Federation of Canadian Artists on Gabriola Island

September 20, 2010David McEown

The Federation of Canadian Artists invited me to be one of the instructors at a week-long en plein air painting event on beautiful Gabriola Island in British Columbia. It was wonderful to paint with almost 125 artists that descended on the island from all over North America. We had ocean shoreline vistas and wildlife sightings as well as old heritage farm lands to draw inspiration from. Plus the weather cooperated as well. Also it was inspirational to work with fellow instructors Mike Svob, Brent Heighton, Deanne Lemley and guest lecturer Robert Genn. The event was one of most well organized workshops I have participated in. The Haven Resort site was a fine location to host such a large event. The Phoenixauditorium also was a great venue for nightlypanel discussion on art and presentations, in which I gave my“Antarctica to the North Pole” painting adventure show. Many thanks tothe organizers that put this together. I wish the FCA much success next year and recommend it to those that want to paint on “island time for a while”.

David with Demo from Entrance Point Light House

categories Art Workshops, en plein air, Landscape painting, Watercolour, West Coast Rainforest
tags art workshops, en plein air, Watercolor

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

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