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

Cobalt Lake-The Bugaboos-The Granite Boulder

"I begin with an idea and then it becomes something else". Pablo Picasso 

It's interesting how much time I have spent thinking about and looking at the Granite boulder. I have a piece of granite in my hand and feel its texture, its coolness, and if it's been in the sun....... its warmth.

Every painting is a journey, and all journeys come to an end. I feel this journey with Cobalt Lake is soon over. I brush in layers of Paynes Grey, and when half dry sprinkle in some Himalayan salt for texture. I work on the granite rocks to the left of the picture, and also dab in more layers of colour in the mossy grass.

CKUA radio is playing in the background.

Enjoy the journey.

Cobalt Lake-The Bugaboos-The Granite Boulder

 

"I would rather die of passion than of boredom". Vincent Van Gogh

The granite boulder has been on my mind since I first started this painting. It is a challenging piece of the painting because it is so unique. 

There are so many components to a piece of granite. Its chemical composition is typically 70-77% silica, 11-13% alumina, 3-5% potassium oxide, 3-5% soda, 1% lime, 2-3% total iron, and less than 1% magnesia and titania. For me, it is 100% magical and beautiful. On my easel, as I work on the Granite Boulder, is a small piece of granite. I glance at it many times, and hold it in my hand.

I go to my paints and lay down a layer of Paynes Grey. If you have been following this blog, Paynes Grey has been a participant since the beginning of the journey. I let this dry, and then lay down a darker layer of Paynes Grey. Before it dries I sprinkle Himalayan Salt to leave a crystalline look on the rock. It needs to dry. In the background, I'm listening to CKUA Lionel's Vinyls.

Enjoy the journey.

Cobalt Lake-The Bugaboos-The Foreground

"Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth". Buddah

If you have just discovered this blog and the painting Cobalt Lake, this is a fundraiser for Dani Lowenstein. Dani is a husband/father/mountain guide/friend who contracted Covid-19 while guiding in the mountains over a year ago. He is a long hauler, and the effects of Covid have had a devastating effect on his life and livelihood. I am accepting offers on this painting, and the top bidder gets the painting. All proceeds go to Dani's healing.

I haven't painted for a couple of days. I had my second Covid shot on Tuesday afternoon. I felt fine the first 24 hours. Then it was like I had been hit by a freight train. Extreme exhaustion, chills, pain all over my body. The arm that got the shot felt like it had been thru a meat grinder. As a graduate of Cancer, my immune system is weaker than most.

I'm back in the studio today. New energy and determination to complete Cobalt Lake. I begin working on the moss/grass in the foreground. Mixtures of Paynes Grey, Phthalo green raw sienna, and Sepia dance off the brush. Before they dry, I take a piece of tissue and dab it in the paint, pulling off layers and adding texture. I also remove the masking around the large granite boulder. I want to think about its part in the painting as I build layer after layer of the moss and grass.

Enjoy the journey.
 

Cobalt Lake-The Bugaboos-The Foreground

"If we fail to look after others when they need help, who will look after us?" Buddha

This painting, which is a fundraiser for my friend Dani Lowenstein, is taking shape. As I finish the mountains, trees, and moraine in the background, it is time to focus on the foreground.

I put down the first layer of wash of raw Sienna. I want to capture the colour of the dirt, moss and grass that survives up in the high alpine. It's quite a large area to paint, and it takes a while to dry. As it dries, I plan the next few stages of brushing in the moss, grass and granite. 

Enjoy the journey.

 

Cobalt Lake-The Bugaboos-Scrub Trees and Lateral Moraine

 "LIVE as if you were to die tomorrow. LEARN as if you were to live FOREVER". Mahatma Gandhi

As I move into the center of the picture it is time to paint in the scrub trees. Remember, "No twigs at 2 miles". I take my slanted 1/4" brush and dip it into a mixture of Phthalo green and turquoise. Listening to CKUA in the background, I dab 100's of times on the canvas, moving from paint to canvas in rapid succession.

As I paint I glance over to the lateral moraine on the right. I want to capture the look of many rocks......but how? I test a plastic bag, dipping it into a Sepia/black mix. Testing it on watercolur paper, the end result is too blotchy. I then take a piece of edging material used for painting corners on walls. It too is too blotchy.

I find I learn something new every time I paint. As I ponder this challenge......."Lightbulb". I take my 1/2" slanted brush, load it with paint, and with my forefinger flick it onto my test paper. It works! I take sheets of paper and lay them around the area I want to paint, keeping only the moraine area exposed. I load the brush and flick away. It worked! While the paint dries I peel off the masking around Cobalt Lake and the line separating the foreground from the trees and moraine. My next challenge is the large, open space that represents moss and grass. Then the big granite boulder. I'll end with the colour of Cobalt Lake.

Enjoy the journey

Cobalt Lake-The Bugaboos-Left Peak above Cobalt

 "A great fire burns within me, but no one stops to warm themselves at it, and passers-by only see a wisp of smoke". Vincent Van Gogh

I am totally immersed in painting Cobalt Lake. You could be in my studio talking to me and I would not hear you. My focus is on the painting, the peaks, and the rugged environment. Blue Rodeo Greatest Hits is playing in the background.

I mix some Paynes Grey and Burnt Umber and begin painting the left peak over Cobalt Lake. In some areas, I dabble in the Sepia, which is rich and dark. As I move into the center of the painting we begin to have some greenery, so I lay down a wash of Phthalo Green, softened by a splash of Paynes Grey.

I try not to think too far ahead, but I'm nervous about heading into the foreground. There needs to be more detail here, as if you were actually standing on the grass, with a cool breeze blowing thru your hair.

Enjoy the journey.

Cobalt Lake-The Bugaboos-Peak

 

"It's easy to stand in the crowd but it takes courage to stand alone". Mahatma Gandhi.

It's time to work on the right peak beside Cobalt Lake. I throw down a layer of Paynes Grey, and before it dries I brush in Yellow Ochre and Phthalo Green to capture the colours of the rock, earth and bushes. While that dries I focus on the peak to the left of Cobalt Lake and brush in a layer of Paynes Grey. As both dry, I think of the next steps on the peak to the right. I want to add in rock formations, scree slopes and the gnarly bushes that exist on the mountainside.

Using a darker mixture of Paynes Grey with a bit of Sepia mixed in I begin brushing in the rock. I then load my brush with the Phthalo Green mixed with Paynes Grey and brush in the bushes.

In the background, I am listening to The Road Home with Bob Chelmick. A great collection of music, poems and stories.

Enjoy the journey.

Cobalt Lake-The Bugaboos-The Big Wall

 

"Ordinary men hate solitude. But the master makes use of it, embracing the aloneness, realizing he is one with the whole universe."Lao Tzu

Creating/painting can be a lonely journey. You need to concentrate on the subject at hand......hard to talk to anyone or acknowledge people. Bruce Coburn, on Radio Paradise is singing in the background keeping me company. He is followed by T Bone Burnett.

It's time to paint the big wall. I make sure I have enough Paynes Grey mixture and begin the process. My brush dances around the wall, a shadow here, a long line there. On teh lower slopes I paint in multiple lines to represent scree. The rule of thumb in painting is "No twigs at 2 miles". You save the real detail for the foreground. The next area I will work on is the right peak/knob. The colours warm up here. We will still have Payens Grey, but I will add hues of browns and greens to capture the changing rock and the flora.

I am totally immersed in Cobalt Lake. I even visited it in my dreams last night.

Enjoy the journey.

Cobalt Lake-The Bugaboos-The Spires

 

I'm starting to get up close and personal with the painting. In the early stages, I'm almost an observer, watching the image grow as layers of paint are brushed on. Now I am in the painting, a living, breathing part of the granite towers. My eyes dance from my photo to the canvas a thousand times. My 3/8 slanted brush dives into the newly darkened Paynes Grey and I let it dance over the walls of the spires. I step back many times to critique the process. Off my studio is a bathroom, and I hold up the painting to look at it in the mirror in reverse. The goal here is to focus on the shadow, light, and dimensions, not necessarily the painting itself. In the background, Neil Young is playing "Long May You Run". The big wall above Cobalt Lake is next. Time to step back and make sure I have enough paint and energy for this next part of the journey.

Long May you Run-Neil Young

Robert Krysak

Cobalt Lake-The Bugaboos-The Granite Spires

 

The Bugaboos consists of towering spires made of granite. Located in the snow and rain heavy "Columbia Wet Belt", this section of the Purcells is subject to heavy erosion and large, active glaciers. Originally covered in weaker rock, glaciation eventually revealed the granodiorite batholiths which form the group's distinctive spires. The surrounding rock is approximately 600 million to 1 billion years old, while the Bugaboo intrusion dates to 135 million years ago. The igneous intrusion cooled slowly, forming the crystalline structure of the hard granite found today.

Originally named the "Nunataks", the Bugaboo Spires were first noted by a surveying expedition in the late 1800s. Mining brought the first Europeans to the region with a small, ill-fated gold rush occurring in 1895 and 1896 near Bugaboo Falls. The area was prospected and staked, but the meager deposits turned out to be mostly pyrite and galena. The name "Bugaboo" originated from this rush; the term was used by prospectors for "dead-end".

Starting in the background, on the left of the painting is Snowpatch. Then the tops of the Howser Towers. Bugaboo Spire is the pointed peak above and left of Cobalt Lake, then Brenta Spire.

I brush down a layer of Paynes Grey over the peaks. As there are many layers of dark and light on the spires, I need to add layer after layer of various tones of the Paynes grey to capture the shadows of the rock. Patience needed again as the first layer dries. In the background, I am listening to Baba on CKUA. Incense is burning in the corner of the studio and the space heater is beating back the early morning chill.

Cobalt Lake-The Bugaboos-The Sky

 

It's cold in the mountains this morning.........3c. There is a snowfall warning for the Banff-Jasper Parkway, and I see new snow on Cascade across the valley. With java in hand, I walk downstairs to my studio, turn the space heater on, and gaze at the canvas. On my computer, I turn on Radio Paradise, a great station from the US with no commercials and varied music.

Many times I've been in the Bugaboos hiking. What starts out to be a bluebird day quickly changes. There are cool winds, clouds racing across the sky......and snow. I want to capture that turbulence in my sky. I prepare my paints.........pans of Cobalt Blue, Thalo Blue, Windsor Blue Green, Antwerp Blue and Paynes  Grey. Grabbing my #1 slanted brush, I begin splashing colour across the sky, with no real plan in mind.

 You always have to paint darker colours over lighter, so I lay down the lighter hues first and then let the darker hues collide. I want to capture the swirling snowflakes in the sky, so I patiently watch the paint dry. There is a time where there is a damp/dry look to it, and I apply salt. When the salt hits the wet paint, the crystals push the paint back in a chaotic way no brush can capture.

Listening to Bob Dylan on the radio in the background, I sit back, sip on my java, and contemplate the next moves with the painting. You need patience painting on canvas, as you need everything to properly dry. Once I see the wet sheen is gone, I take a stiffer brush and remove the salt flakes. Some tiny crystals remain and will shimmer in a certain light. I then take a special eraser and rub off the masking around the mountains. The peaks jump off the canvas, and there is a definitive line between rock and sky.

A reminder that this 24" x 30" painting is a fundraiser for Dani Lowenstein. Email your bid to alignmentsportsbanff@gmail.com or 403-760-9922. Also, if you click on each picture you will get a larger image.

Enjoy the journey.

Cobalt Lake-The Bugaboos

 

I'm in my studio, it's Sunday night, and the Wardens, a local group, are playing in the background on my Bose speaker. Thru my back sliding door I see the slopes of Cascade Mtn., and dark, rain-swollen clouds are dancing across the sky. There is a chill in the air.......it feels more like October than June. I am beginning to paint Cobalt Lake-Bugaboos. My goal with the painting is to raise money for treatment for Dani Lowenstein, a friend and mountain guide who is struggling thru the after-effects of Covid-19. 

New paintings can be challenging, and a bit daunting. You have this blank canvas in front of you, you know what you want the end result to be, but you need to begin to get to the end. Reminds me of being at the top of a wide-open powder slope. Should I ski here, move over there......every turn is a mark on the canvas. I have prepared the 24" x 30" canvas with a Gesso that accepts watercolour paint. As the Gesso dries, I mentally plan on how I am going to build the painting. On my laptop in front of my easel is a photo of Cobalt Lake taken by Lyle Grisdedale, a friend, photographer and mountain guide. I begin to softly pencil in an outline of the scene in front of me, careful not to press too hard as the pencil is just a guideline for where I want to paint. Once I am happy with the outline, I grab a thin brush and paint some of the lines with masking gum. Now it is in a liquid format, but when dry is like soft rubber. The masking fluid allows me to keep contrasting colours separate, and to leave sharp, definitive lines between sky, rock, earth and snow. Time to let this dry. Now I need to spend some time and decide what my main colours will be. If I do not already have the colours in my palette, I need to begin mixing and make sure I have enough paint for this 24" x 30" canvas. With a sense of calm and happiness, I begin mixing my colours. I close my eyes and flashback to hiking near Cobalt Lake with my partner Nancy. There was a cool breeze blowing, the summer sun warming our cheeks, and the towering granite Bugaboo Spire looking down on us. A special place, one that has a permanent home in my heart. (CLICK ON PICTURES TO GET AN EXPANDED IMAGE)

COBALT LAKE-BUGABOOS

Dani Lowenstein is a friend who is Manager and Lead Guide at Canadian Mountain Holidays (CMH) Bugaboos. In March of 2020, while guiding at the Bugaboos, he was infected with Covid-19. It has been over a year of a rollercoaster of debilitating symptoms that have left him with brain, heart, lung, and nervous system injuries.

Dani has been receiving treatment at the Hoffman Centre. He is already seeing improvements, but this treatment is not covered by BC Health Insurance. Dani and his family are looking at a heavy financial burden to get him healthy and able to work again. It is expected that the treatment will total anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000. There currently is a Go Fund Me in progress to raise funds.

I asked Dani what his favorite scene/view was of the Bugaboos and he told me "Cobalt Lake". It is one of my faves as well. I have been there a few times, and have a few images in my photo collection. I reached out to my friend Lyle Grisedale, a talented photographer and guide who has worked at the Bugaboos for many years. He sent me a collection of images......above is the one Dani chose. 

I am going to create a watercolour painting on canvas of Cobalt Lake.....24" x 30". As the painting evolves I will post images on this blog. My end goal is to auction the painting and all proceeds go to Dani's fundraiser. People can email or text me their bid during the process and I will post on this blog where we are at for $ bids. I will keep the auction open until one week after the painting is completed. Bids received are verbal only. Once the auction closes, the top bid will get the painting, and the owner will make payment directly to Dani's Go Fund Me.

Thank you in advance for your help with Dani's journey.

Robert Krysak

Send bids to alignmentsportsbanff@gmail.com or 403-760-9922