images of iceland: sol_ariko
Each day, it feels like I am listening to my own visual records of being close to nature. Listening to the light, the clouds, the breathing of the crisp air on my cheeks. It is autumn in New York, just before the leaves turn, and my brain is tuning to the rhythms of wind, earth, & water that rush & glide in front of me. Each day, a painting upon a painting surrounds me. Each day, I render something of my own private sensations.
Today I pulled a special book from the endless stack of my art books scattered in our apartment. This one, Sol_Ariko was actually a gift from me to my love, for his birthday one year ago. It feels like our book, a montage of ethereal, textural landscape images.
I fell in love with this book for its softness. There is no text, I didn’t look up the photographer. I absorbed its beauty and wanted to share with my partner. That was enough, that is what art can do to you. You finally pause, accept, receive.
I learned today that these images made by Japanese photographer Inaoka Ariko were all taken in Iceland.
For about a month, imagery of Iceland has been haunting me, emerging as misty mountains and steamy lakes in my paintings. I am sure my imagination is blending the fantasy of Iceland with the memory of living in Colorado. I am melding the past and future, letting the jade greens, onyx, and mossy blues embody a sacred place of tenderness and possibility.
A sacred place
A land of serenity
Where the ancient world becomes part of the future
Sol_Ariko
* I do not own the rights to reproduce these works
