Sea foam

View fullsize

Weather and wind, sun, and clouds are everywhere on the globe. But every place has its own palette of colors, which the great unknown artist paints on the firmament with masterful brushstrokes. Dramatic visual compositions appear at sunrise and sunset. The art can be seen for a few minutes in nature's own gallery, only to disappear into new wonderful pictures, until darkness or daylight erases all shades.

The morning light over the archipelago before the birdlife and human swarm awaken are incomparable. The sunrise at 4am slide across lead-grey rocks like blazing heat from a furnace. A few hours later the dazzling daylight shows a solidified landscape of lava rocks, granites, and syenite which are the geological southern coast of the Oslo Fjord.

Tiny particles of fats, algae, fish scales, bits of coral and other pollutants that are suspended in the water are churned up, creating a thick foam.

Sea foam is a natural phenomenon of the ocean which involves formation of white lathery substance which floats on the surface of water and gets accumulated at the sea shores. The formation of sea foam is seen in several parts of the world and continues to intrigue people even today.

Sea foam is created when the ocean is disturbed by wind and waves. Tiny particles of fats, algae, fish scales, bits of coral and other pollutants that are suspended in the water are churned up, creating a thick foam.

This is much like the bubbles caused by a bottle of water or other liquid being shaken vigorously, though on a larger scale.

Hvitsten

View fullsize

Hvitsten is an idyllic bathing and recreation area by the fjord with historic buildings and wonderful surroundings. Hvitsten expanded during the 19th century as ship owners stored their boats there for the winter, and the officers and crew settled in the area. Several well known artists have links with Hvitsten.

The painter Theodor Kittelsen bought a house in Hvitsten and during the summer of 1895 Theodor Kittelsen drew a sketch of the Nøkken (Water Sprite) painting by Hauger pond.

In 1910 Edvard Munch bought Nedre Ramme just north of Hvitsten. Several of his best known works come from this period in Nedre Ramme. Today some of the paintings can be seen at the National Gallery and the Munch Museum in Oslo, such as Alma Mater for the University Hall in Oslo. Munch owned Nedre Ramme until his death in 1944. A cultural trail has been established at Nedre Ramme - "In Munch's footsteps". Here you will find information about Munch's life and work in Hvitsten. There are 8 information boards with pictures and photographs showing Munch's art where they belong in the terrain

Fred. Olsen & Co. are also connected to Hvitsten where they have the family place Lysedal. The Hvitsten chapel (built in 1903) was a gift from Fred Olsen´s mother, Bolette Olsen. Today, son Petter Olsen´s Ramme Gaard estate is located in the area.

The fourth version of "Scream" (pastel, 1895), was privately owned by Petter Olsen and he sold the painting to raise funds to build a museum in Hvitsten, where Munch once owned property near where Olsen has an estate, to house the rest of his father´s collection. Olsen´s version was sold for $ 119,922,500 at Sotheby´s Impressionist and Modern art auction on 2 May 2012 to financier Leon Black, the highest nominal price paid for a painting at auction.