Canada's Triple Crown

The sun came out again for us on the last day and we had that 

unusual combo of fall color and snow.

Triple Crown

9x12

oil

I took out my last 9x12 panel after the first painting,

divided it in half and did some quick value studies of

the same scene using different colors.

I know this sounds odd because so many painters go out

and work on color studies that match the scene, but all I

think about is value and pushing colors to match 

my own vision, mood, or sense of harmony.

In fact I make an effort to not be influenced by local color,

like a green tree for example.

I'm more of an impressionist than a tonalist because it's

what I enjoy the most.

There is no right or wrong here.

These each took about 20 minutes and it's a great way to 

clean up your palette after a painting trip!

Thanks for following along.

Canada, Seeing Double!

The thing about painting trips is that it stretches you as an artists.

It forces you out of your comfort zone and to look at things with fresh eyes.

It also made me choose a subject that I wouldn't normally paint.

Canadian Vista View

12 x 12

oil

I usually go for structure over pure landscapes and definitely

not vistas.  It's a personal preference but partially because 

I feel like these views are so majestic I'm not sure I can convey that feeling.

But this is where my friends landed so I gave it a whirl.

I can really see why people get into painting mountains.

Funny thing, below is my friend, Mary Burkhardt's painting next to mine.

Even though the interpretations are very different it almost looks like the 

same painting extended!

Seeing Double

Thanks for following along!

Banff Vermilion Lake

We drove to Banff one chilly morning and painted with a group at

Vermilion Lake.

A beautiful place with foggy moody weather,

and a variety of ducks and geese.

Incoming

12 x 12

oil

Afterwards we were feeling tired and hungry so went to the Fairmont Hotel in Banff

and had a wonderful late lunch in the Rundle Room with a beautiful panoramic view of Mount Rundle.

Did I mention we were feeling a little lazy and cold so decided to splurge and leave our car at the valet.

We didn't think twice about it till we came out after an hour to pay and the attendant asked us for 40$.

More than lunch!!!LOL 

Yeah, I know.

Thanks for following along:)

The Canadian Plein Air Adventure Continues:

We were always on the lookout for critters and good places to paint

without too much snow and ice.

Bears! OH MY!

Mama and three baby grizzlies. We chose to head in opposite directions.

Photo courtesy of Brian Smith.

Canada has lots of trails to hike and we could just pull into a parking lot and find great views just off the road.

Snuggled Against The Cold

12 x 12

 oil

This was a fun one to paint with the group of trees snuggled together still wrapped in their blanket of fall color to keep warm as long as possible.

And afterward we stumbled upon this striking view.

Room To View

9 x 12

oil

Other critter sightings:

Rocky Mountain Sheep

Goats

and a very fluffy coyote!

I did see and elk but couldn't get a photo and I was really disappointed not to see a moose!

Some people saw lots of them.

Darn, guess I'll have to go back;)

Thanks for following along!

Cozy Fire

There was only one day in Canada that kept us house bound.

We painted my friends husband reading his book by a cozy fire.

Cozy Fire

9x12 oil

In the afternoon Gene Costanza treated us to a demo that he

did from a couple of different plein air studies.

I might add that he made it look effortless.

I love how the mountains fade into the sky!

demo by Gene Costanza

Thanks for following along!

Sunshine on the Mountains

This was truly a spectacular day!

My painting pal Mary Burkhardt and I drove down to a beautiful bridge.

We painted one side in the morning and the other side in the afternoon!
A bright and sunny day!

Canadian Morning

12 x 12

oil

Canadian Afternoon

12 x 12

oil

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Canadian Rockies

Out of all my travels I’ve never been to Canada!  So I was very excited to sign up for Fall Color Week put on by Plein Air Magazine.  We all met at Kananaskis Lodge to paint the fall color and ended up with a bonus- snow!

The snow fall came early this year and the combo of color and snow was spectacular.

This is my first ever plein air snow painting!!!

Snow Fall
9x12
oil

It’s hard to describe how majestic and imposing the Canadian Rockies are!

I’ll break this up into a few postings.

Did I mention the wildlife?

Artist's Tip:  For my fair weather friends, if you dress right it's
quite comfortable. I took my Antarctica clothes, but just wore my regular
hiking boots with foot warmers.
It's all about the layers: a Merino wool shirt followed by a inner and outer fleece,
an inner jacket followed by a down jacket.
Two hats, one baseball with a visor and another wool cap on top to keep my ears warm.
I wore three layers on the bottom, long underwear, fleece pants, and a third optional waterproof, windproof pair.  This outer pants have a zipper all the way down  the leg so they are very easy to add if the wind picks up or shed if the sun is out.
Of course there were hand warmers in my gloves and boots.  I wear painting gloves all time but topped them off with finger-less mittens.  I knew finger-less mittens had some sort of purpose and this was it!

Thanks for following along!