Viking Magazine - December 2011 - 38

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W
orld-renowned
maritime artist
Hans Skalagard
has painted thousands of sailing
ships over the past 60 years. A
descendent of Vikings, he grew
up in the Faroe Islands, located
between the Norwegian Sea and
the north Atlantic. His 30 years
of experience at sea inspires his
artwork, which hangs in private
and public collections around
the world. The long-time Sons
of Norway member has been
part of 17 museum exhibits
and is gearing up for another in
Santa Barbara, Calif., in February.
Viking spoke with Skalagard
about his two passions-
painting and the sea.
K =dl Y^Y ndj WZXdbZ ^ciZgZhiZY
^c Vgi4
; Ever since I was a child,
I had a pen and paper in my
hand. I won a first-place prize
when I was 8 years old. I'm
absolutely self-taught. My inspiration
has always been the sea,
because that's where I spent my
life. I always had some talent,
and it improves as time goes on.
K IZaa jh VWdji ndjg ZVga^Zg a^[Z Vh
V hZVbVc#
; At 13 years old I was on a
fishing scooner in the Arctic.
You couldn't find a harder life
38 K>@>C< 9:8:B7:G '%&&
than that. Then I moved
into the deep sea on big
ships. During WWII,
when I was 16 years old,
I was on ships that were
torpedoed and sunk. I've
never been hit by a freight
train, but I suppose that's
what it feels like. I spent
30 years in the Merchant
Marines. I just loved being
at sea. The happiest
days were when we left
port. My first 20 years at
sea, I couldn't even dream
about living ashore. I was
at sea for eight of my first 10
years of marriage.
K L]Zc Y^Y ndj hiVgi h]dl^c\
ndjg eV^ci^c\h id i]Z ejWa^X4
; I painted aboard ships for
27 years. Then I had shows
all over the place, including
New York in 1954 and San
Francisco 1960. I had my own
gallery in Carmel, Calif., for 35
years. I've also been part of 17
museum shows.
K =dl bVcn ldg`h d[ Vgi ]VkZ
ndj XgZViZY ^c ndjg a^[Zi^bZ4
; At last count, it was about
3,800. That's everything from
oils to water colors to pen and
pencil drawings. I have 60 years
of drawings in my workroom.
I do a lot of historical painthdchd[cdglVn#Xdb
=Vch
H`VaV\VgY ]Vh eV^ciZY
bdgZ i]Vc (!*%% ^bV\Zh d[
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ings, and that's a tremendous
amount of work. I base my
paintings off the abstract of the
ship's log and what happened
at a given time, so everything is
historically accurate. I have all
the materials for the research.
Throughout the years, I still go
back to painting sailing ships
because they are so majestic.
I paint every day. I can't live
without it.
K 9d ndj ]VkZ Vcn jeXdb^c\
Zm]^W^i^dch4
; I'm preparing for a big one
for my 88th
birthday on Feb.
7, 2012 at the Santa Barbara
Maritime Museum. It will
include 25 paintings, such as
the War of 1812 and other
historical sea battles.
Name: =Vch H`VaV\VgY
Age: -,
Origin:
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Current City:
EZiVajbV! 8Va^[#
Sons of Norway
lodges: 6Vh\VVgYZc
+ " &&' VcY ;gZnV + " %+'
E=DID 7N ?D=C 7JG<:HH$8DENG><=I I=: EG:HH 9:BD8G6I! H6CI6 GDH6! 86
up close
Viking Magazine - December 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Viking Magazine - December 2011
