Painting along the Canol Heritage Trail

August 29, 2010David McEown

Autumn colours and snow can arrive early as mid August on the tundra. The vast panoramas dotted with herds of caribou are equally as wondrous as the tapestry and complexity of the tundra's microcosm. Paintings and photos were completed along the Canol Heritage Trail which passes through the Northwest Territories and Yukon border in northern Canada. The Objective of this trip was to have a further understanding of the tundra and sub tundra landscapes to complement a large body of paintings from the Arctic regions that I have worked on for the past several years. Special thanks to Dechenla Lodgefor their hospitality and for my painter friends Dominik Modlinski and Tim Schum for doing much of the driving!

categories en plein air, Northern Landscapes, Northwest Territories, Watercolour, Yukon
tags Canol Road, Dechenla, en plein air, Northwest Territories, Watercolor, Yukon

Whistler Art Workshops

July 10, 2010David McEown

The Whistler Arts Council hosts a series of Art events called Workshops on the Lake. I was pleased to teach an advanced three day watercolour session. The venue at the old station House on Alta lake is a perfect location. Inspiration is found working right from the outside deck and also in the comfortable creatively ambient studio setting for our challenging studio works. The volunteer and coordinator did a fine job making sure we were all taken care of and were flexible in our start time to catch the earlier morning light. The weather was stunning, almost to good however for painting outside. The pure blue skies and a heat wave made for challenges. Thus we painted the early morning light outside and moved inside to the cool cabin to work on a large full sheet sustained mountain demo in the afternoon. Would really look forward to doing more workshops again in 2011!

categories Art Workshops, en plein air, Landscape painting, Watercolour
tags art workshops, en plein air, Watercolor, Whistler

The Hakai Institute

June 18, 2010David McEown

Dedicated to research, education and recreation, this place has a treasure of natural wonders and is an amazing facility in a true wilderness setting.

categories Great Bear Rainforest, en plein air, Landscape painting
tags hakai institute, Watercolor, great bear rainforest

Hakai Beach, Great Bear Rainforest

June 02, 2010David McEown

Islands are all connected below. Connections are echoed in the rich ecosystems of the temperate rain forest on the central British Columbia Coast. Hakai Beach Institute , on Calvert Island, is dedicated to research and education as well as hosted our small group of painters that sought and found inspiring regenerative energy. This place has a treasure of natural wonders and is an amazing facility in a true wilderness setting that may inspire painting many works!

categories en plein air, Landscape painting, Watercolour, West Coast Rainforest
tags calvert island, en plein air, great bear rainforest, Watercolor

The Canadian Rockies

October 21, 2009David McEown

Autumn Morning in Banff, 15 x 22in watercolor

The following paintings were completed on location during an autumn trip to revisit many of my favorite places in the Canadian Rockies. Many thanks to the good folks at the Num-Ti-Jah Lodge who made us feel welcome and comfortable after long days working in all the elements.

categories en plein air, extreme painting, Landscape painting, watercolor, Watercolour, Rocky Mountain watercolor, Numtijah lodge
tags watercolour, rocky mountain paintings, Lake ohara paintings, Bow lake artwork, Emerald lake painting

The North Pole

April 20, 2009David McEown

The Arts in this environment above 89° North is about survival first. Every detail and action must be considered to avoid letting the cold take grip on ones ability. Awareness of the ice is paramount as cracks can appear anytime, and weather is also extreme.
On top of the world, the light is now continuous and the sun circumnavigates our actions, emitting polar optical effects, as we make our way through endless shapes, texture and colour.
Such reward it is to set up camp and feel the warm stove and feel reverence to what is often taken for granted. Then is time for reflection and creation of paintings. I let the washes of paint freeze and hope to bring back to share these raw paintings that are marked by the arctic air.

Many thanks to Victor Boyarsky, director of the Agency "VICAAR", (www.northpolextreme.com/iindex.html ) and my partner, Daisy Gilardini, (www.daisygilardini.com ) for having me as an assistant on this photo-video assignment to record the science, adventure ski trips, and re-supply missions to some of the incredible polar projects that are in progress near the Barneo ice camp.

categories Arctic, en plein air, Landscape painting, North Pole, Northern Landscapes, Watercolour, watercolor
tags north pole, Arctic, polar exploration, watercolour, ice pack

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