Looking back at the opening of our duo-exhibition, Pålandsvind (Onshore Wind), at Ås Kunstforening on August 8, 2026, I am filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Welcoming several hundred visitors through the doors of Galleri Å over its run was nothing short of incredible. Seeing how deeply people connected with the forces of the Northern Norwegian wilderness—captured right there on the paper—is exactly why I share my work.
Artists Ernestine Louise and Stig Marlon Weston at their collaborative exhibition Pålandsvind 2026.
The exhibition was a beautiful culmination of a creative partnership. For the past few years, photographer Stig Marlon Weston and I have traveled together, letting the weather, wind, sun, and light become active co-creators in our respective projects. While Stig captures the landscape by exposing light-sensitive materials directly to nature without a camera, I tackle the environment through abstract painting. The pieces shown at Ås were born during our intense shared artist residencies at Atelier Nøss on Andøya in 2022 and the Vadsø kunstnerhus in 2023.
My Ultimate Outdoor Studio
For me, the raw, unpredictable climate of the North isn't an obstacle to my work; it is the brush itself. I don’t just paint in nature; I paint with it. Working exclusively outdoors, I invite the environment directly into my creative process. While I prepare my color palette ahead of time, the final execution relies entirely on a physical, sometimes turbulent, dialogue with the weather.
When I am out there in the field, the elements become my active co-creators:
Abstract landscape painting by Ernestine Louise created using rain, wind, and sand in Northern Norway.
Wind gusts catch my brushstrokes and drag the paint across the surface.
Rain and roiling waves wash over my paper, bleeding the colors together.
Snow and local sand are mixed directly into the pigments, embedding the physical texture of the land into the piece.
Sometimes this collaboration is gentle and harmonious. Other times, sudden gales exert far more control over the paint than I ever planned. Because I work completely exposed to the environment, my paintings are just as heavily affected by the shifting surroundings as I am myself.
Bringing the Atmosphere into Print: Arctic Impressions
During our exhibition at Ås Kunstforening, I also had the joy of sharing my limited-edition artist book, Arctic Impressions.
Arctic Impressions limited-edition artist book featuring winter paintings and haiku poetry by Ernestine Louise.
Inspired heavily by our time in Northern Norway during the midwinter, the book functions as an intimate conversation between my paintings and the written word. It pairs 35 of my atmospheric winter paintings with 70 original Haiku poems. The poetry does not simply describe the art; rather, the words belong to the exact same quiet, stark atmosphere that shaped the paint—capturing fleeting, minimalist impressions of Arctic light, stillness, and presence.
Abstracted Memories of Place
Every piece begins with a deliberate search for specific, inspiring locations that evoke a deep, personal experience of nature. However, my final artwork is rarely a literal representation of what I see.
Through a slow, patient process of adding layer upon layer over time, the physical reality of the location is abstracted. Rivers, mountains, and shorelines blur into a dance of color and texture. Yet, even when a place becomes unrecognizable to the naked eye, the soul of that specific landscape remains permanently trapped beneath the layers of paint—a living memory of a moment shared between myself, Stig, and the earth.
Thank you to everyone who braved the weather, came out to Galleri Å, and shared their own memories of the wild landscape with us. This exhibition may have concluded, but the dialogue with the elements continues.