A Greenland and Baffin Island Expedition with Friends of Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI). Simon Pierse is a painter who was invited  to join this expedition last September 2018 to the Artic with his brother, Richard Pierse.

Simon was born in London in 1956 and lives in Wales. He studied at the prestigious Slade School of Fine Art and he is a Fellow of Royal Society of Artists and Royal Water Colour Society. He is also an art historian and author of Australian Art and Artists in London 1950-1965, published by Ashgate.

Simon Pierse’s Day by Day Experience

4th September

Arrived from Copenhagen  and checked into Hotel Kangerlussuaq, in southwest Greendland.

5th September

To Russell Glacier for a walk on the ice cap – an enormous ice dome up to 3km thick, that covers much of Greenland. The vastness of it all is difficult to comprehend, especially when it is covered with a benign looking layer of snow.  Then to the port ato see the majestic Akademik Sergey Vavilov resting serenely in the fjord. We join members of a Canadian group who will be our shipmates for the next ten days. All aboard.

     

6th September

Onshore visit to Sisimuit. Visited the cultural centre, then to a good outdoor/indoor museum with historic buildings re-sited and preserved – all accessible through the whale jawbone archway entrance.

7th September

A beautiful sunny day! Onto the Zodiacs to cruise in and around the floating icebergs in the limpid, still blue waters of Ilulissat / Jacobshavn Icefjord. I learn that the parts of the icebergs which are blue-green in colour are made up of molecules that have been more compressed over time, deep within a glacier.

Then back along the boardwalk to the museum. I like boardwalks. For me they are emblematic of modern tourism. We walk a few inches above the ground, leaving its fragile beauty undisturbed. No footprints. Boardwalks are also a fine subject for a painting, especially when they zig-zag across the terrain.

 

8th September

Out at 9.30am to explore Qeqertarsuaq on Disko Island. Dawdling along across springy, tundra type vegetation, I am enjoying the sunshine and fresh air. So slowly that I never reach the point where another whale is spotted a little way out, feeding around some icebergs. Back along the shore to get closer to some icebergs which are beautifully back lit by the sun. “Sun diamonds”, someone says.

 

9th September

We are at sea, crossing the Davis Strait towards Baffin Island. My artist friend and former folk legend David Paskett would break into song at the mention of Baffin Bay if he were here.

Spend some time in the cabin to paint.

10th September

We cross the Canadian border. Then depart in Zodiacs for Qikiqtarjuaq – which used to be called Broughton Island until 1998. The people who live here haven’t had a visit from a cruise ship for two years. It’s a lonely place, but authentic.

11th September

Sunshine Fjord. Right on the Arctic Circle! I learn that the fjord is named after the ship Suneshine which, with her sister-ship Mooneshine, explored this region on expeditions led by John Davis. I enjoy my time painting. Richard meanwhile reads, and has a sauna. After dinner, a talk by Nicholas Jones, SPRI artist in residence, followed by the most fantastic display of the aurora borealis.

    

12th September

Up at seven. Some narwhals are spotted from the bridge. Breakfast, then all aboard the Zodiacs to Cape Mercy. Ashore to see snow buntings, beautiful, intricate dwarf vegetation underfoot and fresh water pools of icy crystal.… binoculars trained upon the distant form of a polar bear, spotted, high up on a field of snow at the end of the u-shaped valley, now looking and feeling very much like an amphitheater. She has hollowed out a den for herself in the snow to hunker down over the winter and give birth to her cubs.

13th September

7.30am, we are in Cumberland Sound and sleet is falling.

Spend some incredible time painting. After dinner, all on deck to watch the northern lights perform for us again. A superb lightshow over the water, laid on just for us, it seems.

 

14th September

An excursion to Charles Francis Hall Bay – another beautiful glacial valley on the southeast coast of Baffin Island. We spot polar bears. A walrus pops up his head and I see ‘crocodile ice’ floating in the water which is all dimply like hammered silver. A beautiful final dinner with the Captain of the Akademik Sergey Vavilov as guest of honour.

 

15th September

Time to pack. We disembark the ship. A long Zodiac ride over to Iqualit where the weather feels pretty cold at one degree above freezing. We board a small turbo prop plane to Ottowa where the weather is a whole 30 degrees warmer! A coach takes us to the cosseted comfort of the luxurious Fairmont Hotel.

Thanks to Angie Butler and Cris Mason of Ice Tracks for looking after us so well and for providing some of these photos and to my brother Richard for sharing the adventure.  Simon Pierse, October 2018

Simon and Richard travelled with us to Greenland and Baffin Island in September 2018.