Painting in the Purcells -by Sharon Lynn Williams

"Mt. Sir Donald", 12 x 12" plein air oil
SOLD

This summer Dave and I splurged and took a hellicopter trip into the Purcell Mountain Lodge, just outside of Golden BC. I say splurged because the lodge is a 5 star resort in all manner of ways. The food was magnificent and plentiful, the accomodations luxurious (complete with hot showers and a sauna -unheard of in our usual back country trips) and the views were to die for. There were knowledgeable guides to take hikers far and wide, but for me, the best part was that BC painter Charlie Easton was doing an artist residency there at the same time, so I had someone super to paint with. Because of Charlie, I was allowed to go off and paint to my hearts content, with a radio in case I spotted the resident grizzly bear.

This first painting is my favorite from the trip. It features the famous peak of Mt Sir Donald, the tallest peak in the Purcells. While we were there we were treated to an avalanche spotting coming off the top -no where close to where we were. There is a huge valley just past the trees in the painting (the lodge sits on a plateau), but it makes the view look like the mountains are just coming out of nowhere.

"High Alpine Evening", 9 x 12" plein air oil
$495.00 beautifully framed
click here to purchase

I painted this on our first evening at the lodge. I just loved how the colours just popped in the low angled light.

"The Burn", 9 x 12" plein air oil
SOLD

One of our hikes let to this beautiful area that is recovering from a forest fire. I thought the twisted branches of the dead trees played with the silhouettes of the range behind, the burned evergreens that didn't drop their now red needles and the everpresent Fireweed which pops up after such an event.

"Changing Weather", 9 x 12" plein air oil
$200 unframed
click here to purchase

Our third day was rainy, but I was able to paint this from the deck of the lodge as the clouds were breaking up and the sun was returning.

"Wonder Falls", 12 x 12" plein air oil
$575.00 beautifully framed
click here to purchase

On our last day at the lodge, my hubby joined me for a big hike/paint session. Can you see the tiny line of white at the bottom of the previous painting? That is this waterfall, so you can tell how far a walk it was. What you can't tell is that you have to hike 300m down to the valley floor and 300m up the side of the next mountain to get here (and back again of course!) I was thankful for a chance to rest paint here.The colours of the rock and the moss were electric.

This was a very expensive holiday, but I think it was totally worth every penny.

Enjoy!


Share |