Iceland glacier covered in volcanic ash inspiration for Sask. artist

A Saskatchewan artist had a unique setting for his latest piece.

Andrew Robertson, who is from the small southwestern town of Shaunavon, discovered his skill while working during the pandemic. He uses his social media to showcase his work. 

He would use his 12-hour long night shifts to hone his craft and is now taking his newfound passion around the world.

“I’ve always loved travelling,” Robertson said. “If I could meld the two, that was the idea.”

Robertson’s first trip abroad to paint took him to Iceland. He said he’s wanted to go since watching the film, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.”

His plan was to paint a volcano during eruption, which never happened while he was on the island.

Instead, he found a glacier covered in volcanic ash.

“The ice was cracking in front of me as I was painting,” he remembered. “I could hear the ice shifting.”

“It was probably the most scared I’ve ever been in my life.”

The sprinkle of black ash on the white ice became his inspiration.

Andrew Robertson paints ‘Stöõugt’ on a glacier in Iceland. (Photo courtesy: Andrew Robertson / Adler Irwin)

He used the contrasting colours to envision the Icelandic people onto his canvas.

“The entire island is fire and ice,” Robertson said. “I wanted to represent the steadiness of somebody living that kind of life, getting through it and the wear on their face from do[ing] it.”

Robertson believes the closeness of being from a small town has allowed him to see past the surface.

“You have to look past the things you may not like,” he said. “It’s looking at who the human really is and how beautiful people are.”

Get the CTV News app for Saskatchewan breaking news alerts and top stories 

‘Stöõugt’ is on display for three weeks at Grand Coteau Heritage & Cultural Centre in Robertson’s hometown of Shaunavon, Sask.

It will then be moved to Planet Bronze Art Gallery in Bozeman, Mont.

Andrew Robertson painted ‘Stöõugt’ on a glacier in Iceland. (Photo courtesy: Andrew Robertson)“It’s probably the best time to be an artist and make a living at it, even though I’m from a town of 1,700 people,” he said.

Robertson wants to grow the art scene in southwest Sask. and hopes young artists can be inspired by his work to be creative, no matter where they are from.

“The arts are growing in small towns,” he said. “We can teach kids to pursue the arts and do something creative.”