1996-2004 London Ontario Landscapes

 

During my time as a student at Western Ontario University I had the chance to make a lot of landscape paintings between 1996 and 2004. My school started in 1994 but it wouldn't be until 1996 until I made my first location painting of a pine tree in the frigid winter. This paintings looks like it was done in the Spring, it was always one of my favorites from the era. The sun piercing through the clouds creates an ethereal glow. The blue shadows contain cerulean blue (PB35).

London Train Tracks and City, 5 x 7" cold press, watercolour, 1996 (No. 0438)

 

This could have been done on the same day, I used to go out for long painting trips on the weekends. During the week I would get out after classes or between them, I found an old agenda where I had made some notes on what paintings I did on the weeks. The view here is looking down one of the many valleys in London carved out by the Thames River. On the horizon lies the landmark office towers. The variety of greens and golds is really interesting here, I used burnt sienna transparent (PR101) with phthalo green (PG7) and aureolin yellow (PY40), although I had other yellows too.
 

London pine trees city view, 5 x 7" cold press, watercolour,0442 1996

 

 

Also looks like the same day perhaps, a close up of the office tower. I was standing up on the embankment of Thames River which is made of steep concrete at this point. The colours appear to be quite accurate here despite my lack of knowledge of colour mixing at the time I was able to figure things out with trial and error. Once I learned a combination that worked I would stick with it. I was obviously proud of the blue colour since I used it in the signature too.

London Office Towers and Trees, 5 x 7" cold press, watercolour, 1996 (0446)

 

This tree was on the University campus, I looked at it a few times but passed on making a painting until making some progress in my skills. It was quite a thrill to pull this one off, another one of my favorites of the era. I am not sure what year it was but 1997 stuck in my mind, often I can remember where I lived at the time of making the paintings. It was remarkable how many shades of green there were. 

London Tree with Blooms, 5 x 7" cold press, watercolour, 1997  (0463)

 

Finally, here is a painting I made in the last year that I resided in London, it shows Springbank park, where they built an amusement theme park for kids. It was not in use at the time, probably it was very early spring from what I recall. The frog obviously was not real but made of fiberglass. I can see the technical improvements, like the foreground shadowing that transitions across the path and the various textured surfaces like grass and treebark. It also seems to include a painted outline, which is something I used for the more complicated paintings. Ribbit. 

London Royal Toad, 5 x 7" cold press, watercolour, 2004 (0464)