Sauvé Station is the second to last Montreal stop on the east arm of the orange line. This scene was an amazing combination of fall colours set against a rose-red corrugated metal structure next to the entrance of the station. The pink structure was a small shop that seems to sell fresh produce in the summer but it was closed up for the season. To create the leaves I established the dark maroon with perylene maroon (PR179) and perylene green (PBk31), then added pyrol reds (PR254, PR255), oranges (PO73) and benzi yellows (PY154, PY175) and a touch of phthalo green (PG36). A lot of people were watching me paint out of curiosity.
Sauvé Station, Orange Line Metro, Fall Colours, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, October 2021 (No. 2854)
In this panorama design, the metro station is tucked away behind a bus, in fact, the station looks like it could be a vehicle driving around the bend in the highway. The horizon was filled with golden yellow and orange trees. To the right is a massive cemetery, I just showed a sliver if it, barely recognizable. Choosing this location was easy because there was a great place to stand and the sun was shining on me, but the scene was daunting. In particular the constant flow of cars and buses occupied about one quarter of the painting. I like painting signs and traffic lights, as you can see on the left. The light was red.
Sauvé station, Orange Line Metro, Panorama, watercolour 8 x 10" cold press, October 2021 (No. 2910)
On the south side of the street Sauvé station has a small entrance building, this is the same one seen in the panorama painting but from the sunny side angle. The weather was starting to get rough, it was a three hour tour. A three hour tour. Okay not everyone will understand that particular reference to an old TV show. This painting was all about variations in orange. The condo building in the distance was a bright yellow orange I made with pyrol orange, benzi yellow, and touch of phthalo green to neutralize it a bit. The other shades were variations of burnt yellow ochre (PR102), yellow ochre (PY43 Da Vinci), umber (PBr7 Shin Han), and indo blue (PB60). Carbon black (Pbk6) was used for the dark contrast elements.
Sauvé station, Orange Line Metro, Shades of Orange, watercolour 8 x 10" cold press, October 2021 (No. 2855)
Just a personal note, today when people were looking at me painting, I really felt like a painter. I was suddenly aware of the paper, brushes, palette, and my bike/studio. I wonder what people think of the guy painting metro stations?
How can he see something beautiful here? Maybe this was one of their thoughts.
ReplyDeleteBeing an artist is seeing things beyond what the majority of people perceive. It is not only a station. It is an array of forms, textures, colors and perspectives.