I've been going to Carlyle Lodge for years and always had the thought: "wouldn't it be great to get a group of artists up here to paint together?"
Well, in 2025 it happened! I coordinated a group of artists and we ventured up the historic Carpenter Pass trail to stay for 3 nights at Carlyle Lodge in the alpine. The lodge sits on an alpine plateau and is surrounded by peaks and golden larches. The trip was planned for late September when the fall colours were in their prime!
We lucked out with sunny weather and minimal wildfire smoke for most of the trip. Each day we hiked and painted around the area, then gathered in the lodge for delicious catered meals, saunas, and board games in the evening.
I always learn so much from seeing other artists working, and this was a great group with too much talent and camaraderie! It's neat to see everyone's set up and supplies for painting "en plein air" too. With lighter packs (the catering was all organized by the lodge) we were able to pack in extra art supplies, easels, and wine.
Our hut custodian Leah, from Footsteps EcoAdventures, also offered a yoga class on the deck which most of us enjoyed one afternoon. The yoga, saunas, and extremely good food make this adventure a bit of a retreat experience too! On the last night we spread out all of our sketches to admire what we'd all created during the week - so much colour and inspiration!
Not only does this area offer natural beauty for landscape painting, we also had the chance to explore an old mine shaft and trapper's cabin. Lots of history as folks were drawn to the mountains for different things - silver, furs, fresh ski powder, and now painting inspiration!
What's next? Our group of artists will be in an art show at the VISAC Gallery in Trail in February/March 2026. We're all preparing studio work for this exhibition and it will be a great chance to reconnect.
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Abby Wilson (Nelson)
- Amanda Reber (Calgary)
- Branda Avis (Nelson)
- Kat Wright (Nelson)
- Margriet Berkhout (Clearwater)
- Morgan Bialkowski (Rossland)
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Sab Curtis (Nelson/New Denver)
- Steve Quottrocchi (Nelson)
I'm so excited to see what everyone comes up with. And hope to coordinate another "Kootenay ARTventure" in the future.
