Christmas Canvas For Sale

 

RAVEN OVER SLEEPING BUFFALO-24 X30 REG. $350 SALE $245

RAVEN TOTEM 18X24 REG $150 SALE $105

THREE SISTERS SPIRIT 10X24 REG $145 SALE $101

RAVEN OVER RUNDLE 8X10 REG $60 SALE $42

WINTER TREES 8X10 REG $60 SALE $42

RAVEN OVER SNOWY SISTERS 8 X10 REG $60 SALE $42

RUNDLE RAVEN 8X10 REG $60 SALE $42

THREE SISTERS RAVEN 8X10 REG $60 SALE $42

All images are watercolour on canvas and ready for hanging. I can accept etransfer, Visa and Mastercard. Please email me at alignmentsportsbanff@gmail.com or 403-760-9922

Merry Christmas and enjoy the journey

Three Sisters Final

 Three Sisters is finished. It's always interesting when you complete a project, whether it be a marathon, building of a structure in a yard.......finishing a painting (s). There is a mix of relief, sadness, and accomplishment when you cross the finish line

Though the painting part is complete, I still need to put a protective spray on the images, tape the side frame with archival tape, put hanging hooks on the back, package up, and ship it to the client in Ontario.

It's been an enjoyable journey........time to step away from the brush. I have elbow surgery this Friday to repair an area that has come out of alignment. I was in a bike crash in 2020 and have 24 screws in my elbow, and one of them is very unhappy.

To those from the US that follow my blog, Happy Thanksgiving.

To all of you.........Enjoy the journey.

Three Sisters

 "Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves". Henry David Thoreau

It's always a long journey when you are painting a big canvas. Sometimes I get lost, question my abilities, and the next step. I step back, take a deep breath, do some thinking then move forward and pick up the brush. 

I finish layering in the sky, then start working on the rock on each peak. I want to capture the light, the cold, cool feel of the rock, and the deep colour of the earth. I then begin laying in a variety of trees.

Enjoy the journey.

Three Sisters

 I am working on a commission, a Triptych (3 canvas) of the Three Sisters. It's quite large, a total of 54" wide and 24" tall. 

After I bolt the canvas together, I sketch in an outline of the mountains as well as some detail in the foreground. Once that is complete, I then use my masking liquid to separate the mountains from the sky.

I then begin to lay down my colours, letting each colour dry before I add the next one. As I let each colour dry I am working on some smaller canvas that I am selling at a local store. 

Listening to Radio Paradise in the background.

Cascade Colourful Locals

 The paintings are finished. I layered with a fan brush sepia over the elk, coyote, and grizzly. Then with a  fine black pen, I added some lines and detail on each animal. After dropping in the trees, and a bit more detailing on the mountain......I step back and I am finished.

The next step is to put a protective spray coating over the canvas, wrap the edges in black, acid-free tape, and put hooks on the back for hanging.

I begin planning my next commission which I will begin soon.

Enjoy the journey.

Cascade Colourful Locals

 It's snowing outside. We are expected to get 15-20 cms in the next few days. I am in my studio listening to Radio Paradise.

I take Yellow Ochre and shade in all the animals except the Raven, which is black. As I let each image dry, I begin planning the next stage of the Elk, Coyote, and Grizzly. I also think ahead to how many trees I will need.

Every once in a while I put all three images together and stand far back. My goal is to get a better perspective of the images. I purposely made the Grizzly smaller, as if it's off in the distance. The bull Elk is in the foreground, large and powerful. You can almost feel the energy radiating off it, especially this time of year in the rut.

Enjoy the journey.

Cascade Colourful Locals

 Though my studio is in a bit of chaos, it is sooooo good to be there. I've been in the city a lot this week for medical appointments due to a bike crash 18 months ago,.The poking, prodding,  injections and kilometers have worn me down, but like a sunflower turning its face to the sun, I thrive in my studio.

I am working on a large commission right now, and it is an interesting journey. The image is so large, I need to step back many times and view the canvas (es) from afar. Many colours bounce off the brush......Winsor Blue, Cobalt Blue, French Ultramarine Blue, and Antwerp Blue make up the mountains, and I drop in Lamp Black for the Raven. Next is a bull elk, howling coyote, and grizzly bear.

The Road Home radio is playing in the background. 

I love my space to create.

Enjoy the journey.

Cascade Colourful Locals

 This is a very large project. The width of the 3 canvas is 66", or 5"6". 28 " tall. Before I begin, I prepare larger trays of colour so I can paint from colour to colour without having to worry about mixing or quantity. I prepare trays of Cadmium Yellow, Perinone Orange, Permanent Red, Quinacridone Violet, French Ultramarine Blue and a final tray Of Ultramarine Blue and Sepia.

I begin on the right canvas with Cadmium yellow, lay the colour down, clean my brush in water then on to the next colour. The final colour, the Ultramarine/Sepai blend, covers a lot of canvas, so I lay down layer after layer.

In the background listening to CKUA, and planning the next stage of painting as colours dry.

Enjoy the journey.

Cascade Colourful Locals Revisit

 Friends of ours in California were looking for a new painting for their wall. I sent them a few images/ideas and suggested the image could be done as a triptych, or three canvases with one image. They liked the idea, and the image they chose was Cascade Colourful Locals, a painting I donated to the Make a Wish Foundation a few years ago.

As the piece is pretty big......each canvas is 22"x28", I bolted them together so my drawing and lines match up. I then stood up the three canvases and began to map out a plan on how to draw this large image. Overall the image will be 66" wide and 28" tall

I love a new challenge. Once done with this piece I will start on a commission of the Three Sisters in Triptych.

CKUA playing in the background.

Enjoy the journey.

Practice What you Know

 "Practice what you know, and it will help make clear what you do not know." Rembrandt

I have been creating my whole life. Thousands of hours of sketching, painting, and experimenting. I am learning every day, the goal to get better.........not to be an expert.

Enjoy the journey.

Preparing for the Journey

 They say it takes 10,000 hours of working on a skill until you are an expert. I have been an artist my whole life and am learning every day............being an expert is a long way off.

What I have learned on my journey, whether it be going for a bike ride, a paddle, a hike, is to be prepared. I know I will be painting a fair amount in the next few months so have cleaned off my main palette and put fresh, new colours on it. Paint is not cheap.......a 15 ml tube can run over $35 and I have 40-50......so I squeeze every last ounce of paint out of each finished tube. I also take very good care of my brushes. The sable brushes can run $30-$100 depending on size. Sheets of 20 x 30 300 lb. watercolour paper are $30, so I am careful to plan each piece accordingly.

I have a few different paint sets I work with. A portable one that can fit in my jacket pocket or pannier, a mid-size one that goes into a pack or road trip, and the large kit that I use for bigger paintings.

As November skies darken and new snow falls ,I look forward to my time in the studio with my paints, CKUA and Radio Paradise.

Enjoy the journey.

The Creative Journey

 I always find it interesting the comments people make after I finish a piece. They love the composition, the colours, the theme. They are seeing the completed piece, but have not been on the journey from conception to completion.

I have been in my studio the past day preparing canvas for some commissions I have as well for some images I am painting to sell in a local store. I have over 20 sizes of canvas, from 4"x4" to 20"x30". I first make sure there are no defects in the canvas. I buy them from Opus Art Supply in Vancouver and Kenzington Art and Swintons in Calgary. I then brush them off, making sure there are no particles of dust. The next step is using Golden Gesso ground. Using a small roller, I apply a layer of Gesso, let it dry then add another. The Gesso, once dry, provides a bondable surface the watercolour adheres to. It's a challenging surface.......when you apply the paint you are never guaranteed of the final result. This is what I love, a true challenge in creating.

As the canvas dries, I map out a plan of which piece to start first. As it takes a while for paint to dry on the canvas, I usually work on 2-3 at a time so I can continuously paint. The next step is to pencil in my design on a few canvases, then I will begin painting. CKUA playing in the background.

Enjoy the journey.

Peggys Cove-The Fleet is In-Complete

It's always a bittersweet moment when I finish a painting. There is a bit of relief and some sadness. When you spend so much time planning/working on a piece it becomes a part of you. I glance over the image, do some touchups and highlight some key areas.

This is a commission for a friend, so I personalize it and put her name on the blue boat.

My final work on the image is my name. I now need to put a protective spray down, put it into the frame and we are complete.

Enjoy the journey.

Robert Krysak
 

Peggys Cove-The Fleet is In

 I mix the blue from the sky with the blue and green from the ocean and begin to layer in the reflections. Following the shoreline, the boats, and the buildings, I lay down a light wash, adding little quiver lines to mimic the moving water.

As everything dries my eyes dance around the image, looking for areas that need better definition or detail.

Leonard Cohen playing in the background.

Enjoy the journey.

Peggys Cove-The Fleet is In

 I am closer to the finish than the beginning of this painting. My eyes dance around the canvas, looking for areas to either add colour or highlight. One of the final things I will do is brush in the reflections on the water of the docks/boats etc. 

I will then do one final journey around the painting, looking for areas that need a boost of colour or detail.

I can hear the seagulls cawing as they hover around the docks waiting for scraps of fish.

Listening to Radio Paradise in the background.

Enjoy the journey.

Peggys Cove-The Fleet is In

 The brush now dances from one part of the painting to another. On the right side, I shade in New Gamboge for the rocks, then layer in thin brushstrokes of grass. Along the dock, I add Sepia and Paynes grey to darken areas and also to give contrast to the weathered wood of the docks.

I've been hovering over the painting for a while.......time to step back, stretch and focus on other activities. When I come back to the image I want to focus more on shading in and highlighting the dock area. Many lobster pots to sketch in!

Enjoy the journey.

Peggys Cove-The Fleet is In

 

Watching a painting evolve is in some ways the same as watching your child grow or a seed sprout into a plant. As you focus on it, nurture it, you see subtle changes that grow before your eyes. I dance from one side of the painting to another, working on boats, docks, and the shoreline.

There's an October chill in the air in the mountains today. A greyness that precedes a change in the weather. Due to a bike crash, I have 24 screws in my elbow that let me know about the change of weather as they react to barometric pressure change.

Time to get back to the painting listening to CKUA in the background.

Enjoy the journey.

Peggys Cove-The Fleet is In

Now the work begins. When painting the sky and ocean I was able to use larger brushes and bolder brush strokes. Now it is time for smaller brushes, a steady hand and detail. I layer in different colours on the weathered buildings. Paynes Grey, Alizarin Crimson, various shades of blue and green.......the painting begins to grow. I can dance from one side of the image to the other, layering in colour, and as it dries in one spot I move on to another.

In the background listening to CKUA.

Enjoy the journey
 

Peggys Cove-The Fleet is In

 You have to have patience when you paint with watercolour.......not one of my best traits I've been told;) I build layer upon layer of colour on the ocean. Each layer has to dry, so I step back and work on another piece. I finally get the deepness of colour I am looking for. Layers of blue with hints of Undersea Green.

Time to let the ocean dry. Once I have completed the village a may go back to the water and add highlights.........we'll see as things progress.

I am deep into Peggys Cove and enjoying the journey. Radio paradise is playing in the background.

Enjoy the journey.

Peggys Cove-The Fleet is In

 I brush down a layer of clean water where the ocean is. I then brush in layers of Phthalo Turquoise, starting at the top and adding more pigment as the colour runs out. The goal is to layer the paint, and you have to put lighter layers down first then add darker. You need to leave white spaces to capture the subtle changes in water as a wave/ripple rolls in. I'll let this dry and then add a darker layer of Phthalo, possibly adding some undersea green.

Listening to CKUA in the background.

Enjoy the journey.

Peggys Cove-The Fleet is In

 I'm always a bit nervous before I put brush to paper. It's like being at the top of the white expanse of a ski slope powder skiing, and your turns ark across the landscape. When painting, once you start, there is no going back. I prep some French Ultramarine Blue and Paynes Grey. Then I take my largest brush and wet down the paper. This technique is called wet-on-wet, as I will lay the colours onto the wet paper. You have to be careful, as the paper absorbs a lot of the colour. Paint too light and you can't see the colour.......too dark and it's hard to lighten up.

My brush dances across the paper, the blue splashing down in some areas, the grey in others. The cove can be a moody place, so I want some blue sky as well as grey wraiths of clouds. I try to keep the colour above the village lighter as I want the weathered shacks to be the focal point as well as the boats. I grab a ball of tissue paper and dab areas to pull off the paint and give the feeling of clouds.

Once the paper has dried I take a special eraser and pull off the masking fluid between the sky and the village. You can see a definitive line between the two spaces. Next, I will layer in the ocean in the foreground.

Enjoy the journey.

Peggys Cove-The Fleet is In

 One of my favorite places in the world is Seabright, Nova Scotia. Good friends of ours live there and we have spent many days on their dock and playing in St. Margarets Bay.

Down the road from Seabright is another favorite place, Peggy's Cove. I have been there many times. Whether we are basking in bright sunshine, getting pounded by an Atlantic storm, or lost in thick fog, the cove is a special place.

I have captured Peggys Cove in a few paintings. Recently a friend from Banff asked if one of the pieces was still available and I said it had sold. After a few emails, showing her some of the different renditions I have done, she picked the image she liked. I am calling this new image The Fleet is In. Attached is the photo I am working on to create The Fleet is In.

I am working with 300 lb. Arches watercolour paper, one of the heaviest. I tape down the paper to my artboard. Once you add water/paint to the paper it can bend a bit, so my goal is to have a flat surface to work with. Looking at my photo on my laptop I then begin drawing in the foundation of the painting.....buildings/boats/crab pots. The goal is to not overdraw and clutter the image.

The next part of the painting is to use a liquid masking fluid. I lay this down with a thin brush. The masking fluid gives you separation between different layers and colours. Once it dries, you can paint an area with your colour/colours of choice. Once you peel it off you have a very clear definitive line between sky, buildings and water. As I let this dry I start planning on how I will tackle the sky. Will it be a bluebird day with bright sunshine, dark ominous Atlantic sky or deep fog? Will see which way the brush wants to go. 

Enjoy the journey.

Cobalt Lake-The Bugaboos

 As we roll thru October I want to update you on Cobalt Lake. I was late getting it to market and people had already made their donations. In the end, I decided to give the painting to Dani, as it was his subject choice and the project was for him in the first place. Dani is still battling Long Covid, and we wish him all the best to a full recovery. 

My Fall focus is a new website to sell my work, new paintings, and plans for a show in 2022. My brother Terry, a talented artist in his own right, passed this September. He leaves behind some finished watercolour paintings and some unfinished pieces that I will complete. The show will feature his work, our work and my work. I will donate some of the proceeds to a worthy cause.

Enjoy the journey

Robert Krysak

Cobalt Lake-The Bugaboos-The Finished Painting

 

"It's the action, not the fruit of the action, that's important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there'll be any fruit. But that doesn't mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result". Mahatma Gandhi  

Cobalt Lake, The Bugaboos, is finished. I have an unwritten rule that once I sign a piece I do not touch it again with a brush. 

In the final stages, I work on the small granite rocks in the foreground, and on the large boulder. I shadow in the rocks on top of the boulder, then finish the mossy grass in the foreground.

The final area I work on is Cobalt Lake itself. With a mixture of Windsor Blue Green and Turquoise, I brush in layers of paint. In one corner I dab with a kleenex to pull up some paint and give the impression of reflection of the snowfield on the left side.

As I listen to Jim Cuddy in the background, I have a sense of accomplishment and sadness at the same time. It has been a powerful journey of creation and memories. I think of the many times I have journeyed around the Bugaboos and how the Spires are a part of my soul.

This painting is a fundraiser for Dani Lowenstein, a long-hauler, friend, and mountain guide who is struggling thru the effects of Covid-19.

Cobalt Lake-The Bugaboos, Watercolour on Canvas 24" x 30"

If you are interested in purchase, please contact me at alignmentsportsbanff@gmail.com or 403-760-9922.

Enjoy the journey,

Robert Krysak