At the back of the old Renot Depot is a twisted metal gate that was once painted yellow, but now its a rusted tangle of iron. Amazingly they still use the gate, they can lock up the front and it prevents trucks or cars from entering. I've wanted to paint this for some time now, and finally found the occasion. It was so hot, I could only stand in the shade today. The chartreuse dumpster was an added bonus, and some wood palettes, a truck, and vines on the fence completed the scene.
Twisted metal gate, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, July 2025
About a year or so ago the Reno Depot changed hands and became a Rona + branded store, although the contents are virtually the same. The main draw for trying this scene was to try and capture the exact value and hue of the yellow sign. At first I thought it was lightly green, but as I painted, it was actually a flat yellow so I added a bit of orange-yellow paint (PY110). Lamp black (PBk6) darkened the mix, which looks exactly right here in the painting. Using black to darken the yellow is the best choice because if any other paint is added it changes the hue angle. Working with shades of yellow is one of the trickiest things to do.
Rona + facade, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, July 2025
After painting fireworks over Montreal, maybe it was in my sub-conscious, so here is a painting of a McDonald's sign over a city bus. Its like a bus with fast food service. You've heard of drive-through pickup, but this is next-level stuff. In fact, the McDonald's was on the other side of the street and I was preparing to paint the scene when the bus stopped and blocked the view. For some reason the bus driver waited longer than normal, allowing the light to go red, green back to red, and it occurred to me that the driver may have seen me painting and waited. At any rate, I was glad to finally paint the details of the bus with a bit of extra time. That PJD 25 bus must be pretty popular around Montreal.
McD bus, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, July 2025
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