mountain intimacy

While searching through my seasonal collection of summit shots seeking the perfect one to sketch it became obvious very quickly that Prairie Mountain would be my inspiration.  While it is not my most favourite mountain by any means nor is it the most glamorous, it is the summit I have been most intimate with.  I have endured a love/hate relationship with this mountain over the years.   The relationship began during a white out blizzard on November 11th of 2009 and I last paid a visit on August 4th of 2020.   I have been to that rock pile a couple dozen times in between, during all seasons, through all weather conditions. 

This sketch shows a view from the summit of Prairie Mountain. You can see Moose Mountain to the right with the fire lookout on top.  To the left are the snow covered mountain peaks in the Kananaskis area with the rolling foothills in front.  My main focus for this sketch was to lay down my new lesson which was to sketch a realistic pile of rocks.  Also I wanted to make sure it appeared as if the flag was waving.  I continue to work on improving the rendering of mountains, trees and ground cover. 

This photo was my main resource for the sketch.

This is a collection of some of my adventures on Prairie Mountain.   A favourite is the top left when I spent a mid August night up there to witness the Perseids Meteor Shower and seeing a meteor a minute over an hour time frame!  You never know what will be facing you when you exit the forest for the wide open last push to the summit.  I have been gifted many amazing experiences and that is when I fall in love with Prairie Mountain all over again!