Fort Whyte Sketching

Weather: 0 degrees, sunny with some clouds; winds about 15 kph

This afternoon we went to Fort Whyte to see what we could find to sketch and paint. As we drove in, we spotted all the Bison near the fence. Usually in the summer they are further out grazing but they are being supplemented right now so they were right in the corner near the road. They were all lying down so we decided to go out to the lakes and marsh area.

When we were in paying our admission, the person at the desk told us that the first baby bison of the season was born today. She told us that all the adult Bison circle around the baby to protect and keep it warm. After paying our admission, we headed out to the lakes with the boardwalks and both decided to sketch a view across the marsh which was interesting due to the many levels or strata of vegetation horizontally crossing the scene.  To get a closer look, I headed down the slope through still deep snow and promptly slipped and landed in a muddy patch. This experience reminded me of the additional "hazards" of outdoor sketching and painting. It didn't bother me as I was not dressed in anything that couldn't be cleaned easily.

Angela and I took a different vantage point to do our sketch. I chose to sit on a bench on the boardwalk as I was interested in including the nesting boxes poking through the ice and the boardwalk as another horizontal element in the painting. It was nice to sit on a bench as I did a small pencil/ink and watercolor sketch and it was much easier to do this without trying to juggle the palette and water.

We ended our outing by having a coffee in the cafe which was really nice after spending some time outdoors. We were both warm except for our hands. Hands are the biggest problem to keep warm as I find it necessary to wear gloves to handle a pencil, pen or brush. On our way out of the parking lot, we were rewarded with a far away view of the new addition to the Bison herd. You could see either the bull or mother chasing other Bison away from the baby. Yes ... the rewards of plein-air sketching and painting! We are getting into the rhythm of things and I think it will soon warm up enough to allow us to bring out our pochade boxes and oil paints.

Marsh with nesting boxes and boardwalk

My sketch of the above scene