(garage opening)
(soft music)
- [Brad] I don't wanna take a shot at pilots
anywhere else in the world,
but adventure means different things to different people.
(garage opening)
- [Jessa] I think the role of the artist is to try
and tell the story that lights your fire,
and if you can do that, then people are going to
pick up on that energy because you can't help contain it.
- [Brad] When Coors Light introduced me to Jessa
and she wanted to paint something in the environment,
I instantly thought of Little Ring Mountain
because there's no way to climb it,
and the only way to get here is by helicopter.
(wind blowing)
(paws scratching the floor)
- Bentley, come on.
I'm Brad Friesen. I'm a helicopter pilot
on the west coast of British Columbia in Canada;
and this is my copilot, Master Bentley the dog.
He comes with me on pretty much all my adventures.
Do you wanna go in the helicopter?
Speak!
(dog barking)
(upbeat music)
I fly helicopters to be able to take people
and show them my backyard.
(upbeat music)
(Brad laughing)
- [Man] Dude, that was sick!
Hey, does that look real?
(helicopter blades whirring)
- My name's Jessa Gilbert.
I'm an artist based in Squamish, B.C.
I had this dream to be able to take a big canvas
out to the back country, so that I can create an artwork,
and then translate that experience later on,
hopefully, into a mural in Squamish.
When I first started painting, I thought that art
and adventuring had to exist in two silos,
so I would go and I would work in the studio,
and then I would put that aside, and then I would go
and snowboard and explore.
Moving to B.C. allowed me to meld the two silos together
and to create just one uniformed identity.
I'm so excited to share something that I find
so incredibly impactful with the community.
I'm really nervous about it.
I hope I can do a good job.
(trunk closing)
(soft music)
- I have never worked with an artist.
I can say that.
(Brad laughing)
Especially not in the back country.
Not even in the fore country.
Is that a front country?
(helicopter blades whirring)
- [Brad] Morning!
- [Jessa] Morning!
How was your flight?
- It was good once we got the fuel truck out of the way,
it was awesome.
(dog panting)
OK, so, uh.
We're gonna follow the Squamish River,
and then this will be Little Ring right there.
- It's so cool to get and to look at more the tops
of the peaks, rather than seeing it from the valley.
- Yeah, I'm so stoked, yeah.
Instead of this, you'll be doing that.
And it's not climbable; it's not something
that people can get to without a helicopter.
- Even cooler.
You're gonna get us there!
- Yeah. Alright
(helicopter blades whirring)
Hey, it's Squamish traffic R44, helicopter
Golf Yankee Yankee Whiskey plus one.
Northbound up the Squamish River. Any conflicting? Golf Yankee Yankee Whiskey
- [Man] K, copy that, thanks.
(Jessa laughing)
- [Jessa] That's crazy.
- [Brad] Heading Northbound at 1,500 feet.
- We're goin' right in it.
- Oh, yeah, we're going right into it.
(helicopter blades whirring)
(soft music)
- Ring and then lower.
(soft music)
- Wow, they really stand out in the range.
(helicopter blades whirring)
- [Brad] Bentley!
- It's incredibly humbling being up here
because you realize how small you are
in the grand scheme of things.
You don't even make a blip in the radar.
I wanted to see the terrain that was around
to get the best orientation and the best composition.
The problem was that everything is stunning.
I did four or five sketches and it was like
I don't know how I'm actually gonna choose this.
Every time I walked around the peak, you get another view
that has something incredible about it.
(reverent music)
That one stuck out to me because not only is it the texture
of the landscape, but it tells the story
of how we arrived here.
It shows the way in which we navigated through
and also the similarity in the landscape that
we're experiencing right here.
Do you mind helping me set up my studio?
- I like helping.
(Brad and Jessa laughing)
- [Brad] Wow!
- This is definitely the most back-country
my easel has ever been.
(supplies unrolling)
(pen brushing across canvas)
The technique that I use for these creations is
called a single line.
The goal is that once the pen touches down on the panel,
it never comes up.
(wind blowing)
The reason why I like this technique is that it requires
that you're fully engaged in your practice and your process
the entire time you're creating the landscape.
(footsteps)
- Whoa. This is awesome.
- Thanks!
- It's really cool.
Temperature's dropping, how are you feeling that?
- Uh, probably wrap up once the sun goes down.
- Sun's gone down; I dunno if you noticed or not.
- Well, once that disappears.
(Brad and Jessa laughing)
(wind blowing)
(footsteps crunching)
- What time do you think you're gonna get up and start?
- I'd love to be up for sunrise.
- Whoa, cool.
-You have fun. (Brad and Jessa laughing)
(wind blowing)
(peaceful music)
(equipment clinking against rocks)
(liquid pouring)
(footsteps on rocks)
(fingers sliding on canvas)
- There's always this tension about coming
back to the painting the next day after you leave it
the night before about what does it actually look like.
Is it capturing that moment?
What I wanna capture is really just how it feels
to spend time outside and feel the landscape
and feel connected to it.
Hopefully I don't screw it up.
(laughing)
I hope that the painting that I create can really showcase
and celebrate what it feels like to be up here
because it's incredible.
- Just watching Jessa telling the story of where we are,
what she's doing here, is gonna translate incredibly well
to the final mural.
I think it's gonna have a lot of meaning
for a lot of people.
(upbeat music)
- I hope to do this again.
I'm so -- I'm filled.
It's amazing.
(upbeat music)
(wind blowing)
This is a beast.
The larger the wall, the bigger the risk,
and the bigger impact it can potentially make.
I wanna make sure that I'm giving the community
something that they can be proud of.
(spray paint can shaking)
(calming music)
(wind blowing)
Tomorrow morning, early, I have some helpers coming.
I'm still nervous about how I'm going to tell people
what I need and that I don't totally blow it
'cause I got a lot of work to do.
(upbeat music)
This is starting to look really good, guys.
- We're almost here.
Is this is it?
You ready? Jump!
- Hi, how's it going?
How've you been?
- Good.
This is it?
- This is it. Yeah.
Plugging away, day two.
- Wait, so, I don't remember palm trees on top
of a mountain.
- They're not palm trees!
They're ferns, Brad.
(cars driving)
Today was a really productive day.
I go into what I call the creative blackout.
I lose track of time, I suddenly kinda wake up
a couple hours later.
(peaceful music)
I'm thinking a lot about what Squamish means.
Depending on what First Nation you ask, it means either
Mother Wind or Strong Wind.
The reason that the clouds are so playful here
is because of that wind, that energy.
I wanna make sure that that wind gets visually articulated
in the piece somehow.
We'll see.
(chuckling)
(wind blowing)
(soft music)
(people talking)
I got fully in my headphones and when I turned around,
there was like fifty people here.
(laughing)
- Hey, how ya doing?
I've never had anybody interpret a ride.
She's taken sort of the essence of flying,
and she's translated the whole trip from not only the colors
but the feeling of getting to the environment.
(Jessa laughing)
- I wanna be able to share the joy and the gratitude
I have for these places with as many people as possible.
That's what's kinda nice about the mountains is
nobody owns them.
Thank you so much for coming out.
This is -- I might cry.
(laughing)
Ah, this is a really big moment.
There are so many dreams that came true
with this whole project.
I got to make a public piece of art in the town that I love,
that I live in.
(people cheering)
- Everybody, cheers to Jessa, this amazing artwork,
and this great town that inspired it.
(people cheering)
- This landscape changed me into a better version of myself,
and I hope that the artwork that I make and this mural
can help inspire other people to get outside
and perhaps get on their own adventures.
(upbeat music)
(toned bell sounding)