Copenhagen, Denmark. (Ancient Viking Runes from Denmark)Aerial shot of a landform in Iceland. (Aerial Shots: Iceland from Above)

Birch.

The patterns of birch trees and their bark are often inspiring to artists.

Petroglyphs.

Tanum, a UNESCO World Heritage Rock Art Centre, is famous for its petroglyphs put there 10,000 years ago by the Bronze Age people who lived in this area in northern Sweden.

Weathered paint on the hulls of boats.

Breaking waves tossing white froth up into the air.

Copper turned to verdigris.

The copper verdigris cladding on the hull of the frigate in Ebeltoft, Denmark.

Icelandic landforms.

All I saw of Iceland was basically while I was in the air on my flight to Copenhagen.

Artists & artworks.

Mythological Art Wall in Brugsen, Denmark.

Bjarne W. Sørensen.Per Kirkeby.

Per Kirkeby is a Danish artist is interested in geology and natural environments, and it shows in this mural of flint stones that he painted on the ceiling of the new library extension (aka the Black Diamond) in Copenhagen, Denmark. I was about to do some paintings of flint but it seems he beat me to it!