NDG Harley Street, Montreal

Here is a cool scene down on Harley street in NDG south of the train tracks near the Reno Depot. The building is an auto mechanic, the object in the foreground, is a fire hydrant. With that cleared up, we can look at some of other more interesting details! There is mural-work on the building, and the name of the business above the garage in the shadowed side of the structure. The orange dashes on the front are the bricks showing through because the white paint is peeling off. Weeds grow from the cracks in the side walk. A thicket of trees make a halo which contrasts the striking red-orange trim.

Painting decent shadows is key to landscape painting, but it is hard to get the image to look right in digital format. The scanned version of this painting does not quite do justice to the painting as seen in real life. When I scan a painting I have to make sure that the digital version matches the original. This is easier said than done. First I make the scan on a flat-bed scanner, or for larger paintings I use a digital camera. Then I make due the computer monitor settings are about neutral, not too bright, and not yellowed out. The original painting has to be illuminated well, this time I used two additional desk lamps to get as much light on it as possible. Now I can adjust the colour balance, and contrast to try and get the digital version looking like the original. It is never exactly right, but I try to get as close as possible to provide the right feel to the painting.

5 x 7" cold press, Watercolour, 2019