If you love the Rocky Mountains chances are you鈥檒l love Georges Tremel鈥檚 paintings.
The self-taught 68-year-old artist has been painting Jasper鈥檚 landscapes for the better part of the past 25 years and starting Feb. 23 his paintings will be on display at the Jasper-Yellowhead Museum and Archives.
While the majority of his 35 paintings will depict mountain landscapes, a handful of paintings will also portray Canada鈥檚 west coast.
鈥淚鈥檝e never had a big exhibit like this so I鈥檓 fairly anxious,鈥� said Tremel, who moved to Jasper in 1991.
Among the paintings that will be on display, 23 will be original works of art with some paintings dating back nearly 20 years. His largest piece will be 44 by 34 inches in size.
For Tremel, his favourite landscape to paint is Maligne Lake, where he often finds himself taking visitors as a fish guide in the summer time.
鈥淚 spend so much time on Maligne Lake, it鈥檚 really inspiring for me,鈥� said Tremel. 鈥淪o unfortunately or fortunately there will be a slight predominance of Maligne paintings in the show.鈥�
He said the biggest difference between his work and other artists is his water pallete, textures and the use of colour values. A colour value is the difference between the relative lightness or darkness of a听colour to create spatial illusions.
鈥淚 love misty, far out landscapes where you can get really lost in it,鈥�听 Tremel said of his painting style.
In recent years, he has been studying the use of complimentary colours and the contrast between them.
鈥淥ne of the things I鈥檝e been studying is the use of complimentary colours to darken other colours. It鈥檚 really fascinating.鈥�
Despite his experience and passion, Tremel readily admits he鈥檚 still learning.
鈥淚鈥檓 a work in progress,鈥� said Tremel. 鈥淚鈥檓 constantly trying different things and since I have no training some things can be really frustrating.鈥�
鈥淎rt is 10 per cent inspiration and 90 per cent perspiration.鈥�
Tremel will be at the Jasper-Yellowhead Museum and Archives on Feb. 23 for his art exhibit鈥檚 grand opening from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Admission to the reception is free and there will be free food and a cash bar.
His art will remain on display at the museum until April 3 and pieces are available for purchase.
Paul Clarke [email protected]
