CHILCOTIN AFTERNOON

Original Oil on canvas 72" X 30"  SOLD - This large gallery style original oil painting by Raelene Shea was done from a collage of numerous photos of one of my favorite places in the world. It is the Chilcotin of British Columbia particularly in the fall where the deciduous trees turn their many shades of yellow. This lane is near Big Creek where you may come across ruffed grouse or big range cattle. The afternoon sun here is one of my favourite places is the Chilcotin mountain area west of Williams Lake, BC, Canada. A myriad of small lanes wind through beautiful stands of fall Aspen trees and the afternoon sun just seemed to bring them alive. I took many photos of the  this lane and the result is this composite. It had to be big because the scene was big.

I did a detailed drawing on the canvas to be sure the trees and fence were positioned to give the perspective, then I blocked in the big dark shapes and the sky. The trees were layered in order to get the varied colours of the leaves as they are in a Canadian fall. And early snowfall followed by hot sunshine  caused the grasses to sprng up anew, almost the colour of spring grasses, full of life.

This painting belongs to my friend Terri who has it at the top of a short flight of stairs, and each time I see it I want to keep walking.