The Fish Workers, by Steinunn

Steinna has captured the scene of mid 20th century women cleaning and preparing the fish for salting or drying. Fish was preserved in these ways as refrigeration was not readily available to the Icelanders in those days. You may have heard they also buried shark and served it after it was putrified. In this painting it appears they are cleaning Cod, a fish that is plentiful in the waters surrounding Iceland. The dried and salted versions of this fish are delicious!

This original oil painting has great dimension and life. Visit our website at www.listhusgallery.com for more information on Steinunn and view her other paintings available through the Listhus Gallery.

Waiting for a Pin Number, by Thorberg

Okay, here is something new and different! Thorberg's paintings are created with coffee!! That's right! Only coffee!! Well, he does add a little colorless acrylic to get the dimensional outline of the subject.

When he is making the initial drawing he drips the coffee onto the canvas. The entire picture comes together before he ever touches the canvas! And he does it upside down! Then he later goes back and shades it in with coffee.

The Problem with Chickens

Gunnella, Icelandic Artist & Illustrater

Calling Gunnella the illustrater of this adorable book is like saying the egg came before the chicken. Or is that the chicken before the egg? I can never decide. And that's just one problem with chickens. According to Bruce McMillan's story they are quite the characters, immitating the ladies to the point that they never get around to laying eggs. So, maybe the chicken did come first...I guess we could debate that all the day long, and many have.

In the case of this book, the chickens definitely came first. In fact, Bruce met Gunnella and discovered her paintings of chickens and fell in love with them. The paintings inspired the story. This is a must read for children and adults of all ages. It's light, funny and the paintings are beautiful.

Each of Gunnella's paintings tell a story of their own. We have 6 of Gunnella's paintings available in canvas giclee prints for very reasonable prices and can get originals, although they have to be posted from Iceland. The book retails at $16.00 and is available at the gallery. We will also mail it (postage on us), to introduce you to this fabulous Icelandic artist. If you are interested in seeing images of Gunnella's work, visit our website at www.listhusgallery.com. There you can view the canvas giclee we have available and can also request more information about Gunnella and current originals available.

Duck Pond, by Ágúst Bjarnason

This charming little duck pond actually exists in the middle of downtown Reykjavik. In the summer it's a great place to feed the ducks, and in the winter it provides an outdoor ice skating rink.

Ágúst's linocuts are initially carved, printed and painted by the artist. We have taken a few of his finished works and made open edition giclee prints on paper. We have this one available as an original by Ágúst as well as an open edition print.

Ágúst Bjarnason lives and works in Reykjavik. He studied at the School of Art and Handicraft of Iceland and graduated from the department of graphics in 1986. At Stockholm University he studied mostly art history and at the University of Iceland, he took some courses in philosophy and medieval literature. He has illustrated books, designed covers and done some storyboard work for the cinema. His main subjects have been Reykjavík and surroundings, people and seamanship. He is best known for these charming linocuts. We have many available at the Listhus Gallery. Our website, www.listhusgallery.com, will be fully populated and functional soon, but you can see a few of them now. Just look under artists and click on Ágúst Bjarnason.

Companions, by Sigrún Lára Shanko

Sigrún Lára Shanko of Shanko Silk in Reykjavik has developed a unique multi-layered technique using relief, painting, dyeing and batiking, to create an image with depth and intensity. Each piece tells a story, or saga, of the old days of Vikings and Norse gods. For example, the tondo shown here, called Companions, or Wealth, relates the Havamal 47 which says, "I once was young. I was traveling alone and lost my way. Rich, I thought myself when I met another. Man is the joy of Man." A close examination of the piece reveals runic letters in a spiral in the background of the entire painting. These runes from about 500 AD, quote the Havamal 47. The picture in the middle is of two Viking ships passing, or meeting along the way. The ships even appear as if they are entertwined together, as in a joyous embrace. Sigrún says that she uses this technique of writing the poems in runes so that the words don't take over the picture, and the subtile batiking and many layers of painting and dyeing does not allow the picture to overcome the words either. This artwork is exquisite! To see a closer view of it, or learn more about Sigrún Lára Shanko visit our website at http://www.listhusgallery.com/, which will be up and running on March 1st.