I have many people in my social media feed that regularly share beautiful pictures from their travel from all over Iceland. These visions of Iceland from my friend remind me of how many wonderful places there are in this country. One of my favourite people in my feed is my friend Blake Greene, whom I once worked with at Iceland Travel. Blake is now the marketing manager of that fine company. Even though she has only lived here in Iceland for a few years, she has already travelled more in Iceland than many locals. Blake’s latest creative project is creating painting Icelandic landscapes on her iPad, and the results are stunning.
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Thank you
Jon Heidar, Editor of Stuck in Iceland Travel Magazine
Hey Blake, thank you for taking the time for the interview. Can you please give my readers a little background information?
Sure. I was born and raised in South Florida, and left at 18 to study history at university in the UK. After some years doing university in places around Europe, I made my way back to the USA and settled in the Washington, DC area.
My time in DC was great but the pressures of work and life there had me fantasizing about moving to Iceland and its beautiful, desolate landscapes. Luckily, I had a brother already living in Reykjavík and through several vacations, I had made some good friends here. Finally, in 2016, I decided to make the move a reality.
You have lived here in Iceland for a few years now. What are your perceptions of Icelandic culture and people?
Generally speaking, I think Icelandic people are exceptionally kind if a little shy. I know all experiences are different, but I was welcomed here with open arms and have made great friends and people I call “family.” As far as the culture goes, it is in many ways a hybrid of American and Northern European cultures.
However, personally coming from a place where there is high stress and high crime rates, I am always a little shocked at how trusting Icelanders can be of each other! I tend to be more suspicious of others, less trusting, and plan heavily to avoid risk. Whereas the locals tend to be more relaxed about pretty much everything. That has been hard to get used to.
Do you have Icelandic authors, musicians, or films you want to recommend to my readers?
I am a big fan of hip-hop/rap, electronic, and jazz music, and there’s a lot of great artists from Iceland performing in all these genres. As far as jazz goes, jazz pianist Sunna Gunnlaugs is probably a favourite.
What are your favourite places and activities here in Iceland?
Well, my favourite activity is getting out, exploring nature, and taking pictures on my phone! In 2020 alone, me, my boyfriend, and almost-three-year-old daughter Matilda took close to 30 road trips. Matilda loves to road-trip … she was built for it! My boyfriend is a professional photographer, graphic designer, and location scout – so he has a great eye and knows pretty much every place in Iceland. I am very lucky to have a nice team of fellow explorers.
One of the favourite places would have to be Mjóifjörður – an astonishingly beautiful fjord in East Iceland. I also love walks around Ásbyrgi and Kerlingarfjöll. But in all honesty, there are too many amazing and unique places in each region to name.
What is on your Iceland bucket list?
I would really like to go deeper into the Highlands with a vehicle that can handle the harsh terrain. The roads can get really dicey there.
My boyfriend and I were lucky enough to get our hands on his parent’s red 1980s Mercedes RV last year – affectionately called the Eðalvagninn – which has taken us to some pretty amazing places. But not being a lifted 4×4 though means we have had our limits. So the goal is to get our hands on an RV that can take us a little further. Aspirationally, we’d also like to build a house out in the country so we can access nature a little better!
I saw you have started creating paintings from Iceland on your iPad with excellent results. Can you talk us through how that came about?
Yes! Well, I have always loved art history and to draw and paint, but since working full-time in sometimes high-stress jobs, having my daughter, a divorce, and a lot of life changes more generally, I had to put the art aside to focus on other things.
However, I was the lucky recipient of an iPad Pro for Christmas. So in the few weeks since Christmas, I have been really inspired by landscapes we have visited in the last year and have been producing digital paintings like crazy using my photos as a reference.
The real benefit to creating artwork on an iPad is there is no mess, no need for studio space, and I can take it anywhere. So it works really well with my lifestyle.
What advice would you give to those who are visiting Iceland for the first time?
My greatest advice is to explore beyond the beaten-path … within reason, of course – no need to risk your life. Try a guided tour of the Highlands or explore the Westfjords, you won’t regret it.
And if you have them, take the kids! There is truly no greater joy than to watch your child explore and enjoy nature. It teaches them to be tough, not afraid to get dirty and to respect the environment too.
