Glorious Autumn Afternoon

Autumn Afternoon in the hills of Eastend

I spent some quality time with my good friend Dean Bauche of Eastend SK awhile back and we managed to find some time to hike back into the hills around his home and do some en plein air painting. It was one of those glorious Autumn afternoons where the colours were so vibrant and the air was so crisp and fragrant with the odor of fallen leaves. Can't get much better I think.

Summer en Plein Air

Brady's Coulee, Eastend SK

Another plein air piece painted from the deck of the CPR Station masters home at Brady's Coulee, near Eastend Saskatchewan.  Its an oil on paper board and was done in the early hours of the morning around the beginning of July.

Wolf Willow Art Retreat

Bradys Coulee, Eastend, SK Casien on  Paper

Just nicely recovered from my annual pilgrimage to Eastend Sk where we Artists congregate for a number of days of art making and merriment.  I confided to my friend Dean Bauche, the host of this fabulous event, that someday I want to come back for an indefinite amount of time.  A wonderful place to be.

Shellmouth en Plein air painting

I've painted from this location before on a number of occasions with my brother Richard present taking photos, Garry Harris, James Dean, Jan Layh, Dean Bauche and others all trying their hand at painting from the subject.  Nothing beats it in my humble opinion, I'll never tire of it as long as I'm able. A great spot where the Assinaboine River takes a turn and lazily continues on her way.

Collaborative Paintings

Dean, Darrell and Jan exhibiting some Mirth

Bonny, Darrell, Jan and Dean

Darrell and Dean having a quiet moment

Jan Layh and Dean Bauche

Dean Bauche and Bonny MacNab

The Four Amazing Amigo Painters

New Owners with Darrell and Shawn Majumder

Four Amigos with Shawn Majumder and owners of Collaborative Painting

You might be able to tell that we seem to be having a lot of fun in these photos. I had the opportunity to hang out with my great friends Dean Bauche, Jan Layh and Bonny MacNab this past weekend in the Battlefords where we were asked to paint a collaborative painting for the Dekker Center Gala. The painting was to be auctioned off to help with the operating expenses of this amazing facility.  Well it turned out that we had time to paint two pictures which were auctioned off for the tidy sum of $4500.00!  The auctioneer was Shawn Majumder, of CBC's This Hour has 22 Minutes fame.  He did a wonderful job for us and many thanks go out to him for that.  Rob Rongve of RBC Securities bought us a very good bottle of wine which definitely added fuel to the fire, thanks Rob! We had a blast. The following three days were spent facilitating an Art Retreat/Workshop with 15 participants and this turned out to be a huge success as well.  So, it turns out that they want us back for next year and seeing how we had such a nice time we will be back!  Thanks so much to Barb and Dean for opening up your home to us crazies, I hope that bottle of good scotch is there when I come back Dean!

Collaborating

This painting had its beginnings as a collaboration with my painting buddy Dean Bauche at a retreat on Bonnie McNabbs ranch north of the Battlefords last winter.  In the beginning it was pretty grey, which I wanted to explore, but after getting it back from Dean I decided to add some colour.  My morning walks in the frost covered landscape figured prominently in the painting.

The Joy of Collaboration

Extraordinary in the Ordinary

Every once in awhile I have the joy (I could use many words to express this) of collaborating with good friends at our various Retreats.  The painting above was painted by Dean Bauche, Jan Layh and myself at our Retreat in Denare Beach, SK this past summer.  Rocks were the theme of many participating artists as this location is well known for the Precambrian outcroppings abounding about there (some are loaded with precious minerals like zinc, copper and gold).  I was entrusted to take this painting home and finish it, the only demand was that I didn't break the first rule.  People in the know will understand what that means!  I only had to sharpen up some lines and do a bit of glazing.  Seems like its done.

Wind in the Grass, Smoke on the Wind

This pastel was a plein air effort from the hill above the dam at Eastend.  I was up there with Dean Bauche, Bonnie McNabb and Ovid Mercredi.  There was a pretty stiff wind blowing and I had to hold onto my pastel board tightly to keep it from taking off on me.  For sure I didn't have to worry about blowing the pastel dust occasionally.  I love sitting in nature and painting, and when the elements are particularly active, it is even more vital.  Plein air pieces form a lasting memory for many years after. 

Eastend 2011, the second day

High Winds, Bright Sky  30 x 30 in Oil on Panel

 

 

 

 

This time around at Eastend Dean let me set up my studio space in the ranch's owners workshop, which suited me just fine because I have much the same setup at home.  Dean Bauche and Bonnie McNabb were also set up there but Dean good nature ably ribbed me about how I managed to take over half of the workshop. I let it pass like water off of a duck's back.  I painted the picture above on my second day down there and it is loosely based on the previous posts plein air piece.  I am always amazed at how much work a person can get done on the ranch.  Wish I could do the same at home.

Eastend 2011

Bright Morning at the Y Road

We just got back from another amazing experience at Eastend, SK, where we attend a weekend Art Retreat.  The weather was fantastic with warm temperatures and a very nice wind to cool things off.  I managed to paint a few pieces, some in the studio and some with friends in the hills of Eastend.  I had some very special moments with close friends that are to personal to speak of here but they will stick with me for the rest of my life.  I post one of the pieces I did while sitting with my friends Jan Layh and Bonnie McNabb near the Y road.

Spring Melt

A great day today, the snow is melting fast.  There are road building crews working feverishly to berm up the Little Manitou, hopefully to prevent serious flood damage.  It is almost a loosing battle from my vantage point.  I post this painting of the spring melt at a place called Clearwater Lake, I lived near there for many years and it holds a special place in my make up.  I just returned from North Battleford where I was helping my dear friends Dean and Barb Bauche renovate their bathroom.  They lured me up there with a promise that Dean and I could do some collaborative paintings but that didn't happen because of all the work that had to be done:(  They did treat me to a house concert performance by Valdy which was awesome to say the least!  Last time I saw him was at the Trappers Festival in The Pas, many years ago.  I also had the pleasure of staying with my buddy Ross Nikoforuk and going to a Bruce Cockburn concert in Saskatoon last Sunday.  He played my all time favourite song, "All the Diamonds."  Thanks Bruce, you made my day.

I had a great time with this painting. Imagine Don Layh's face when he came into his office (which I had appropriated for a studio) and saw his prized bottles of Scotch being used as a support mechanism for the pears you see above! I had arranged the pears in a precarious placement on top of a Scotch box, which in turn was sitting on the other box in a T form. All of this in front of a large window overlooking the valley below on a gray kind of day. He liked the painting and rewarded me with a drink of scotch, much appreciated Don. And congratulations on winning your two cases at the Supreme Court of Canada! By the way, this painting was done on a cigar box provided by Dean Bauche, who bought about 40 of them at a Dollarama for $1.25 each. We painted on them all weekend.

Ovid Mercredi

A whiles back, we were invited to spend New Years with Jan and Don Layh, who live near Langenburg, SK. Also present were other friends, including Ovid Mercredi. I caught him with my camera in a very contemplative mood sitting near a window overlooking the valley below. Ovid is a wonderful poet and he has blessed us many times with readings of his work. He also has become very interested in painting and is coming along quite nicely in that field. He has challenged other painter friends and myself to come up with a painting that visually captures the spirit of his poem, "Ode to Mozart." I am still working on that. For now I'll settle for this pastel of the poet himself.