I did this sketch at the end of the day, after a brief rainstorm that chased us off Revelstoke mountain. We stopped to buy some of Canada’s excellent range of beers, and this street scene caught my eye – with a backdrop of Mt McKenzie emerging from a rain cloud. this gives you an idea of Revelstoke’s curious architecture, a hotch potch of old and new buildings, brickwork and weatherboard.

The sketch I did on the spot was entirely in pencil and took about 20 minutes.

After I got home I felt it needed some colour, and then some more strength in the foreground, so I added first water colour and then some pen work.

I was intending to do some sketching on the mountain today, but as soon as I found the perfect place to paint, a fierce storm began to gather on the mountain next to us and a flash of lighting struck the valley below. I did make a start, painting three hills in the foreground, so I at least have a strong memory of the scene. We took some amazing shots on the way down, which I may or may not use for sketching from – but the important thing is to do a sketch from life every day.