Izabela Oldak - AstroArtist of the Month (Blog 3 of 3)

• Print
• Email

Feb 27

2015

by Andrew Fazekas

Published: Friday, February 27 2015 18:57

• Previous
• Next

Last part of the blog is devoted to aurora- a luminous atmospheric phenomenon appearing as streamers or bands of light sometimes visible in the night sky in northern or southern regions of the earth. It is caused by charged particles from the sun entering the earth's magnetic field and stimulating molecules in the atmosphere.  As I could find out the colour of light they emit depends upon the type of gas the particles collide with.  Light that is dominated by emissions from atomic oxygen causes a greenish and dark-red glow.  Blue light is a result of atomic nitrogen, while purple light is the result of molecular nitrogen. But there are many other colours that can be seen as well.

True Mystery, 100x70cm,, acrylic on canvas 2015

This phenomenon fascinated people so much that they even anthropomorphised it and gave a divine form. For example in Roman mythology, Aurora was a Goddess of the dawn. The Vikings saw in the lights Valkyrie galloping on horsebacks.  To compare, Inuit myth says that the aurora borealis is composed of past ancestors spirits, while in another we can hear that the northern lights are telling stories of what happened in the past and what will happen in the future. In this culture the aurora borealis was also seen as a symbol of approaching doom and it was regarded with fear and superstition.  While The Aboriginal Australians commonly associate the Aurora Australis with fire.

True Mystery, 70x100cm,, acrylic on canvas, 2015

When I was in the plain going from Taiwan to Frankfurt, there were some unexpected difficulties, so the pilot changed the course, and we flew over the Northern Siberia. In the middle of the night I woke up tired from inconveniences of such a long flight. I opened the widow covering to look over. I was truly surprised when I saw amazingly huuuuuuge streams of lights. They looked like a watercolour spread over a dark paper.  I was really overwhelmed with such unexpected show of lights. So when I started to paint series of landscapes I could not hold off myself from painting also auroras.

True Mystery, 100x70cm,, acrylic on canvas, 2015

“With strange, fantastic shapes they haunt my brain;
A sky of amber, streaked with silver rain;
A blaze of glory, Heaven's resplendent fires;
A temple gleaming with a thousand spires;
A sea of light that laves a shore of stars;
The gates of Paradise, swift-rolling cars;
A golden pulse, quick-beating through the night;
Contending armies mailed in armor bright;
A gauzy curtain drawn by unseen hands;
Night's gorgeous drapery looped with starry bands;
Vast, burning cities, that lie far away;
Blushes on Nature's face--pale ghosts of Day;
A boundless prairie swept by phantom fire;
The vibrant strings of some gigantic lyre;
Emblazoned chariots ever skyward driven;
God writing in the open book of Heaven;
The flaming banner of the North unfurled;
The mystery that dares a boasting world!”

ALBERT LAIGHTON, "The Aurora Borealis"

True Mystery, 70x100cm, acrylic on canvas, 2015.JPG