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Watercolour
©2012 Charlene Brown
Painting on location is the best way to ‘capture the moment’ of, say, the interplay of sunlight and clouds or the fleeting effect of wind on water…. and is definitely the most satisfying way to produce a landscape.
But often photos are needed to capture detail before the view changes – and, needless to say, that was the case here. I did not paint, or even sketch, this picture on location in my seat on a flight from Victoria to Calgary just before Christmas – I took a lot of photos of the rising sun hitting mountains I recognized as we passed Banff. And a few of them turned out thrillingly well. Do not read further, if you’ve never lived in Banff and aren’t interested in any of the following details about why I found my photos so thrilling…
The Continental Divide, which forms the Alberta/British Columbia border, runs along the ridge about 2/3 of the way down the picture. Mt. Assiniboine is the dominant mountain in the lower third (British Columbia) of the painting, and Mt. Cascade is the focal point of the top part (Alberta).
