Creating a portrait on a small ice float in southern Finland

Street Artist David Popa

By David Popa in southern Finland.

David Popa: This was my first attempt at creating a portrait on a small ice float here in southern Finland. I was initially experimenting with how easily or difficult it would be to paint on the ice using only charcoal and water (with a bit of salt to prevent it from freezing too fast).

It was very interesting to see how the ice “absorbed” the charcoal deep into the surface which meant many layers had to be applied to get any real darker values. However shortly after beginning, the portrait had cracked in two, leaving me to work on a two separate floats.

After the splitting of the float, too much water had spilled onto the surface, leaving me unable to continue working on the portrait and bringing it to a more completed stage. Nonetheless, I believe this first test piece proved great promise for this new series.

I appreciate the kind words and excitement for this series as well as the concern. I do want to share that I am wearing a full dry suit which allows for me to comfortably be in the water and the area in which I am working in is quite shallow.

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