Saint-Laurent Station, Green Line Metro, Ville-Marie

Situated on the historical dividing line between East and West Montreal, Saint-Laurent is the last one on my tour of Ville-Marie green line stations (EDIT: Frontenac is actually the last station in Ville-Marie). The area is heavily gentrifying, as in, condo skyscrapers and arts infrastructure are being built up very fast. This is just on the edge of the Place des Arts area where the Jazz festival is normally held. It is also next to a working class neighborhood, so this station is a lifeline for many people. One fellow asked me if I would do a portrait of his face, which is not the first time, but I declined. It was a tough location, most people looked at me and wondered what I was doing.

The structure is a rugged metal and steel box with iron-oxide paint around the roof. It is slated for redevelopment into a cultural center and metro station complex, perhaps this was the last chance to paint it as it was. 7 x 10" cold press, watercolour, July 2020

For the next scene it took awhile to find a good spot, there are just sidewalks and roads and a big empty space in front of the station. I am looking across St. Laurent street at the station and the large apartment behind it. I decided to throw in the telephone booth to give the foreground some action. The last thing I did was the yellow stripes on the doors using mostly bismuth vanadate (an opaque greenish yellow), and the brief details of the bixi bikes bottom left.

6 x 7.5" cold press, watercolour, July 2020

Saint-Laurent station is one of the few downtown stations with only one entrance, and it is not connected to underground shopping or other buildings. As mentioned that will change soon, Montreal has this insatiable urge to pave, build, and obscure every piece of land. Craving open space, I sat back on the edge of the Place des Arts field where they set up the stage for Jazz Festival. The random white rectangles in the middle ground are some kind of permanent structure upon which they normally build the stage each year. Except this year of course. At the very bottom is a glimpse of the fancy paving stones they set up for people to sit on. Finally, wedged in the middle of the design is the Saint-Laurent station! Had to use the small brush for that. 7 x 10" cold press, watercolour, July 2020

The sketch was of the back side of the station, it was the first thing I did before making the paintings. Some of the metallic detailing showed up on the first painting. To make it easier to scan these sketches I drew a 1 inch margin at the binding so it fits easier into my scanner. 8 x11" pencil, sketchbook, July 2020