Saturday Painting Trip, Deep Freeze

 

On my way back from the art store I meandered over to Westmount park and found a spot to sit. The location is above the underground recreation center, on the roof in a way, but they turned it into a park. The snow was deep and well trodden. I couldn't resist using one of my new paints I had just bought, raw umber by M.Graham. It is a rich chocolate brown that works well with brick and tree colours. The rest of the painting was a race against time. A couple walked by and the guy said "I don't know how he does that" to which I replied "fast".

Westmount Recreation Center 5 x 7.5" cold press, watercolour, February 2021 (No.2563a)

 

Vendome station has been rebuilt on an adjacent location. This scene is the old station still in use. I liked the combination of the sumac trees superimposed on the industrial forms of the station. In the background I painted the hospital, it is the yellow bricks towards the top left. The hospital is a real eyesore, so this little yellow snippet is about as much as I ever want to paint of it. There were no touch ups at home for this painting, I wanted to leave it just the way it was done on location. I almost didn't paint this, because my first thought was 'impossible'. With cold weather the paint dries slowly, making this complex overlay difficult. Luckily I did the impossible and it is one of my favorites.

Vendome with Sumacs 5 x 7.5" cold press, watercolour, February 2021

 

Even an apparently mundane scene can catch my eye. I walked past this several times on my previous trips but the sun was never at the correct angle. What caught my eye was the dramatic diagonal trees that seemed to reach over the bike path and road. Also, the shadow colour on the snow on the tree with the crisp highlight. The train tracks are in the background left middle. As a bit of humour, this sign is pointing to the bike path, but I didn't see a single bike go by the whole time. Perhaps the frigid 20 below temperature kept them home.

Maisonneuve Diagonal Trees 5 x 7.5" cold press, watercolour, February 2021