Canadian Rockies-Merry Christmas

It's -14c here in the Rockies today, the sky is a beautiful cobalt blue and Christmas Day is 10 days away. Having a young son who is on the doorstep of being a teenager I've realized it is not Christmas day that is so important but more the time before, during and after. The picking of the tree at the Scout hall, decorating it, putting up the Christmas lights, wrapping presents and placing under the tree, the Santa Claus Parade, the Christmas Train, singing Christmas Carols.......so many things to be thankful for. 

I also think of those less fortunate who struggle to put food on the table on a daily basis, who have no money for shelter and heat let alone presents. Every day is a challenge, with little time or energy for fun and celebration.

This Christmas Season until January 15, 2015, I will donate 40% of the sale of my paintings/cards to Santa's Anonymous and the Food Bank in Banff. If you have a chance, please donate in your home area to those that truly need it.

I wish you a Merry Christmas, and a Healthy and Happy New Year.

Bob Krysak

Peggy's Cove-Nova Scotia

It is always a journey when you work on a painting, one with many challenges and successes. Once completed, you are relieved, saddened, happy, many emotions all mixed in.

 I mentioned earlier in my blog that in the future I will have a show called "My Favourite Places".
"Peggy's Cove" was to be a part of that show but I'm hoping it has found a home before then.

My first visit to Nova Scotia was over 12 years ago and thru a good friend there I have been able to experience the sea and the coastline in many different ways. She is on the board of a very unique organization, The Nova Scotia Sea School. Celebrating 20 years of operation, the Nova Scotia Sea School will take you on the adventure of a lifetime, where you will have a truly unique experience with a crew of adventurers and discover strengths you didn't know you had. Please check out sea school.org for further information on their programs.

I am donating the proceeds of the sale of "Peggy's Cove" to The Nova Scotia Sea School, and will ship the painting to the purchaser. If interested, please contact me at alignmentsportsbanff@gmail.com or 403-760-9922.

Peggy's Cove
Watercolour on canvas
16" x 20"
$425

Peggy's Cove-Nova Scotia

A summer storm is rolling through as I put finishing touches on Peggy's Cove. Although it is 4pm the sky is dark to the west, lightning is dancing across the sky and the mountains are rumbling with distant thunder.

I add more layers of the Paynes grey, adding detail to the boats, the buildings and the docks. I'm getting close to finishing, and that is when you have to be careful not to overpaint your subject. I set the painting up on an easel and stand 5, 10 and 20 feet away to get a feeling of the detail and perspective, looking for areas that do not "pop".

It's been a great journey, a few more strokes of the brush and we will be done.

Bob

Peggy's Cove-Nova Scotia

It's been a busy spring and summer in my world. I was in California with work in June, had a family wedding here in July and lots of company.
Back to the brush. Time to build layers in the painting. Using a light mix of Paynes grey I paint all the buildings, docks, wood areas that are pounded all year long by the weather. I also do a light blue layering of some of the building, and dark Paynes grey on the roofs and outlines of windows and doors.
The next step will to be add detail to the boats and the dock area.
It's good to be painting again.
Bob

Peggy's Cove-Nova Scotia

The next stage in the painting is to remove the masking lines that leave definition between sea and sky, boats and water. Once I scrape it off I add some of my sky/water mix to give some reflection from the boats and dock. I then add some rose madder to the boats and a variable mix of reds to the building in the background. Paynes grey makes up the windows on the boats.

Standing back and looking at the painting I realize I need more definition in the sky and more layers in the water. That will be the next stage and then I will begin working on the buildings. Painting on canvas coated in gesso is a challenge with watercolours as the paint bleeds…hard to keep crisp, clear lines.

I love the challenge.
Bob

Peggy's Cove-Nova Scotia

It's been a while since I've painted. I started a new career, water has opened up so have been stand up paddle boarding a lot and have been on my bike. Even played golf yesterday.

It's the May long weekend in Canada, its raining, family is out doing adventures so time to pick up the brush.
The weather outside is dark and grey……a brooding mood of cloud, moisture and contrast. That's what I want to create in Peggy's Cove. I want the sky and water to be foreboding, but the boats to be bright and alive. As the buildings and docks get pounded by harsh weather they need to be grey, faded, tired but with bright areas where new paint has been added.

It's always great to come back to the canvas and brush.
I hope you have a great weekend!
Bob

Peggy's Cove-Nova Scotia

It's always interesting beginning a new work. You need to first mentally map out how you want the piece to look, then sketch the key areas onto the canvas. The motto is "Less is more", so I try not to over sketch and put too much into the image.
Once I'm satisfied with my sketch I mask out(a liquid compound that you paint on, once dry you can paint over it and when finished peel it off and you have clean, crisp lines and separation between areas) key areas where I want a sharp definition between an object, the sky and the sea. I haven't painted water for a while so I admit I'm a bit nervous about it.
As the masking fluid dries I will plan which area to paint first, usually the sky, and create my main colour. This colour will be used for the sky, and with some changes also for the sea and the grey buildings.

Peggy's Cove-Nova Scotia

The next part of my journey painting my favourite places takes us to Nova Scotia. We have good friends that live in Seabright in a cove off of St. Margarets Bay. Between sailing, kayaking, paddle boarding and catching crabs there are never enough hours in the day. We always take a drive down to Peggy's Cove, one of my favourite places. This next painting was created from an image on a day where the barometer was falling, boats are moored to the dock and there is the feeling of "Calm before the Storm". I love the sea, and the wonders of the East Coast of Canada.

Cascade Mountain-Early Morning-Canadian Rockies

Very cold and snowy in the Rockies this morning. A good time to sip on a java and paint.

I added one more layer of Sepia to the shadow areas and the painting is complete. It is always satisfying to know you have finished a painting…it's a sense of accomplishment. There is also a touch of sadness as there is a relationship with your work and once completed it's time to move on to new projects. Listening to Fleetwood Mac on the radio.

                           Cascade Mountain-Early Morning-Canadian Rockies

                                       Watercolour on Canvas-12" x 24"

                                                             $300/SOLD

Cascade Mountain-Early Morning-Canadian Rockies

First day of Spring in the Rockies! -1c this morning, the sun is trying to break thru the clouds that are moving across the sky with light snow.

I spent a lot of time thinking of how to paint in the dark rock on the mountain. I really want to create a difference between dark and light, but do not want to overpower the painting with too much darkness. I put my first layer of sepia down and now have stepped back to let it dry and then see where I need to have more definition in the shadows.

In the background listening to local radio and Elton John.

Cascade Mountain-Early Morning-Canadian Rockies

Beautiful day in the Rockies, cool and crisp in the morning and bluebird.

The next step of the painting is to add definition/colour to the rocks that are in the sun. They cannot be the same colour as the snow so I have added a layer of Yellow Ochre on to the rocks.  Next I will add a dark sepia colour on the rocks that are out of the sun in the shaded areas.

In the background is Neil Young, Live at Massey Hall. Love his guitar.

Cascade Mountain-Early Morning-Canadian Rockies

It snowed a lot last night….March and Spring time. This afternoon I went for a long walk and I had my jacket open because of the heat of the day.

I have filled in more of the rock area of the mountain with my early morning light mix and have also added a diluted mix of the blue from the sky to fill in areas that are out of the sun. The next step will be to give the painting stark differences from light to dark to represent where the sun is not shining. Its like working on a puzzle right now and I need to see how all the pieces will fit.

In the background I'm listening to Sting, All This Time (Live) and echoing thru the house is the laughter of my son and his friend from school as they work on a science project.

Cascade Mountain-Early Morning-Canadian Rockies

March has come in like a lion to the Rockies with lots of new snow. We had to shovel the driveway 3 times in the same day! The temperature then rocketed up to plus 9c and melted down a ton of the snow with huge avalanches coming down every peak.

Time to start painting Cascade Mountain. To capture the morning light coming from the East I mixed New Gamboge, Cadmium Yellow and Alizaron Crimson. I then added a bit more of the crimson to try and grab some of the red in the sky. I need to plan the next few stages as I will have to play with the moods of rock in a bright morning sky  and try to capture that warm hue. I will also have to plan out the shaded areas where you can feel the cold, and the air is so still that your exhaled breath floats for what seems like eternity.

Mt. Assiniboine-Early Morning-Canadian Rockies

There comes a time in a painting…….I guess in life also, when enough is enough, when it is finished, you are done. For me it is the biggest challenge to step back and not add any more paint, not fill in any more white spaces, be satisfied with what I have created. This afternoon I decided to work on Assiniboine, no real plan, just see where the journey takes me. I mixed together some old and new Sepia to create a really dark paint and began filling in the mountain on the left and at the same time adding some Cobalt blue in the foreground for the crevasses on the glacier. I'm happy with what has been created. In the background listening to "Jack Johnson, Greatest Hits".

Mt. Assiniboine-Early Morning-Canadian Rockies
24" x 18"
$500

Mt. Assiniboine-Early Morning-Canadian Rockies

There comes a time in a painting where you really have to commit, where you take the plunge and say "I'm going in". It's time to start painting the mountain that is not in the sun in dark sepia mixed with a bit of cobalt blue. The paint has to be thick and dark to give a contrast to the bright areas. As I am painting this I know that I will soon need to work on the foreground, which is in the shadows and needs to be even darker. As mentioned earlier, Sepia is very much a staining pigment so is very unforgiving if you make a mistake.
In the background listening to Jim Cuddy, Skyscraper Soul. Love the peaks and valleys in this music.

Mt. Assiniboine-Early Morning-Canadian Rockies

It's hard to believe that two weeks has gone by since I lifted up a brush. Work has been busy, and time as a hockey Dad and husband have been filling the days with many activities. Each morning I have been outside watching as the rising sun bathes the peaks in early morning light. The contrast from light to dark is so powerful, and I want my painting to capture that magical moment before the full force of the sun hits the peaks.

I put another wash of my blue mix over the mountain, leaving the area where the morning light is hitting alone. I then add to the mix a heavy dose of sepia, a very dark, staining paint that will give true definition, contrast and depth. I am using a very small, angled brush to create the angled areas of rock. Many times I step back from the painting and view it from different distances and angles to make sure there is shape and form to the peak.
In the back ground I am listening to Salty Dog, "Live Your Life".

Mt. Assiniboine-Early Morning-Canadian Rockies

I've just returned from a business trip to Denver and got in late last night. After a fitful sleep, time with family, I decided it was time to begin painting again. As both pieces I've been working on are a bit large and require a lot of paint I felt it made sense to now just work on one at a time so I did not run out of colours as I used them.

I must of spent 30 minutes planning out how to do the morning glow in the sky, and how to follow with the darker areas out of the sun. I  mixed New Gamboge with Cadmium Yellow and Alazarin crimson. On the bottom image you can see where I have tested various shades of this with earlier tests of the sky. Afterwards I also diluted the sky mix with water and added a bit of Sepia to give it an edge.

As painting on canvas requires you to work quickly as the colours tend to bleed I painted the pink morning sky, quickly dried it with a hair dryer then painted the shaded foreground. Time to let it dry and plan the next phase. In my studio I am listening to Sting "All This Time".
Bob

Mt. Assiniboine/Cascade Mountain-Early Morning-Canadian Rockies

I'm always on the edge before I add paint to a canvas. I look at the canvas, think about the direction I want to go and the process…..then I dive in;)

I always use Winsor & Newton paints, and in a small cup mix Winsor Blue (green shade) with Cobalt blue, then throw in a touch of Alazarin crimson for some early morning colour. Once the sky is completed you have to work on the light…where is the sun rising, what direction is the light coming from, how does it hit the peaks, what are the colours/shades, where are the shadows….I love it!

Mt. Assiniboine/Cascade Mountain-Early Morning-Canadian Rockies

I'm very fortunate to live in the mountains with subject matter to paint in every direction I look. I have painted Mt. Assiniboine in different seasons, different times of day, but I may only see the mountain once a year and sometimes not for two to three years. Cascade Mountain is in my back yard. I see it every day when I go to work, when I go home, and from the windows of my home. Interesting enough, I have not painted Cascade that many times, even though I have seen her in many beautiful poses.
This next journey of my painting is to paint both mountains at the same time. While one is drying, I'll work on the next one.

To begin the process I have prepared two canvasses with gesso so the watercolours will adhere to the surface. The next step is to draw each image, mapping out what I want to paint. The third thing I do is mask out the outline between mountain and sky so when I begin to paint there is a crisp, clean division between the two. Enjoy the journey as I begin to work on two new pieces.

Mt.Assiniboine Clearing-A New Year-Canadian Rockies

It's a New Year.
A time for reflection on things past, a time for planning for the future.
I haven't had a show for quite a few years, and I feel 2014 is the time. Not sure where or when, but the show will be paintings from "My Favourite Places".
This is the first for the collection, Mt. Assiniboine, one of my favourite mountains.

Mt. Assiniboine Clearing
Watercolour on canvas
12" x 9"
$125