Lake Louise is the most photographed location in Banff National Park and is regularly teeming with people. Such a scene as shown has not been present at Lake Louise for over 100 years. Grizzly bears at one time were the undisputed rulers of the valley and would challenge any visitors to their territory. This shows Lake Louise as it once was in its unaltered natural state.
This landscape work was painted on site as a plein-aire and then refined in the studio with the bear and trees blocking the creek outlet. As at the time I was still incapable of walking the 200 yards to the painting site, I enlisted the aid of some cliff climbers, who each morning rolled me over in the wheelchair and set up the easels before proceeding on to the climbing cliffs at the south end of the lake.
It was a particularly challenging experience in that tourists would stand in front of the canvas continually to be photographed with them in the scene. Even grabbing the paint brush from my hand to pretend to paint. Incredibly rude!
Lake Louise with Grizzly is part of the Bow River Headwaters series, with a book scheduled for release in April 2021.
Lake Louise is the most photographed location in Banff National Park and is regularly teeming with people. Such a scene as shown has not been present at Lake Louise for over 100 years. Grizzly bears at one time were the undisputed rulers of the valley and would challenge any visitors to their territory. This shows Lake Louise as it once was in its unaltered natural state.
This landscape work was painted on site as a plein-aire and then refined in the studio with the bear and trees blocking the creek outlet. As at the time I was still incapable of walking the 200 yards to the painting site, I enlisted the aid of some cliff climbers, who each morning rolled me over in the wheelchair and set up the easels before proceeding on to the climbing cliffs at the south end of the lake.
It was a particularly challenging experience in that tourists would stand in front of the canvas continually to be photographed with them in the scene. Even grabbing the paint brush from my hand to pretend to paint. Incredibly rude!