Sunday, October 14, 2012

Weekend Painting in Kananaskis, Alberta

Last Snow, First Nest, Kananaskis Beaver Pond. 12x24" acrylic.  In April 2012, the spring COSEWIC meeting was held in Kananaskis, we decided to stay on for the weekend after the meeting, to have a chance to paint plein air in the Rockies and visit with Leah's brother and his artist wife,  Jackie. It was a great weekend, and spring time Rockies weather being what it is, we had everything from snow to shirt-sleeve sunshine.  The first Saturday we woke to snow squalls, so took a walk and did got some photographs for reference and then took a drive to scout out painting locations if weather improved for us later in the weekend.  This is when we found this roadside beaver pond. Sunday morning was beautiful and we spent the day here. I painted the pond for nearly an hour before I noticed that the island that was in front of me had an incubating Canada Goose nesting on it!
  Pine Marten, Kananaskis 12x24" acrylic. During the week of the COSEWIC meeting I noticed, out of the corner of my eye, some critter moving rapidly by the window of the meeting room. At first I thought it was some of the Red Squirrels that were nearby, but finally I got a good; albeit brief, look at the animal in question and realized it was a Pine Marten. Over the course of the week I saw it a dozen or more times, and part of the committee had some quality time with him or her as it entered the pub on one of the evenings. This scene was painted on the snow squall Saturday morning.