Coyotes Howling!

Coyotes Howling: 9x12 Oil on Board (Plein Air)

This was a winter plein air experience to remember! It was so cold, setup, painting and pack up all happened within an hour. By the end the paint started freezing - forming grains like coarse sand on the painting surface. I have 6 short video clips of that morning on my Face Book wall if you care to take a look. 

I call this painting "Coyotes Howling." Half way in, 3 packs of Coyotes started howling all around me. They were not visible, and since humans aren't on the coyotes preferred dinner menu I was in no danger. Had it been a Grizzly or Cougar, I would probably have had a slightly shorter painting experience. 

I am very happy with this painting. Maybe because of the limitation of cold. The morning sun was burning away the low mist in the foothills and casting long cool shadows over the road. 

I would say the biggest challenge an artist faces is knowing when to stop. In this case, the decision was made for me... now how can I make this decision in every situation?!

The Devil's Head

                        The Devil's Head - 11x14 oil on board.

There's nothing quite like sunshine. In the winter we're up long before the sun. In the summer it's the sun lighting up the sky at 4 30 or 5 am that taps me on the shoulder and I love it. In the quietness of the early morning, comes the promise of what a new day may bring. 

The Devil's Head is the most recognizable landmark on the Calgary side of the Rockies. The First Nations across North America apparently revered any outcrop that resembled a head. They believed that such formations embodied a or several spirits. The first white explorers, who used the Ghost Gap as a passage to the west reported finding peace offerings on the cliffs of this mountain, which were made to appease the spirits. 

It is the proximity of complementary (not complimentary) colors representing warm and cool color - temperature that gives so much life to a scene like this. When I look at this painting, it feels like I should see my breath!  

"Easy Like Sunday Morning" 11x14 Oil on Board

(Sold: Donald & Erica MacKenzie, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, UK)

It was a very cold morning; but as is typical of Alberta, the sky was clear and powder blue. The rising sun was reflecting in the windows of the house across the road. The warm light was inching down the snowy mountains trying to push back the chill. I wanted to catch the contrast between the warm light and cool shadows.