Sir Winston Churchill Pub, Crescent St. Montreal

Sir Winston Churchill was probably never in Montreal but who knows? He does have a pub named after him. This painting was done in the fall, we had an unusually bright and sunny couple of days in mid November, but it was still pretty cold with the biting wind. A couple was eating breakfast on a terrace just behind me and they commented on the painting saying that it was good... it always is a bit of a boost to get nice comments from people.

Painting on location is really unique for an artist, you not only see things in real life but you have the smells and the sounds of a city all around you. These inputs affect the way the painting 'feels'. I've touched on this in past blogs but it is worth repeating as this painting is a great example of it. Trying to paint in the studio from a photograph is very difficult because the temptation is to make everything precise and accurate. On location you paint fast, and you channel the 'energy' of the scene into the work. There are a bunch of sloppy parts in this painting, but it adds energy... like in the building in the background there is a wash-bleed, completely unintentional, and the whole right segment of the painting was done quickly, as were the cars and lamp-post in the foreground. I spent the most effort on the windows and balcony of the pub, because this was the center of attention of the paining. Cheers!

cold press 11x7.5" 2012