Painting Number Six- A Bit of Whimsy

We are already passed the half way mark of the calendar year and what is most exciting to me is I am at the halfway point in my quest to paint one painting a month.  This is June’s creation, painting Number Six!!  I am a little late in posting due to work commitments, a foot injury and Canada Day and 4th of July holidays in the mix. This is an interesting piece, and out of the box. I consider it the painting that painted itself. Keep reading and you’ll find out why!

Last February, Big Rich and I went to Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies to do some winter skiing.  Many of you know I am a Canadian expat living in Southern California and it’s important to me to return to my roots at least once a year.   Usually, we return in the winter when there are fewer tourists and a lot more snow and ice.  An avid alpine skier, I would much rather snow ski than hike any day! 

One of the most notable landmarks in Banff National Park is Mount Rundle.  It is unmistakable with its massive diagonal sliced edge.  It sits just out of the town of Banff along the Trans Canada Highway # 1. Tourists by the thousands, throughout the seasons, stop to snap a photo of this majestic sentinel.  In summer it is particularly stunning with its snow capped edge reflecting in the lake beneath it.   Artists gather to paint “en plein air,” setting up portable paint stands and easels, each creating a their rendition of the mountain. 

In my opinion, it is equally majestic in winter. While the winter environment is harsh, the stark contrast of the blue sky and white snow can be exceptionally beautiful. Mt. Rundle could actually be considered a small mountain range as the mountain extends for over 12 kilometres (7.5 mi), on the south side of the Trans Canada Highway eastward with seven distinct peaks along the way. This is the highest and most notable peak.

The day we pulled over to snap a few photos it was bitterly cold with dangerous windchill factors. Yet it was the energy of this wind and cold that captured the attention of my muse, finding it ominous and powerful. The icy winds created a swirl of snow and sky atop of Rundle’s peak and a carpet of windblown white upon the frozen lake. She (my muse) was particularly taken with the fantasy it conjured up, in a Disney Frozen kind of way. I have admired a few abstract representations of Mount Rundle and wondered if I, too, could create an abstract rendition.

In my head, a swirl of cool colors enveloped the scene- magenta pinks, shades of cool yellow mixed with swirls of blue hues.  The snowy lake was no longer glacier blue as it is in summer, nor stark white as in winter, but rather a carpet of windblown ice and snow swirling in a mix of colors marbling together. I took to the respite of our desert home in Arizona to retreat and settle in to get the painting done. The summer heat of the desert in sharp contrast to the subject matter at hand. It felt fitting.

The painting began with the sharp, defined edge along the swirl of howling wind brushing along the snow and ice of the landmark edge of the mountain.  From there on, the paint fell onto the canvas without a plan.  It danced and swirled and dabbed and slapped and slipped and flitted. The brush picked up generous amounts of paint and freely with rhythmic strokes left a path of color, blending with others with few defined parameters.  I don’t know what you’d call this kind of painting.  Maybe free-form because I just let the brush move generously and freely with bold movements. 

It tried not to worry about constraints, form or style feeling like a young child in school when the P.E. teacher would put on music and say move freely to the music!  I did exactly that with my paintbrushes.  No music necessary, simply the release of creative energy from my brain to the brush, paints and canvas.  I surrendered, let go, and trusted the creative juices would flow and steer the process. I stepped back a few times wondering where it may lead, or if I should redirect.  However, my intuition said to follow my muse’s nudges of unharnessed creativity.  And then….everything dialed down to a slow crawl because I hurt my foot! (Another story I won’t get into here.) Prepping for company and Canada Day celebrations along with the 4th of July on its heels, the canvas, brushes, and paints were temporarily packed up and put away. I’d finish up the painting once I’d gotten my other chores done. However, everything took so much longer for me to do with the stabbing pain in my foot and my focus was somewhat derailed.

I made the best of my sore foot and pushed through the holiday festivities, determined to have a good time. I did have a great time, but the pain in my foot got worse! Moving at a snail’s pace I organized what we needed to return to LA.  I then realized I would also need to pack up the unfinished painting and complete it when we got back to our place in the city. In a rush, at the last minute, limping along, I grabbed the canvas, a handful of paint brushes and enough paints to complete the painting- or so I thought!

After a couple of days of recovery, I pulled out the canvas and set up to finish the job. Except…..where were the paints that I needed? And, there were brushes missing! In my haste to throw my supplies in the car last minute I had sorely miscalculated what I would need. I could have visited a nearby art store to purchase the missing items, but my foot wouldn’t have it! So, it was up to my muse to do what she could with what she had. She dug down deeply and did her best. She resumed her free-form play with what she had, even incorporating a bit of finger painting. At this point, I was definitely only along for the ride!

Finally, at one point, my muse put up her hands, and dropped the brush, as if the countdown on a competition show had sounded. Time was up and we had what we had. Thankfully, no formal judges to offer their critique and no elimination. After the frenzy, I felt a calmness come over me and let out a big sigh.  With a grin like a Cheshire cat and a sense of unexpected accomplishment, I chimed, “Welcome!” to painting Number Six.  

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