On this very rare trip with Quark Expeditions we traveled from Anadyr, on Russia's Asian shore to Murmansk, near the Finnish border.  Along the Northeast Passage we explored the Chukotka Peninsula, Wrangel Island, the New Siberian Islands, Severnaya Zemlya , Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land.  This 26 day passage would have been very tough without the icebreaker Kapitan Khlebnikov and its skilled team to navigate through a very heavy ice year.  

Northeast Passage 2008 Journal (entries are currently in short form)

Arctica , a 15 meter steel hull sailing boat customized for arctic conditions, was home and studio for 5 of us who chartered the vessel along with a skipper for 3 weeks.  This vessel, along with towing 2 zodiacs, gave us the flexibility and intimacy to explore the wonderful fjords and wildlife of a group of high arctic islands north of Norway called Svalbard.  Despite a very heavy ice year we managed to circumnavigate Spitzbergen, Svalbard's largest island, as well as explore many other islands.  Painting on location - either from the deck or on landings - was done around the clock , often in the glow of the midnight sun.  I look forward to working on studio paintings inspired from this trip soon!