Beggs – Wild Norway

Granite and basalt rock channels the main body of wild water down in a spectacle of spray and motion. On the slopes, restless cascades bath the rock in glistening sheets of cold water, spilling down in rivulets and side-channels. In the background, the mightiest drop bathes the horizon in mist.

The focal point, a rock in the midst of the closest falls, is elemental in its struggle – barely visible under the torrent, still holding its own against the force of nature. In the end the water will win, but in the meantime it stands: I will resist until you take me down, I will never surrender.

As much as I wanted to blend and smooth my strokes, I resisted, knowing that this would reduce the power and motion. Instead, I tried flat firm strokes and, for the water, plenty of paint. Believe it or not, this takes courage, and for the first time I have personal insight into the cliché: “bold strokes”.

Norway is wild, parts of it stunning in its freshly minted rocks, only recently cut through by ice and prolific rainfall. We were there in 2018. It was cold, wet and magnificent. The artist’s signature reads as graffiti: ‘I was here’. Indeed.