Paintbrushes (Indian and other)

I have given myself time to explore a bit of the Banff area and discovered that the town of Banff exists because of the hot springs found in the south of the town, instead of this being a big money making venture, the government declared them of beneficial use to the whole of Canada, there fore Banff was the first national park established in Canada. I went to visit the original hot springs (now a museum) and got eaten alive by mosquitoes! They are pretty vicious here. Anyhow, stocked up on Deet now....


I took a trip up Sulphur Mountain Gondola on Tuesday and got to see some fantastic views of Banff area and the Bow river. On the way there I spotted some bright red spiky flowers by the side of the road and I walked back along the road to get a closer look at them. I have since learned that they are called 'Indian Paintbrush', they have been instrumental in starting some new drawings and pantings. I have bought some huge paper and new inks and I have all the clay I need so far. The first exercise I am doing is to make some forms that can be easily cast and therefore easy to make multiples of. The forms needs to represent flower shapes and components. This will be the best way to explore colour response, with these creations representing blank canvasses. There ia also a great library here, I have found a good book on human response to colour.

We each did a presentation of our work on Wednesday, which was a great introduction to everyone and to see the breadth of talent here at Banff. There is a very dedicated and focused bunch of artists here form a variety of backgrounds, mostly American, Canadian and one person for Japan also. We all get along really well, we are planning for a BBQ tonight. Also at the Banff Centre I have the opportunity to see some extremely talented musicians. There are regular performances and also a good deal of dance coming up, it really is a good time to be here!

There was a wonderful storm the night before last that has cleared the air really well. It is a lot cooler and clearer but the sun when out, it is incredibly hot. We are planning a long hike on Sunday, hopefully an opportunity to search out and sketch some native flowers.