The Life of a Landscape
Artist
Scenario Sheet 1: Alfred Crocker Leighton
Description:
· A.C. Leighton was an adventurous
artists, happy to "rough it" to find the perfect picture in all seasons.
· While camping out in cold weather he slept on top of his food to
keep it from freezing.
· His watercolour paints froze in the cold.
· He once stuffed sketching paper into his socks for insulation
against the cold. He made a note to himself to buy more paper when next in
town.
· He traveled by train and horseback to find the perfect spot to
paint.
· Once when he was on the train he saw the perfect view flash
by. Carrying a heavy pack full of brushes and paints, he leapt from the
train, even though the conductor was willing to stop the train for him to
get off. He lost his balance, fell over a cliff and tumbled down into the
Yoho Valley. He was cut and bruised but not seriously hurt. He limped his
way into the nearby town of Field, B.C. just as a rescue team was setting
out with a stretcher to find him.
· Later, Leighton taught at the art
school in Calgary. He brought a group of his students to Banff one summer
to paint. This trip was the beginnings of the Banff School of Fine Arts.
Quotes:
"The scale of the
landscape was tremendous. I soon found that a 14 x 10 inch [surface] was
too small even to rough in the composition, and something much larger was
necessary to portray the magnitude, the imposing force and dignity of
those mountains." - A.C. Leighton
"I paint because I must. I
paint from 12 to 14 hours daily. Wherever I go I see something to paint
-flowers, beer bottles -anything. It is a disease." - A.C. Leighton, 1956
Possible Characters:
·
A.C. Leighton
· Camping companion and or / guide
· Train conductor
· Train passengers
· Rescue party
Messages:
· A.C. Leighton
was a dedicated painter who loved the mountains.
· He put up with many
hardships to make good paintings of the mountains.
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