Fire station sunset

A chilly wind brought in the month of October. I found myself up on Côte Saint-Luc picking up some Persian-style kebabs at Mazzeh, and made a quick painting of the fire station on the north side of the street. The sky was painted first so that it could dry, then I worked on the driveway and structure of the station. As the sky dried I overlaid the silhouette of the trees using a mix of carbon black (PBk6) with dabs of green (PG36) and yellow (PY184). Then I could put the fire truck in, and over-paint with the garage door window frames. Lastly, some colour highlights in the flood lights, yellow posts, and fire hydrant between the two doors. 

Fire station sunset, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, October 2025

Dagwood's early Autumn

From time to time I do a painting of the local Dagwood's submarine sandwich shop on Sherbrooke, mostly due to its proximity between work and home, but also due to its interesting shapes and colours. It probably looks different every time I paint it, although this one seems to be pretty accurate. Its deadline time at work once again, but this year I am ahead of the game and should get everything submitted on time and to a high standard. Last year it got a little overwhelming, you can see I painted late on September 30th 2024, and lamented the idea of deadlines being a thing. Should be called a lifeline! Anyways, with the pressure easing once again and nice weather I should be able to do more painting outdoors. 

Dagwood's early Autumn, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2025

Late afternoon scenes around Old Montreal

In the background you see Habitat 67, once part of Expo 67, the apartments are now privately owned and still lived in to this day. In the foreground is part of the st Lawrence river where it connects up with the port and the Peel basin. Leisure craft were hanging out, the people catching rays and playing music, while diners ate at the fancy floating restaurant that has a spa on top. 

Habitat 67 boats spa, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2025

Finding some shade, I was fascinated by these birds soaring around in circles with the up drafts and down drafts. Mostly seagulls, there were also a few pigeons zooming about, seemingly just for fun, and why not? There is actually a bridge here, and they were flying under it, around, then over the buildings, and back over the water in circles. With the sun low, it created a silver lining effect on the birds feathers in motion. It seemed impossible to paint this on location, no photos... so I spent some time trying to memorize the shapes of the gulls and pigeons as they flew, and how the sun affected their feathers. After making a pale outline with a number 2 paint brush, I filled in the entirety of the space around the birds, which was a tricky painting in its own right, then quickly filled in the birds' shadows and textures being careful to leave the highlight showing (no white paint is used). As I finished, a security guard walked up and said nice painting, but you have to leave its not permitted to stand here! So that's why the painting is not initialed. At least I got to finish the painting. 

Silver lining birds, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2025

On the way back I stopped near of Berri/UQAM station looking north, and saw a large fleet of cop cars with blue and red lights blinking everywhere. A distant sound of drums and chanting could be heard, and on the horizon a group of protesters was approaching. After the painting, I rode north along the bike path and went by the group, they were Palestinian supporters protesting the war in the middle east. Everything seemed to go down peacefully here, and some of the cop cars dissipated. 

Cops Berri station, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2025 

Bright lights, big city

Pretty sure there is a movie called Bright lights, big city, with Michael J Fox, but the name of the blog seemed fitting for these two paintings. The first one shows an anxiety-inducing montage of traffic lights on Maisonneuve downtown, which was only a little bit exaggerated from reality! The bottom of the painting shows the road jammed with cars and the sidewalks and bike paths overflowing with people. Looking up above the mess and the sun is just about to dip down below a skyscraper. 

Lights big city, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2025

I sat down on a bench to make a cup of tepid instant coffee, and admired the bizarre reflection in the glass building across the street. It was reflecting the image of another glass building that was reflecting the sun. So I am looking east here, but somehow depicting the sun which is setting over on the west. I have no idea how it happened, the reflection must have ping-ponged around like that. Reflections are a little wobbly because the glass is not perfect, especially in the older buildings. 

Sun reflection reflection, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2025 

Views over and under the Rosemont bridge

The Rosemont bridge that merges with Van Horne connects Mile End neighborhood with Le Plateau. In the background, you see a massive glass condo complex they built up over the Rosemont metro station, there must be hundreds of units. In the foreground, you see the end of the overpass bridge, with a gravel walking path that I was standing on next to my bike as usual. Another artist was around, they had a professional camera setup and were taking long-exposure pictures of the graffiti under the bridge, probably with the same idea I had. Since this bridge is going to be demolished and replaced, it might be the last chances to paint it. But the painting I did tells more of a story. Under the bridge someone had installed a plywood box complete with a door and padlock for security. It was surrounded by pots and pails full of items. Then off to the left on the other side of the path, there was a small structure made from wooden shipping palettes, and inside of it there was a wooden chair with a toilette seat on it and a hole. It was a do-it-yourself outhouse. 

Over and under, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2025

In this scene, you can see all the graffiti under the bridge, even the pylon had graffiti on it. All by the same person, PJD25! The pylon had a flyer attached with an image of the nearby factory and water-tower structure that is derelict. The city is deciding what to do with it, and this flyer was advertising a community feedback event where people can talk to city officials about the project. 

 Graffiti under bridge, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2025

Here is a quick painting of the sun over the bridge. Unfortunately a large truck was dropping off dumpsters nearby and it was making an incredible racket so I had to hurry this one and move on. 

Sun over bridge, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2025 

Blue sky Autumn in Le Plateau

On the way back from Anatol Spices, this scene caught my eye of a yellow tree and a green planter with lavender still growing. At this time, the sky was all blue and the sun was shining as strong as it does in Autumn. With the trees changing colour, its a good chance to practice making natural-looking yellow and oranges. 

Yellow tree green planter, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2025

On st Dominique and Beaubien there is the well-kept Dépanneur Chea Enr. Unlike most, this dépanneur is very clean, in good repair, and with fresh paint all around. I liked how the Molson Export sign played on the blue background, and the green/red contrast of the colour scheme of the shop. The sign was painted with enough detail such that anyone who knows the beer would know what the label says. Its a popular brand in Montreal. 

Molson Export sign, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2025

Sundown on the Cityscape

Next to Atwater station a number of tall glass skyscraper condos were recently built. Although the sunset was completely blocked, I saw the orange light of the descending sun illuminating the top of a building reflected in the corner windows of the skyscraper. Speaking of illumination, I got a spam email today at work inviting me to join the Illuminati, a secret society... just click the link below! Of course I deleted and blocked the sender, as if a secret society is going to send mass emails. Or maybe they do? 

Sundown reflections, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2025

As the shadows creeped up the side of this condo building, an intense sliver of orange-on-blue was created. Getting the value of the blue sky correct is key here, it has to be a shade or two darker than the orange highlight. In the foreground is the top of an old turn-of-the-century triplex building, they even had a small planter garden on top. 

Descending sun towers, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2025

Looking west along st Catherine downtown, I got a good view of the dusty rose sky, intermixed with lilac tones and a neutral blue-violet. The painting looks as if I am standing in the oncoming traffic but in fact, I am safely tucked behind giant concrete pots with plants in them. The street is to be permanently cut off at this point, where the Quartier Spectacle begins. So those cars were just sitting there, waiting to turn. 

Dusk and lights downtown, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2025 

Apparently Place Ville Marie was once the tallest structure in Canada, and it still dominates the skyline especially at night. The beam of light on top is constantly rotating. I painted the same building at a distance, from the Lachine canal near Verdun a few months ago at night, that blog got almost 50 views which is a lot for my blog! This one was a lot more technical, I established a detailed outline in paint and then went about filling in the blocks of colour, making sure to leave a fuzzy beam of white space for the light. In the foreground is the upper trim of an old jewelry store, I am standing just in front of the now closed Bay looking south west.  

Place Ville Marie night lights, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2025