The Ancient World

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Origin
The Antarctic is the most beautiful, the most inaccessible and the most dangerous place on earth. For explorers of the 18th, 19th and early 20th century, it held the challenge of reaching the South Pole, the coldest and most formidable land mass in the Southern Ocean. My favourite explorer, Captain Cook, sailed in the "Resolution" on his second voyage in 1773, becoming the first person to cross the Antarctic Circle.

For me, because the area is remote and unspoilt, it has been a challenge of a different kind. My painting has been simply devised, showing just a portion of the stark, mountainous forms of the icebergs - and their clarity of colour against a blue sea. And who can forget the brave man who first reached a latitude of 71 degrees within the Antarctic Circle?”

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