Zaria Forman’s Greenland Icebergs in Pastel

Zaria Forman’s iceberg scenes invite a second look because their convincing surfaces are made with pastel. The pleasure is not just discovering that they are drawings, but noticing the decisions that make water and ice feel tangible.

Look for edges and transitions

A crisp ridge can sit beside a softly blended reflection. Those different treatments help separate solid ice, water and distant atmosphere without giving every part the same sharpness.

The artist belongs in the story

The studio photograph reveals the scale of the work and Forman’s physical relationship with the surface. The original account connects the Greenland project with travel and her mother’s photographic work. Recognising the images as drawings brings those creative choices into view alongside their convincing realism.

Explore more: the colour of real glacier ice; another artist’s approach to a northern landscape.

Chasing the Light has a family connection

The original account connects the Greenland project, titled Chasing the Light, with Forman’s childhood journeys alongside her mother’s fine-art photography work. That connection gives the drawings a history of looking at remote landscapes rather than presenting them as an isolated technical trick. The artist translated those places into a different medium, with her own scale, edges and treatment of light.

The studio view changes how the work is read

The studio photograph changes the apparent distance between viewer and landscape. Beside Forman, the drawing is plainly a large worked surface, yet the finished image opens onto distant ice and water. Moving between those two views is part of the pleasure. The artist’s scale and handwork do not weaken the illusion; they make its construction more interesting. A small reproduction can hide that physical dimension, so the view of Forman at work contributes something the finished seascape alone cannot show.

Water and ice need different visual treatment

A sharp iceberg ridge and its softer reflection should not look identical. The transition between those treatments helps establish which surface is solid and which is moving water. Comparing those edges within the drawings offers a concrete way to appreciate the craft, beyond simply saying that the pictures look like photographs.