Blekeveien by Nicholas O'Leary

“Bergen, Norway is often dubbed 'the rainiest city in Europe'. This gives landscape painting in Bergen a somewhat elusive quality.

A day, or a week for painting outdoors simply cannot be planned. Windows of opportunity where the wind and the rain subside, need to be grasped.

Eventually the dynamic weather, and working within its constraints, becomes an inspiring challenge, finding the moments where the moisture laden atmosphere becomes voluminous and filled with light. Where the fleeting sun glances off the wet pavement, where the foot traffic slows and the chatter begins, this is the story of the painting entitled Blekeveien, the name of the street. Although it is a painting of central Bergen, it is really a painting about a pocket of light. A pocket of light that is appreciated here so much more than any place I have so far experienced.” – Nicholas O’Leary