I created this watercolor painting of four members of the Icelandic men’s national soccer team. The inspiration was the amazing achievements of this team, in particular qualifying for the FIFA world cup last summer.

As an Icelander I’ve been a fan of the team since I was a boy. Although we have had good players and good results here and there, this team is something else and their achievements cannot be taken for granted.

As an illustrator I found myself driven to create art to honor these heroes. My goal was to capture some of the energy, the passion and the hard work that has put Iceland on the footballing map. I depict them as emerging out of the colors of the Icelandic flag, as if they are embodying the hopes and dreams of the nation behind them. Even though I would have liked to include all the players and the staff, I quickly realized as I started sketching that I had to choose 3-4 to represent the spirit of the team.