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)