Japanese Garden, São Paulo, Brazil

In São Paulo Brazil there is a large community of people of Japanese descent that live in one part of the city known as a sort of Japanese town that,  like Japan, was very crowded. The side walks were narrow and the streets lined with many shops. I really wanted to make a painting there but it seemed hopeless because there was nowhere to sit, let alone stand, and the views were not all that good from the main street. Finally I ducked down a little alley and there was a small Japanese-style garden with some food stands and souvenirs for sale. There was an amazing coy pond with large flat rocks next to it where I could sit. That is where I made this painting, which shows part of the pond, an umbrella, flowers, trees, and a twisting staircase.

Shadows contain light and colour. A common mistake among amateurs is to use black for a shadow when in fact a dark blue, brown or green could be used. In this example the shadow on the umbrella in the center of the painting has deep red/crimson shadows. The stairs and the fish also have warm purples and oranges for shadows. This is the way to create realistic light-filled shadows. The impressionists did this all the time. Afterwards, the fauvists started using black for shadows just to be different. Rules are meant to be broken in art.

5x7" Watercolour, 2014

São Paulo, Rooftop View, Brazil

São Paulo is a dense city filled with buildings of all shapes and sizes. Small brick shacks along side of towering apartment buildings, as seen in this view out of a second floor window. There were fireworks going off periodically while I painted this because it was close to new years.

Yellow plaster (or brick) is quite difficult to depict in a painting, too much yellow and it looks fake, too little and it looks muddy. There are two yellow walls in this painting, one in the foreground which was done in a single layer, and one up in the midground which was done in two layers (warm purple underneath, yellow on top). The key to creating natural looking yellow is to mix purple or green first, and then add in a bit of yellow.

5x7", Watercolour, 2014

São Paulo, Downtown, Brazil

While in downtown São Paulo I made several paintings amid the bustling city noise, pedestrians, buses, motorcycles, etc. There was even a spiritual marching band that came down the sidewalk complete with chanting monks and string guitars. The biggest challenge perhaps was the lack of anywhere to sit down; to do this painting I stood up the whole time! It is the first time in memory that I painted on location standing up. There was a store security guard who kept coming by and checking on me.  The street view is St. Paulista, right in the heart of the city, looking towards the south.

I have been signing my paintings with the 'PDT' scribble for a long time, usually using blue paint. In this case I used green paint in the spirit of Brazil. The green in the flag is also exaggerated in order to really pop off the page. To create this sensational green,  start with a layer of yellow paint, let it dry, and then apply a layer of green on top.

2014, Watercolour, 5.5 x 11"

Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, Brazil

This painting was done at the Instituto Butantan which is near São Paulo University. The building is a library but it was closed the day we were there. It was a very hot and sunny day, in fact I had to sit in the shade to make this painting. When it is winter in Canada it is actually summer in Brazil! 

One advantage to painting as compared to taking a photo is that the artist can remove unwanted items. In this case there were a lot more trees but they were blocking the building, in particular the windows which I wanted to feature. Just two big trees seemed to get the feeling of some foliage without overdoing it. To create a focal point I made more detail on the upper left part of the main building, while the rest of the building is done with relatively less detail. 

Dec. 2014, Watercolour,  9 x 11"