Monashee Traverse

   The painting at the top of this page is a study for a larger oil painting. The scene is in the Monashee mountains of central British Columbia and I am at the top of an icy, rocky, cold and windy place looking down on my friends who have all merrily skied down this forbidding slope without falling down. While assessing my chances of descending to join them without sustaining too much damage the breathtaking light across the far slopes was impossible to resist and since I hadn't fallen on my camera yet I managed to get a few pictures.
   It seemed that everywhere we skied I was left behind on a problematic precipice while my companions zipped away, but the reward was a few dramatic scenes saved for later enjoyment.
   Yes I did ski down that slope and all the others too but as a relatively novice "telemarker" did not have the aggressive technique to be in the lead.
   Now I ponder approaching the Very Large Canvas that this scene will eventually end up on. I love painting murals but have not done that in many years. Starting a big painting feels about the same as heading down a steep slope after not skiing for a long time. But once some momentum is gained it will be a lot of fun. The first step is done of priming the canvas but since it's just a white blank it didn't seem very interesting to add a photo of that stage. Check in later for progress when the colors start showing up.