Fairmount St. view of Mount Royal, Fall

Here is a recent landscape done near my apartment, at the crossroads of Fairmount and Esplanade, looking towards Mount Royal. It was done last fall, which seems like a hundred years ago...looking at this paintings reminds me what the town looks like without snow! The parking in our neighborhood is always difficult, and many people own compact cars like the one seen in the foreground.

The trick with landscape painting is to put most effort into the center of interest, which is the mountain and the fall colours. As the leaves change colour they loose green pigment revealing the orange and yellow and red. To paint the fall colours, I start with a weak green and add in the warm colours. To keep the colours looking vibrant, I contrast them with deep browns and other cool colours (as seen in the buildings surrounding the mountain). The car in the foreground has a splash of water across the rear bumper which was an accident but adds a nice reflected-light effect. 

 Fairmount St. view of Mount Royal, Fall, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press 2008 (No. 1073)