Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Painting Moraine Lake- Banff

 
Last week we got back from a fantastic trip to Canada which included a couple of days in Banff, Alberta. One day a minor miracle occurred in which I convinced all three of my kids to draw along with me at Moraine Lake, the often overlooked little brother of Lake Louise.


It must have been the cool but pleasant weather or possibly the stunning scenery which persuaded them, but they never once asked if I was finished yet. I brought enough sketching and painting supplies for all of them to choose something, and that possibly helped make the outing enjoyable as well.


I just got to soak it in and paint for an hour or so, which was great. It didn't hurt that when the boys finished (or got bored), that there was an incredibly turquoise glacier fed lake to skip rocks on.


The ice was still coming off the lake and plenty of snow still clung to the peaks which made the view even more stunning. I broke in my brand new Moleskine watercolor sketchbook using pencil and my portable Cotman watercolor set.


I also broke out a couple or Niji water brushes for the first time and I have to say I was impressed with their functional practicality. My youngest son even requested one for his birthday. Overall a great time at one of the most beautiful places I have seen. I can't wait to make a bigger painting of this view.

11 comments:

Carolyn Fisher said...

I wish I could've joined you for painting! Next time I'll show you some glacier fed lakes further off the beaten path. People say "Moraine Lake" rather than "Lake Moraine."

Jim said...

Greg, have you tried egg tempera, fresco, cave drawing, sculpture etc etc because you pretty much nail every medium you mess with. Great painting.

Unknown said...

Carolyn- great to see you- would love to come back and paint something a little more remote. Changed the post title as you correctly mentioned, thought the text of the post was right.

Jim- thanks man, coming from you I appreciate it. Cave drawing sounds fun- got any clean walls that you can't get arrested for painting on?

Amy said...

Looks like so much fun...wish I hadn't been sick that day. Guess we'll just have to go back!

Brad Teare said...

That's a beautiful painting! (I've always wanted to go to Banff.)

Will Terry said...

WOW - I'm so jealous of you! One of these years I'm going to hook up with you to paint - looks great!

Unknown said...

Yep, I want to go back and paint there some more. Will, Brad- I'd love to go out painting with you guys sometime!

Anonymous said...

Hi Greg:

I stumbled across your site while looking for works done at Banff / Moraine Lake.

What a treasure it must have been to visit there in RL and to paint en plein air!

Your sketch you have featured here captures so much majesty in a small size canvas!

Well done!

Unknown said...

Thanks Robert!. I enjoyed it very much. I'd like to work this up into a bigger painting someday, but as it is, I will keep it as a nice memory of our trip. For me, I think it feels more authentic than the photos.

Terry Krysak said...

Great Watercolor, sure brings back many wonderful memories of Moraine Lake.
I hiked there many times in the 1970's, camped there once when it was allowed. We also went a number of times to Consolation Lakes, (on the other side of the range on the left). We always enjoyed Moraine Lake just to get away from the tourists at Lake Louise.

Unknown said...

Thanks Terry! I appreciate your comments and thanks for stumbling onto the post after so long. We like Moraine Lake better than Lake Louise also. Probably because there were hardly any people there by comparison and the serenity allowed for some quiet contemplation of nature's beauty. Next time I go, I think I will explore more!