Birch Trees Verdun

 This challenging painting was done down in Verdun by the bike path. Cilei and Fritz and I went for a walk with Davidson and I stopped to make this one real quick. It was more technical than I thought and had to rush through a bit, there was a veritable wall of foliage with the twisting turning birch branches. TO paint 'white' spaces in traditional watercolour one has to leave the paper showing. That makes birch trees the hardest kind of tree to paint especially with all the little branches and textures. Their shadow side takes on a fascinating metallic grey, and glowing orange-yellow highlights or even burnt sienna can be seen depending on the age of the tree. The waterfront here can not be seen, I was standing down on the other side of the bike path trying to avoid people, and the strong sun. Maybe the pandemic is over now, but I'm not taking any chances. Still it all looks to be going right, hopefully we can get back to normal. 

Update: The spreadsheet shows this is the 3000^th painting I have done!

Birch Trees Verdun, 5 x 7" cold press, watercolour, June 2021 (No. 2683a)

Dust Cloud Cover

 

Reading up on the landscape of Burkina Faso there were a few pictures of massive dust storms. At the same time cicadas were in the news due to their recent emergence from dormancy. To create the dust cloud effect I combined an abstract orange-yellow cloud over top a dirty dusty horizon. The horizon was perylene maroon (PR179) with phthalo blue (PB15), when it was half dry I added some dilute yellow for the backrun, so right on the horizon it looks like the sand is blowing upwards and towards the strange creature in the foreground. The key to this composition is the curving antennae, and the sky blue which contrasts the impending dust storm. I will probably do more World Inspired Landscapes soon, but have been so preoccupied with the location painting lately.

Dust Cloud Cover, 5 x 7" cold press, watercolour, June 2021 (No. 2688b)

Dépanneur on Clark Street

 

 

I got out to the mile end today for a dentist appointment and stopped along the way for a quick painting. This is on the same corner as the famous Wilinsky deli and a popular ice cream store.  Finding the ethos was difficult, all the trees and foliage are manicured and landscaped. To begin I established the perspective lines and general outline with carbon black (PBk6) diluted with water, and proceeded to fill in all the greys. To make grey I usually combine indo blue (PB60) and burnt sienna (PR101), and I tint it yellow with ochre (PY43) or purplish with caput mortum (PR101) depending on need. Using black and grey like this is important to establish the value contrasts. It is tricky to get the hue correct, for example, the brick looked too cold in the end so I glazed it with some thin ferrari red (PR254). The bike was fun to paint.

Dépanneur on Clark Street, 5 x 7" cold press, watercolour, June 2021 (No. 3155, with the June 2022 paintings)

Gust of Wind

 

Painting motion seems the impossible task but the Japanese print designers figured it out, for example the masterpiece by Hiroshige showing a person chasing a hat in the wind seen in this link. I go to that link all the time (ukiyo-e.org) to study Ukiyo-e prints so it is safe to explore. In this painting I was sitting in a familiar spot, looking down on a field of wild grasses and the brilliant cedar shrub in the foreground with some magenta-flowered plants. To create the illusion of a gust of wind, I applied the golden yellow, then applied high chroma backwash for texture and value, followed by the four coloured grass brushwork. The colours were orange-yellow, yellow, umber, and chartreuse. A scary looking wasp landed on my palette for a few seconds, they tend to be attracted by the paint, and I included it in the painting, bottom right. Watch out!

Gust of Wind,  5 x 7" cold press, watercolour, June 2021 (No. 2697)

By the way, I went past the scene I painted yesterday,  and took a few photos to determine what colour the tree-shrub was with the pink flowers. Turns out, the simple answer was grey-green, but the highlight areas were turquoise, blue, green chartreuse, yellow chartreuse, magenta, orange, orange-red, grey, and near white. So the tree was literally all the colours. Because it was a destaurated grey green, it took on reflected colours from the sun, sky, and magenta flowers. I have no idea how to properly paint it but will have to go try again.

Path with Bench

On my way back from picking up fresh bread at le Meunerie, an artisinal bakery in NDG, I stopped at Park William-Hurst,  and found this lush, almost magical arrangement of landscaped trees. The flowering tree-bush in the center above the bench really caught my attention, it was an intoxicating shade of neutral green peppered with little pink flowers. At first I tried phthalo blue green (PG7) with caput mortum (PR101) but it dried too cold, so I glazed it with a mix of ferrari red (PR254), school bus yellow (PY110) and purple magenta (PR122). In the end the green from those bushes looked pretty close, I am curious to know what colour it really was. The rest of the trees were shades of green that I more familiar with. Copious amounts of lemon yellow (PY175) were used! One tree in the middle is almost pure yellow with the slightest touch of phthalo green (PG36), what a pleasure to paint out that colour. There is also another tree stump here, Montreal has lost thousands of trees recently. But this painting is meant to convey some hope, that many trees can replace the fallen ones.

Path with Bench, 5 x 7" cold press, watercolour, June 2021 (No. 2695)

Beat the Heat, Benny Sports Centre Tree (Nocturne)

As the hottest day of the year so far, 34℃, draws to a close, I made a quick walk out to one of my favorite local locations, Benny park. The Sports Centre was warmly lit up against a pale purple sky. One of the trees was in silhouette against the stair case wall, each stair actually has a built in light which created an eerie glow in the painting. I brought a small clip-on reading light and fixed it to the top button of my shirt. It helped me to better judge the colour and contrast, and to figure out where my brushes were at in the kit bag. The mini light was a big help, I got the idea from reading a biography of Van Gogh who used candles affixed to his straw hat to paint nocturnes (night scenes). At least I was not in any danger of starting a fire. It was hot enough today.

Benny Sports Centre Tree (Nocturne), 5 x 7" cold press, watercolour, June 2021 (No. 2694)

Nature Contained

After some disappointment on a recent painting trip to the remains of the secret spot, it occurred to me that people could see nature in a different way. Growing up, my parents always took me and my sister on summer camping trips where we learned to appreciate wilderness through canoe rides, hiking, and the children's programs they run at places like Balsam Lake and other parks. My eye picks up on natural elements, it is the main thesis of almost every location painting I have made, the contrast between urbanity and nature. After seeing the secret place destroyed I was a little sad and angry about it, but still hopeful that when they finish it, the new walking/cycling path they are building will allow more city people to experience nature. My role as an artist, will be to continue seeking out the beauty in every crooked tree and 'weed' that I can find. In this painting, a large growth of queen anne's lace was growing in between some ramps leading to the soccer fields at Trenholme park. The 'weed' is completely surrounded by concrete walls, stairs, goal posts, and the manicured soccer pitch, yet it still exists if one cares to notice. I hope this painting draws some attention to the small details of nature found in our community. 

Nature Contained, 5 x 7" cold press, watercolour, June 2021 (No. 2693)