Lögberg-Heimskringla - 21.02.1986, Blaðsíða 6

6-WINNIPEG, FÖSTUDAGUR 21. FEBRÚAR 1986
Thröstur Magnússon:
Iceland's premiere stamp designer
With few exceptions, Icelandic
stamps issued since 1977 have
been drawn by Thröstur
Magnússon. He is a soft-spoken
man with eyes that are at the
same time intense and reflective,
and a man with a penchant for
detail, no small quality consider-
ing his work.
Unlike some countries that release
scores of stamps yearly, placing
strains on the bank accounts of
serious collectors, Iceland's policy is
• one of restraint. For a modest sum
collectors can keep up with Icelandic
issues; only 13-18 values yearly ful-
fill the needs of the Post and Tele-
communications Administration. Mr.
Magnússon not only sees to most of
the artwork, but also takes an active
part in selecting subjects/designs
after topics have been decided upon
by the five-man Stamp Advisory
Committee.
Decisions made, he in many in-
stances must begin careful research.
"This involves about 20% of my
time. I want to know the subject, cap-
ture its essence. Sometimes I go out
into the wild to observe; and
specialists in the natural sciences
have been very helpful in finding
specimens for me, a difficult task
sometimes when rare species are
concerned. But even flowers have
anatomy, and two-dimensional
photographs alone are not enough, I
want to see the subject," said Mr.
Magnússon.
Stamps are illustrative designs. In
realistic pictures — flora, fauna, fish,
landscapes, portraits — a great deal
of experimentation is necessary to get
the colors right. "My primary
materials are acrylics, gouache, and
oil paints, and an occasional airbrush.
With oil, color gradations can be
precise: it dries slowly so changes or
corrections are easily made. Stylized
pictures allow me more freedom.
They are of course structured, but
here I am not bound by reality."
When completed, the pictures are
All stamps depicted
were drawn by
Thröstur
Magnússon.

sent abroad where they undergo a
highly-complex process of color
separation. Mr. Magnússon then
receives the color proofs which are
carefully examined and corrected
before being returned. When
"perfect" they are printed on photo
gravure jcopper-plated steel plates).
Single-color pictures are steel en-
graved, usually in France but occa-
sionally in Holland and Sweden. This
is a time-consuming and highly-
specialized craft. Aided by a mag-
nifying glass, thousands of swirls,
holes, lines, etc., are meticulously
copied onto a soft steel plate, with
one stamp taking up to six weeks to
complete (one mistake can mean
starting over). The plate is then hard-
ened before going through a complex
transferring process to the printing
cylinder.
Thröstur Magnússon is presently
working on Iceland's 1986 issues
which will probably be seven with
seventeen values. Decisions on topics
have been made; however, for some
issues final design choices are still be-
ing discussed. The beginning of an
ongoing series on birds will be the
first issue of 1986. Then there is the
two-value Europa set which all mem-
bers of the European Conference of
Postal and Telecommunications Ad-
ministration will release next spring.
This year's theme is conservation,
and Iceland’s set will depict two na-
tional parks. On May 27th the
Norden issue will be released, and
later in the summer two issues will
commemorate Reykjavík's bicen-
tennial anniversary and the national
banking system's centennial
anniversary.
Apart from stamps, Mr.
/■ >
Donations to Lögberg-Heimskringla
In Loving Memory of my husband, Grettir Eggertson
Irene Eggertson ................................. $200.00
In Loving Memory of Edwin Theodore (Teddy) and Josephine
Solmundson
With Love, G. Ruby Tergesen ...................... $15.00
In Loving Memory of my Mother & Father, Rosmundur & Elia
Arnason
With Love, Levyis &, Olga Arnason-Elfross .........$20.00
Donation to L.H.
Palina Magnusdottir, Iceland ......................$30.00
Donation to L.H.
Dr. W. Ewart, Wpg................................ $100.00
Donation to L.H.
Mrs. G. Peterson, Gimli ........................ $10.00
Magnússon also designed all Ice-
landic coins now in circulation, as
well as a commemorative coin for the
Central Bank of Iceland marking
1100 years since the country was
settled (874-1974). He is now work-
ing on a 500-kronur coin com-
memorating 100 years of Icelandic
coinage.
When asked if he had any favorite
subject matter, Mr. Magnússon
looked away for several seconds
before answering: "I find it difficult
starting anything I haven't tried
before. It's a challenge, and if I'm
satisfied with the results then I sup-
pose it becomes my favorite, for the
moment anyway. Stylistic designs are
enjoyable, probably because I don't
do them that often. I suppose, how-
ever, that I really don't know what
I like most until a picture is finished:
the feeling I get tells me what to
think."
Courtesy Modern Iceland.