Memories-Canadian Rockies

It's been very cold in the Rockies the past week and a half. -27c to - 37c lows, spiking to -16c or so as a high....every day. In my spare time, other than a few quick walks etc., I have pretty much stayed indoors. It's been a great opportunity to delete files on the computer, work on ideas for future paintings, and look at old ones.

The sketch above is a quick one I did last August in Seabright, Nova Scotia. The sea was around 100 feet below our cottage. Every morning, I would make a pot of java, then gravitate out to the deck. The shoreline was always a muddle of seaweed, foam and rocks encrusted with slimy, colourful plant life. From burnt sienna to raw umber, new gamboge to yellow ochre, all the colours of my watercolour pallet were represented. As I moved my brush across the paper, seas gulls were making their raucous calls as they fought over a morsel of fish, cormorants shot across the water, flying inches above the surface, and every once in a while a seal would pop its shiny, "Mr. Clean" head out of the water.

I look forward to our next journey to Nova Scotia, to visit friends, and experience the wonderful seascape the East Coast has to offer.

Robert Krysak