Nestled in the splendor of Banff National Park lies a Canadian national treasure-the emerald colored waters of Lake Louise. “Until you have the chance to go there, you can’t understand just how beautiful Canadian Rockies are. To me,” emphasizes Steve Hanks, “this place is Canada.”

Hanks is renowned as one of the finest figurative artists painting today. That description understates his skills as a landscape artist and the importance he puts on the specific environments he creates for the figures he paints. “The title of this painting really says it all, 'Canadian Beauty.' A striking woman with auburn hair relaxes at the water’s edge in mid-summer, with Chateau Lake Louise and the jagged snow-capped mountains in the background. The blend of serenity and majesty that this place radiates is awe-inspiring.”

The character of Banff and of the Canadian Rockies is completely different than that of their American counterparts because of their geography and geology. Most dramatically, they appear steeper and more jagged because of the extent to which the limestone and shale has been carved out by glaciers. The cooler and wetter climate that enhanced the formation of these glaciers created moister soil for lush forests and larger rivers as well.

The Chateau Lake Louise is one of the iconic railway hotels built in the early 1900s by the Canadian Pacific Railway. The lake itself is fed by mountain streams and is given its turquoise hue by fine particles of rock ground to nearly microscopic size by the glaciers above.