Monk Metro Station, Green line, Southwest borough, Ville-Émard

Down town Montreal and its surrounding areas are divided into numerous boroughs. One of the boroughs is called 'Southwest" located unsurprisingly in the southwest adjacent to the canal and the aqueduct. It seems that Lasalle is the main name of the area, I was unfamiliar with the term 'southwest borough' until now. It is a multi-cultural working class neighborhood that reminds me a lot of Verdun (which is adjacent towards the East direction). The first study is sitting across Monk street, looking to the front, main entrance. A lady looked on and said nice work to me in French, while respecting social distancing. If you look through the door and windows you see flashes of green, because there is a wonderful newly renovated sitting area and garden in the back. You wouldn't have known that looking at the station from the front, it doesn't look like much except, perhaps, to an artist. The bricks were a delicious ventian red with shades of hematite that I captured with near-exact pigments I have in my palette. The shape of the signage complemented the line of the roof, and splashes of colour here and there completed the scene. The promise of nature! 5 x 7" cold press, watercolour, 2020

Just behind the station there is a relaxing healing garden with incredible landscaped plants, stone inlays, and comfortable benches (which made the painting a pleasure). Curious onlookers wondered what I was doing. It makes me just as proud to do art in Southwest borough, or up on Walkley street NDG, as it does when I painted the cathedrals in Salamanca. The colour of the park bench in the foreground was a heavily desaturated and darkened magenta. The same outrageous magenta I tested in PR122 purple magenta test, turns into a a dusty grey rose (concrete rose is what I am calling it). You have to take my word for it, but the colour of the bench in the painting is identical to the actual colour of the bench- I never would have believed it a month ago, but carbon black (previously a no-no paint to use), plus outrageous pink, gives you an incredibly useful colour when diluted. 7 x10" cold press, watercolour, 2020

Not done, I needed a close up of the white peonies, they almost look like antique roses. They surround the metro building (you can just see them under the yellow tree in the last painting in shadow), and I knew they would figure prominently in the finished work. I had to use my camping chair to get this angle on the peonies in the back of the healing garden, along with a prominent statue of Mother Teresa. Usually, I do not paint religious symbols in the landscapes but I have made exceptions from time to time such as in the Gas Station in Little Italy, and the view down Somerled Avenue. Creating a sense of space was important to fulfill the illusion of the hedge of flowers. Including a strong foreground element (the bench) and a strong background element (the house faces), and the statue in the middle, gives the viewer all the information they need to comprehend the flower shrubs which go up a small hill, and curve behind the statue. 7 x10" rough press, watercolour, 2020

During the paintings, I sketched out two other scenes along with some notes. I knew these would not make great paintings on their own, but I plan to incorporate all of the ideas into the final work, which will part of 'The 27 stations of the green line metro, Montreal.' series. Monk station is #2. I have a flexible plan for the next paintings in the series but it requires a weekend day since I am back to 'working from home' now. Here are the sketches, the note that is cut off from was talking about how the branches on the peony bush converges on the same spot and fans out.