Cradled by mountains

Canmore sits in a beautiful valley cradled by the surrounding mountains.  There are spectacular views everywhere we walk.  I'm not sure when I decided I needed to try my first mountainscape, but I started taking pictures with my iPhone of potential compositions shortly after our arrival in this vibrant community about an hour west of Calgary.

We spent a few days here during the latter end of our one month evacuation in 2016.  Our entire city was displaced as fire fighters from around the world did their best to save lives and preserve property.  The memories of those two days come flooding back as we walked throughout the downtown yesterday.  Canmore has a vibe that we truly appreciate.  I especially love the abundance of art; it is everywhere in this community: in stores, on restaurant walls, in public spaces and in awesome places.

Inspired by all of this I set out to try my very first mountain painting.  Rather than over thinking it, I jumped right in and started laying down colours. 

The mountain and the sun were at my back as this came together.  It was a little challenging as the clouds would part, blinding me for a few minutes as the sun poked through.  It was rather difficult to photograph as it was getting late in the day, but here is a sense as to how it turned out.

There is a lot of love for Canmore as the painting sold almost immediately to one lady while another ordered a canvas print. 

One thing I've learned is that there are interesting subjects to paint all around us.  The mountains are a spectacular and challenging choice.  I have another picture that I took yesterday when dropping Ben off with his uncle at the Stony Nakoda Casino as there were heading to Nikiska to do some skiing.
 

This would make for an epic piece, don't you think?