More than an art book, a travel book, or a history book, Waterton: Brush and Pen takes readers on an inspiring journey to a hidden paradise.
In Waterton Lakes National Park, where prairie meets mountain and lake mirrors sky, visual artist Brent Laycock and author Fred Stenson have found a lifetime of subject and inspiration. Waterton: Brush and Pen brings their work together in celebration of this magical place.
Ninety-one of these splendid and evocative paintings are reproduced here in full color: from the quiet coulees and prairie panoramas of the foothills to the forest havens, alpine meadows, soaring peaks, and wind-whipped water of Waterton Lakes National Park. His introductory essay and comments on each painting give further insight into the creative process and the artist's deep attachment to his subject.
Accompanying Laycock's paintings are fourteen essays by Stenson, recounting his personal experience of the Waterton area along with reflections on the history and geography of this spectacular, out-of-the-way place. The central theme of his essays is the inescapable influence Waterton exerts on the life and dreams of the people who dwell in its shadow.
Laycock and Stenson are mature, recognized, and award-winning artists in their respective disciplines - and both grew up on farms where the Waterton Rockies beckoned from the western horizon. Waterton is a touchstone for their lives and art, a place of refuge, fun, awe, and adventure to which they have always returned. Their work is formed by independent experience of the same landscape - the harmonies between them are for readers to discover.
About the Author: Brent R. Laycock was born in Lethbridge, Alberta, in 1947. He received an M.F.A. at Brigham Young University in Utah. He has held many solo exhibitions across Canada and in the United States and participated in numerous juried group shows that have toured Canada, the United States, Mexico, Europe, and Japan. Laycock's work is represented in many important corporate collections, and reproductions of his work have appeared in many Canadian and international art magazines and books.
Fred Stenson was raised on a farm and cattle ranch between Pincher Creek and Waterton Lakes National Park. He has written thirteen award-winning books. Stenson is the director of the Wired Writing Studio at The Banff Centre and has been president of the Writers Guild of Alberta and on the council of the Writers Union of Canada. Stenson has written scripts for over 130 films and videos, which have received the Alberta Motion Picture Industry Association award for best documentary scripts.
