>>REVIEW
WATERTON: BRUSH & PEN
Brent Laycock and Fred Stenson
Fifth House Books, 144 pp.
Waterton: Brush & Pen is a 144-page volume that aspires to capture the essence of one of the jewels of the Canadian Rockies. Brent Laycock is the brush behind the book’s 91 paintings, while local writer Fred Stenson has penned its text.
Where Banff and Lake Louise are the darlings of mountain adventurers and sightseers alike, Waterton is often overlooked because of its more remote location in southwestern Alberta.
Stenson was raised on a cattle ranch near Waterton Lakes National Park and he uses his intimate knowledge of the area to provide readers with 14 essays that give an insider’s perspective, introducing us to such majestic locations as The Chief (Chief Mountain).
"The concept that Waterton contains both the mountain park and the associated ranchlands allows those of us who grew up nearby to say we are from Waterton, or more humbly, ‘from the Waterton area,’" writes Stenson. "For children who grew up longing for their next trip to the park, who as adults long for it still, the claim is pride itself."
Laycock was also raised on a farm in the southern part of the province within eyeshot of Waterton’s mountain peaks. Most often working in watercolour, he successfully interprets the spirit of the national park in colours that range from muted to wildly bright.
Alberta Sky is merely one example of the paintings reproduced in the book. This Calgary-based artist’s preference of creating out in the field pays off. In this work, storm clouds dominate a brooding mountain landscape in which Laycock uses brushwork that is staccato-like in intensity.
Waterton: Brush & Pen is obviously a book born out of the co-creators’ love of this place. Anyone who has ever had the opportunity to visit Canada’s fourth national park will join them in their steadfast devotion. |
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