Banff Mountain Landscapes

Banff Mountain Landscapes – Majestic Mountains of Banff

Majestic is the best word to describe the Rocky Mountains of Canada, and in Winter these Banff mountain landscapes are dressed in blankets of white that sparkle. It is no wonder so many painters and photographers are drawn to these snowy landscapes of Banff and Lake Louise. Observation is the activity I choose in the mountains as I park myself near an icy lake surrounded by mountains as the light comes up, waking the surrounding landscapes. Watching the light outline the curves and folds of snow, giving the mountain a shape, a personality, a glow. It is a beautiful dance of cascading light and shadow, that sparkles as the light kisses each ice crystal. I could spend the entire day here, watching as the light moves over the mountain, changing the personality of each peak as the day moves on, a remarkable sight.

This November during an artist residency at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity I had the opportunity to explore these snowy landscapes bordered by these majestic mountain giants. From Banff to Bow Lake, these are some of the locations and mountains I was privileged enough to greet. On this trip I spent time recording and photographing Mt. Rundle, Crowfoot, Mount Girouard, Cascade, Howse Peak, Mount Patterson, and more. Here are a few photos from my time exploring these majestic mountain landscapes draped in snow and ice.

Low angle view of Bow Lake towards Crowfoot Mountain

Low angle view of icy Vermillion Lakes facing Mt. Rundle

Photo at Two Jack Lake and Mount Girouard

Lake Minnewanka near Banff

Driving around Lake Minnewanka – towards Cascade Mountain

Waterfowl Lakes, Icefields Parkway, Howse Peak

Mount Patterson at Peyto Lake

Driving towards Bow Lake and Mt. Crowfoot

Bow Lake and Crowfoot Mountain

Mt. Rundle from Mt. Norquay – Banff townsite below

Read more about my Banff adventures making art at the Banff Centre.

November 25, 2022

Iceberg Paintings

New Paintings

Paintings of Icebergs That Capture the Spirit of the Landscape

At the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, in the Photography wing of the museum you will find some gems. One such gem is a photo of two men resting near an iceberg during the Terra Nova Expedition to Anatarctica, led by Robert Falcon Scott. The photograph by Herbet Ponting was taken in 1910 and makes me think of Lawren Harris and Rockwell Kent iceberg paintings. Painters, explorers and photographers have been drawn to these glacial giants for hundreds of years. Paintings of icebergs will always reflect more than the ethereal beauty of these essential landscapes, for what they capture is more than just a landscape, they capture something that gives and sustains life itself.

Capturing the spirit of the landscape, transcendental and other worldly. These original acrylic paintings collage together landscapes, people, nature, shapes and vivid colours. Weaving new visual stories on canvas that have a distinctly Canadian pop art style. I have been drawn to the works of Lawren Harris from his Group of Seven period, but also love how he evolved his work into more abstract realms with the Transcendental Painting Group. When it comes to colour play, I often think of ‘Squares with Concentric Circles’ by Kandinsky. maybe this is where the circles are coming from in my recent work.

When I decide on what I am painting, I begin with a central character. Whether that character is a mountain, a moose, or a human matters not, I’m looking for a starting point to my visual story on canvas. These days I rely heavily on intuition to guide me, and even I discover things within my work years down the road, that I did not see when I was creating the piece. I think this is what makes great art, the ability to see new things in the work for years to come. With the heat rising here this summer, and little to no sign of icebergs off Twillingate, Newfoundland, known for it’s famous ‘Iceberg Alley’, I felt compelled to tell a visual tale about icebergs. My contemporary take on landscape paintings of icebergs. Beginning with a painting that features a woman in a bikini, between two icebergs. A polar bear seems to be flying as he leaps from iceberg to iceberg. This is, ‘When Polar Bears Fly’.

The second painting about icebergs features a trifecta of bergs, three sisters of ice on the ocean. A woman in a tilley-esque hat, and red coat, scans the horizon for bergs as they continue to evade her view. This is, ‘Looking for The Bergs’.

These paintings of icebergs are the two most recent in a body of work that captures the ‘spirit of the landscape’ – these paintings offer visual stories of the landscapes that inspired the art. Here you will find paintings with iconic Canadian imagery such as mountains, oceans and icebergs; set against vivid and playful backgrounds that are sometimes otherworldly. These original acrylic paintings collage together landscapes, people, nature, shapes and vivid colours. Weaving new visual stories on canvas that have a distinctly Canadian pop art style, the vision of a Canadian artist known as the ‘Iconic Canuck’.

Watch behind the scenes video of these paintings in process, a peek inside this iconic Canadian Artist’s studio.

July 19, 2021

Ice Skating Paintings

New Paintings

Exhilarating ice skating paintings exude feelings of freedom and joy!

Continuing on with a year exploring outdoor sports and pastimes of winter, these active paintings celebrate ice skating on glacial lakes. Beginning in January this year, the celebration kicked off with two new paintings exploring the playful discovery of hockey outdoors. These pond hockey paintings created in the first month of 2021, feature glacial hues and the joy of play, bursting with colour and enthusiasm. Moving through this new body of work, my attention turned to figure skates and the romance, energy, and grace of figure skaters on outdoor ice.

Even though I am tucked away in a basement studio with augmented lighting, I was able to escape to the outdoor skating rinks provided by glacial lakes of the Canadian Rockies, and Lake Louise in particular. It is a place I have visited a few times, both in Winter and Summer, and it continues to command my attention. Perhaps some of the reasons we are continually drawn to this beautiful location, from places all over the globe, are the beautiful color palette, the crisp mountain air, the sounds of nature and the lake. But could we also be drawn to this place for another reason? Recently I did some digging and discovered some very deep ideas about the energy found in this place. There is an energetic geometry found at Lake Louise, which to anyone with a camera, a brush, or a sense of symmetry, you will see immediately. Lake Louise is one of many ‘energy vortex’ locations on Earth which acts as a swirling center of energy, containing more earthly energy than most places. Many believe that energy vortexes exist at the intersections of ley lines or the random lines of natural energy that make up the Earth’s electromagnetic field.

Some other well known energy vortex locations on Earth include Stonehenge, Sedona Cathedral Rock, Haleakala Volcano, Great Pyramid of Giza, Mayan Ruins at Tulum and the Bermuda Triangle. Many vortexes continue to be reported to bring feelings of peace, harmony, balance, and tranquility; while others are believed to promote personal reflection, deep insight, and a clear mind. Others still act as powerful centers of physical or emotional rejuvenation. Some even say they may be the healthiest spots on Earth. It is no wonder that droves of tourists are attracted to Lake Louise annually.

Here are the third and fourth paintings of 2021; filled with scenery, energy, escape and joyful hues. Celebrating ice skating outdoors.

TWIRL: a figure skater twirls and jumps as her blades sketch stories into the glacial lake ice. Aerial views offering a unique abstract perspective.

VORTEX: twin skaters with long auburn hair and a lone hockey puck. Dreamy in Canada.

These paintings celebrating outdoor ice skating are alive with vivid colours of teal, lime, violet, red and orange against a range of blues. With the palette of each my goal was to capture the electricity and energy of skating outdoors in Winter and specifically the energy found at Lake Louise. To create my signature smoothness and texture, I utilized a myriad of painting techniques I have developed over the last twenty years as an artist. These pieces were created using my handmade Rosemary paintbrushes from England, my gloved hands blending with fingers on canvas, as well as random household bristle brushes to produce the snow and ice effects.

All over the planet humans know how to celebrate long Winters, through making the outdoors our indoors. I hope these paintings transport you to these locations, much like they did during my process of painting them on canvas. These paintings are for sale; add them to your art collection today.

Sincerely Yours,

Brandy Saturley (a.k.a #iconiccanuck )

March 3, 2021

Canadian Artists Painting Mountains

Canadian Art, Collaboration

Two Canadian artists painting mountains on the Continental Divide.

How do two Canadian artists painting mountains, in different provinces, come together to collaborate on paintings that separate their practices?

Snow Dome, acrylic on canvas, Brandy Saturley and Gisa Mayer

In early 2017, my “Canadianisms” began their solo exhibition tour across Alberta, and as part of promoting the tour and getting to know the arts community of Alberta, I attended the CARFAC AGM in Edmonton at CARFAC Alberta. Previously, Visual Arts Alberta, it was where my first solo show of paintings inspired by Canadian culture and hockey were exhibited under the title, #ICONICCANUCK in 2014. At this AGM I met a painter by the name of Gisa Mayer, a landscape painter from Calgary, by way of the Bavarian Alps, where the painter spent her early years.

Over that year, Mayer and I began to develop a connection and friendship, inspired by our shared love of the outdoors, hiking and the iconic mountains of the Rocky Mountain range. By the end of 2017 we had decided that we would begin a collaborative project, inspired by our shared loves. Inspired by famous collaborations of art history past, such as Warhol and Basquiat, Johns and Rauschenberg, and Rivera & Kahlo – this was going to be interesting as in our case we live 1059KM apart, a 13 hour drive and a ferry boat.

We began with the idea of painting mountain peaks on the continental divide, the border between BC and Alberta. Painting on rolled canvas, for ease of shipping back an fourth between provinces. Mayer, in her sweeping textured strokes and soft palette would begin with sky and foreground, then shipping the canvas to me in BC where I would take on mountains and trees. Sometimes I would begin the canvas and start with sky and mountain, each time was a new experience and each time a new challenge. With my saturated and bold palettes and pop realism aesthetic, our styles couldn’t be more different but seemed to be perfect compliments to one another.

Robson, acrylic on canvas, 2017, Brandy Saturley & Gisa Mayer

We began painting at the end of 2017 and have completed 6 canvasses to date, with a plan to begin exhibiting the work in 2020. Two female artists, one from Alberta and one BC, painting mountain forms on the great continental divide, the mountains on the Alberta/BC border. Each painting is shipped back and fourth across the border, until complete. Each painting rendered in brushstrokes from each artist. Each painting a collaborative effort and celebration of two styles, creating a new language, expressing a combined love of the Rockies. Beyond the borders of the paintings, and beyond the borders that divide two provinces that have been locked into a political battle over a pipeline. Moving us beyond the borders of our differences, and bringing us together, over art.

In honour of Group of Seven luminary, Lawren Harris, we selected a name under which to paint, now known as the Mountain Forms Collective.

UPDATE: March 2020 a virtual 3D exhibition was presented online with Kunstmatrix Berlin – Together/Divided featuring mountain paintings created by both artists as well as individual works from each artists; oeuvre. An online preview in the time of COVID-19.

Museum/Gallery? Curator inquiries?

Two Canadian Artists Painting Mountains – more about Mountain Forms Collective

The Canadian landscape has been a source of inspiration for countless artists over the years, with its majestic mountains, serene lakes, and sweeping prairies offering endless possibilities for creative expression. Two Canadian artists who have captured the beauty of the country’s mountains in their paintings are Brandy Saturley and Gisa Mayer.

Saturley is a contemporary Canadian artist known for her bold and colorful paintings, often depicting iconic Canadian landscapes and cultural motifs. Her series of mountain paintings, which she created while visiting Banff, Alberta, are a testament to her love of the natural beauty of the region. Saturley’s paintings feature vibrant colors and bold brushstrokes, giving her mountain landscapes a dynamic and energetic feel. Her use of light and shadow creates a sense of depth and perspective, drawing the viewer into the scene and making them feel as though they are standing in the midst of the mountains.

Mount Temple, 36×48 acrylic on canvas, 2011, Brandy Saturley

Gisa Mayer is another Canadian artist who has captured the majesty of the country’s mountains in her paintings. Mayer’s work is characterized by its rich colors and textures, with her mountain landscapes featuring sweeping brushstrokes and layers of thick paint. She uses a variety of techniques to create a sense of movement and energy in her paintings, giving them a dynamic and almost sculptural quality. Mayer’s mountain paintings are often large in scale, adding to their grandeur and sense of awe-inspiring majesty.

Looking Out, acrylic on canvas, 2023, Gisa Mayer

Both Saturley and Mayer’s mountain paintings are a celebration of Canada’s natural beauty and a testament to the power of art to capture and convey the essence of a place. Through their use of color, brushstrokes, and composition, these artists have created a sense of awe and wonder in their mountain landscapes, inviting viewers to experience the grandeur and majesty of Canada’s mountains in a new and profound way.

In conclusion, Brandy Saturley and Gisa Mayer are two Canadian artists who have captured the beauty and grandeur of the country’s mountains in their paintings. Through their use of color, brushstrokes, and composition, they have created works of art that convey the essence of these majestic landscapes, inviting viewers to experience the awe-inspiring power of Canada’s mountains in a new and profound way.

Mt. Temple, acrylic on canvas, Brandy Saturley and Gisa Mayer

Brandy Saturley is an award-winning painter, photographer, and writer born and living on Vancouver Island. Her widely exhibited “Canadianisms” series, with it’s ‘pop realism’ aesthetic, have garnered the Canadian artist notoriety as the Voice of Canadian Pop Art. Exhibitions in unique corporate venues include; Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, TELUS Convention Centre at Glenbow Museum, Canadian Tire, Canadian Olympic Committee headquarters and on LED billboards in Times Square, NYC. Saturley has contributed articles to ArtInCanada.com, ArtistsInCanada.com, Reader’s Digest Our Canada. Her work was shortlisted for the Olympic Trophy in Sport & Art in 2014. Solo public gallery exhibitions include Gallery @501 Strathcona County and Okotoks Art Gallery. Brandy is an active arts advocate serving as public art juror (City of Saanich), professional development speaker and member of CARFAC Alberta.

Gisa Mayer is a painter born in the Bavarian Alps, known for her fluid brushstrokes creating sweeping mountainscapes. Her post graduate experience includes training in Painting, Art History and a degree in Romance Languages. Her work experience includes the Carolino Augusteum Museum in Salzburg and the Neue Pinakothek in Munich. After working and teaching for many years in Salzburg, she made Calgary her permanent home in 1997, after falling in love with the Rockies. Mayer is represented by Bugera Matheson in Edmonton and Ruberto Ostberg in Calgary. Gisa is an active arts advocate in the Alberta arts community and has served on the board of CARFAC Alberta and is a member of the Leighton Arts Centre. Collected by private and public clients internationally.

January 6, 2021

12 Years Painting Canada

Art Career

Celebrating 12 Years Painting Canada.

July 1, 2019 marked my 12^th year as a full-time professional visual artist, painting Canada. This past week I received an email from an art dealer in the Silicon Valley, their first question to me, “how long have you been an artist?” This is always a very strange question to an artist, as artists’ we have all been making art since we were children, and as such we have always considered ourselves artists.

This means, I have been an artist for over 40 years. My professional career, where I began showing and selling my work, began about 30 years ago, while still in high school. Over the past two decades, I have spent a considerable amount of time setting myself up as an independent self-representing artist. For many years I worked a side job, while producing artwork, mostly drawing. I began painting, seriously, about 18 years ago.

The past 12 years have been all about painting, exhibiting, traveling, and selling my art. Over the past 8 years I have worked hard at immersing myself deeply into the Canadian art communities of Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Montreal, Winnipeg, and Toronto. I have created two collaborative projects, written for numerous Canadian publications and artist websites and have contributed to the Canadian Arts community through advocacy groups and on public art committees. I’ve visited a few art fairs, won a few awards and been paid to show my work. I have been commissioned to make work for corporations and private clients, and have licensed my work to many unique brands in Canada and the USA. As I head into my 13^th year, I am reflecting on some works of the past.

Twelve paintings for 12 years. It was hard for me to pick twelve, as I have painted near 400 now. It was also more challenging to pick favourites as the years increased. I am finding I now have more favourites than I did in the beginning. Maybe it highlights consistency as an artist as my years of experience grow, or as my passion for painting deepens. You would think after 12 years of painting daily my interest would wain, but it is quite the opposite, the intensity and passion grow. Rather than focus on my accomplishments of the past twelve years, I want to focus on the personal side of my journey as an Artist, and how life and art are intertwined and have become one in the same.

Here are 12 paintings for 12 years;

2007

The TREES Period: in 2007 I was fresh out of the gate with full days to concentrate on painting, naturally I began with nature. My live/work studio at the time was a 6^th floor view of Beacon Hill Park in Victoria, BC – nothing but trees for miles. I guess I had trees on the brain, and still love finding the character in each tree I meet.

Arbutus Hug – 40×30, acrylic on canvas, 2007, Brandy Saturley

2008

The VEGAS Period: in 2006 I was married in Las Vegas, by Elvis of course! The sheer ‘overload’ and ‘overstimulation’ provided by this loud landscape was putting electric images in my head. The otherworldly shows of Montreal born, Cirque Du Soleil, helped push these ideas as my mind spun like a top.

Cirque Reflections – 48×24, acrylic on canvas, 2008, Brandy Saturley

2009

The BEATLES Period: this marks the year that I FULLY connected with the Beatles and their entire catalogue of music. I was born years after they broke-up, but once I fully embraced their music, they have played consistently in the background of my studio. The Beatles channel on Sirius satellite radio is a revelation, and the narratives of their music, as well as their album covers continue to inspire my brush. The Beatles Period has never really ended and continues to creep into my work.

Passion Gnu Solo (Glass Onion Soup) – 48×48, acrylic on canvas, 2009, Brandy Saturley

2010

The TRANSITIONAL Period: as I continued to move forward with mastering figurative techniques in my paintings, my romance with the landscapes of Canada remained. This year I moved my home and studio into a space more than double my previous. My view turns to lagoon, ocean and estuary, with birdsong and nature at the helm. The greenness of BC and the trees brought inspiration for my largest painting to date, at 48” wide by 60” wide, this piece is a showstopper of soothing green and abstract forms.

Aerial Landscape: Crossroads – 48×60, acrylic on canvas, Brandy Saturley, 2010

2011

The #ICONICCANUCK Period

2010 brought the Olympic games to Vancouver BC – Canadian stereotype and pride was at an all-time high on the west coast of Canada, a place where we usually escape the stereotypical mounties, beer, moose and hockey. It made me think. What does it mean to be a Canadian? I began with hockey; the rest is history.

Goalie’s Mask: red, white & Dryden – 36×48, acrylic on canvas, Brandy Saturley, 2010

2012

As I continue with my ‘Canadian’ comment I incorporate the Canadian flag for composition purposes, on the landscape. Travels through the Rocky Mountains imprint on my mind. Emboldening my comment on Canada.

Poppies For Louise – 48×36, acrylic on canvas, 2012, Brandy Saturley

2013

With a Goalie Mask on the Canadian flag, my initial representation of Canada, my focus turns to nature and a black bear skull on the iconic Hudson’s Bay Company stripes. A good representation of Canadian symbolism in art.

HBC Skull – 36×48, acrylic on canvas, Brandy Saturley, 2013

2014

The CANCER Period: the end of 2014 marked a bit of exhaustion and a diagnosis of cervical cancer, with a radical hysterectomy and lymph node removal, the remedy. In December, I had major surgery. It was another transitional time, and reminder that art does not happen without health. This year changed my outlook on life, and as an artist.

Dreaming in the Colours of Eh – 48×36, acrylic on canvas, Brandy Saturley, 2014

2015

The CANADIANISMS Period: the beginning of 2015 marked my comeback from surgery and aftereffects. It took me a while to get my core muscles back, as I began the year with some very small works. By the Summer I was back at it with this large format piece, at 48×48 inches. I was thinking beyond the stereotypes of Canada and turning back to the landscapes, nature and our connection to the land.

Canadian Subconscious – 48×48, acrylic on canvas, Brandy Saturley, 2015

2016

The REBIRTH Period: a new body, a new mindset and a renewed interest in the landscape, this time interjecting myself into the famous landscapes of Lawren Harris and the Group of Seven. My commentary as a female Canadian painter was deepening, as my fearlessness in art and life had grown to new heights. I felt fully prepared to take on the greats and claim my spot in Canadian art history.

Let Your Backbone Rise – 36×36, acrylic on canvas, Brandy Saturley, 2016

2017

The CANADA150 Period: with the past 5 years painting themes of Canadiana, the public galleries came calling for content. With a traveling solo retrospective, numbering more than 30 paintings, my year was filled with celebration, art talks, conversations, and stories that would fill my next bodies of work. As the past paintings connected with audiences in other parts of Canada, I continued to paint myself into the landscape. Marveling at it’s grandeur, examining it’s importance in Canadian art, honouring the land and holding it safely for future generations.

A Landscape to Go – acrylic on wood panel, 36×36, Brandy Saturley, 2017

2018

The LANDSCAPE AS PORTRAIT Period: with 2018 came another change in life, a move into a new home and studio, my largest studio to date. With this change a need to move my comment on Canada forward. I began looking more to my feelings, expressing these feelings through use of colour and form, while continuing to keep a figure in the landscape. My new, visionary paintings collage different, unexpected elements of Canadiana rendered in my characteristic pop aesthetic. These landscapes oscillate between a graphic realism used for Canada’s famous mountain peaks or views of forest lakes, and the abstractness of the colorful, even psychedelic backgrounds. These new paintings are otherworldly, transportive and playful.

Raised in The Sky – acrylic on canvas, 36×48, Brandy Saturley, 2018

Onto lucky number 13.

2019

The LONDON Year: taking my art, International.

As I head into year thirteen, I am preparing for a new adventure and opportunity to push the boundaries of my painting. For one month I will be making new work at the Royal College of Art in London as part of their Contemporary Art Summer program. It will be an intense three weeks of art making in the largest city in the European Union, and one of the world’s major art centres. As I work on preparing materials for my trip, I am looking forward to connecting with my Cornish heritage. Bringing my ‘Canadianisms’ to London – I am excited about this new opportunity to examine my work, through a British lens.

You can watch my progress in London on Instagram, my Facebook fan page or here on this blog.

July 4, 2019

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