Ride Around Park Extension

The neighborhood next to Park Jarry is called Park Extension because it is located just north and to the west of Avenue du Parc. It is a multi cultural area with elements of India, Pakistan, Northern Africa, Greek, and many more. Some small grocers advertised the food culture, one even had all of these cultures listed on one sign! The streets smelled of delicious chicken tandoori and onion bhajis. There are a few small parks in the neighborhood, this one is on Ball street. It had a circular path and some interesting oak trees reaching for the sky.  I used the new Strathmore Gemini cold press watercolour, it was good for texturing but absorbed a lot of colour. I had to adjust for that by adding a bit of colourful glaze like yellow in the grass.

Park De Lestre, Park Extension, watercolour 8 x 10" Strathmore Gemini 400, July 2022  (No. 3051)

 

I spent more time riding around and looking at potential scenes than I did painting. To paint in this neighborhood I had to adjust my expectations a little; usually I seek out natural elements, but here it was the store fronts that captured the spirit of the area. This store front was selling Pani Puri which seems to be a small stuffed pastry the size of a golf ball. Apparently it was very popular because people kept parking their car in front of the scene and pedestrians were stopping to get some of the corner eats. Beside the booth was a colourful cart with ornate decorations.

Corner Pani Puri, Park Extension, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, July 2022 (No. 3183)

At last I painted this scene of a corner vegetarian cafe called La Place Commune. It had a nice looking patio decorated with grape vines, and many interesting adornments on the building. Behind the patio was a big window with elaborately patterned curtains. The sun came out midway through the paint, so I captured the shadow of the sign and some other highlights to create a summery glow. I think this scene really captured the spirit of the neighborhood.

Cafe La Place Commune, Park Extension, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, July 2022 (No. 3184)