For the past few years, my painting output has gone up substantially. I posted the year in review for 2020, and the year in review 2021. Part of the fun of doing a review blog is reflecting on all the art and picking out a few of the favorites of mine and the crowd favorites. The first painting to write about embodies the theme of urban painting, it is called Chair in a Field of Yellow Buttercups painted during the summer in my favorite field down near the train tracks. It was actually a 2021 painting called Two Chairs in Field that began the motif. It was soon joined by a table full of debauchery in A Table and Four Chairs in a Field, and several others along a similar theme. The style and substance of this painting was greatly inspired by van Gogh. Speaking of van Gogh-inspired, there was a really neat location painting I did in this field called Sunflowers on a Rainy Day.
As the new painting year began it didn't take long before I had completed one of the best technical pieces of the year, and perhaps one of the best since I began outdoor painting. It was a painting of a Gas Station on a Snowy Night, down on the corner of Cavendish and Somerled. Through sheer luck, tiny snow pellets fell on the painting creating a realistic illusion of snow. As the snow continued, I painted mountains of snow, melting snow, and more recently, the return of the snow at Coffee Park. As I learn more about winter painting, I wrote a new blog page called "Winter Water Painting". The term water painting is one that I started using in formal writing, so make it more in line with oil painting or acrylic painting.
Memory of a Burger
Each year there has been a painting that the social media audience really likes, and this year it was the towering Memory of Burger. Looking at it now, it makes me hungry! Another really popular one, and it had the most blog views, was World Inspired Landscapes: Colombia (Rainbow River), which is part of the sprawling World Inspired Landscape Series. There were a lot of fans, including Mr. Clarke my highscool art teacher, who really liked Its a Fake Pumpkin Charlie Brown. My interior painting of the laboratory garnered some praise at work and became part of our official lab logo. There were quite a few supportive up votes and comments on the Iranian protest painting called Flag Waving downtown Campus.
It was a decent year for abstract paintings, most of them done while 'cleansing the palette'. For example, the van Gogh-inspired study of yellow More Sun, More Fun (shown above), a kaleidoscope of colour in Brick Hue, and the outrageously named Static in the Attic.
Orange Line Metro Lasalle Station with Bus
The centerpiece of any painting year has to be the changing of the seasons, especially Spring and Summer. Perhaps the best all-around painting of the year was this unassuming scene of the the Lasalle Metro station, done in the early morning light in Verdun. The colours, composition, theme, and technique all came together to create a fresh spring take on a classic urban scene. With spring arriving I painted New Leaves on Campus, and Blossoms near the st Lawrence river, done on a lunch hour break of course. There were some pretty neat bridge paintings including the new Champlain Bridge, the Cartier Bridge as seen from old Montreal, and a small Bridge from St. Helen's to Notre Dame Island. I rode out to Parc Extension in the summer, and made quite a few nice summer paintings in Old Montreal. I shouldn't "leave" out fall either, it was a long one this year. I did a nice fall forest scene up in Summit Park, a brilliantly coloured scene of Fall Leaves with Backlit Trees, and a tree that demonstrated Changing Colours.
Dépanneur Diamond 10
Seldom
do I return to the same location in quick succession. In the summer I returned to the Chair in the Field and got good results;
When my first attempt at Dépanneur Diamond 10 in Lachine was
substandard, I returned to the location for two more weekends. It was
somewhat urgent because this charming structure, which has been run by
the same family for over 70 years, is slated for Condo development next
year. The final version of Dépanneur Diamond 10
captures the entire ambiance of the scene including the fall leaves blowing on the street, and local people
strolling by. Other notable Dépanneur paintings include the sublime
night painting of Dépanneur YoYo, the rustic Dépanneur O'Brien, and the frozen Dépanneur Gong.
Train Crossing Ville st Henry
Trains were a recurring theme this year including the powerful Train Crossing (shown above), the hectic Commuter train Crossing, and the peaceful Morning Commuter Train. Painting things that move is a growing skill!
Reflection on Canal at Sunset
Throughout the year I painted numerous post-industrial scenes in and around the Lachine Canal including Reflection on Canal at Sunset (shown above), with an amazing Sunset on the River shown in the same blog, the nearby Pink House on Old Factory, the contrasting Black and White Reflections on the canal, the not-so-contrasting Grey Day on the Lachine Canal, and even a painting from Under the Canal!
Restaurant Fameux
Night paintings were on the menu this year, such as the Restaurant Fameux in Plateau (shown above), an Evening Ride to the st Lawrence River, more eerie moon paintings, a nigh time extravaganza at the International Jazz Festival, not to mention, yet another painting of the famous Auto Shop, this time on a Rainy Night. And recently, I captured the proverbial "lightning in a bottle" with an action painting of horse-mounted police officers after the big soccer match. With all that I have learned about night painting, I wrote a blog page covering some technical aspects of night painting.
As I type up the 2022 year in review, I keep finding more and more amazing paintings from the year, it may well have been the best year of painting that I have managed to date. The scene above shows a View South to St. Jacques Bridge and River, Pink Sky. My Dad actually has a photo of him sitting with a car here in the 1960's ! It was a good year for painting sunsets, such as Sunset over Train Tracks, a Fleeting Moment, and Sunset Between Bridges.
World Inspired Landscapes: Costa Rica (detail)
I hope you enjoyed the blog this year, I appreciated all the views and comments from the virtual audience! And I fully expect (and hope) to have another productive year of painting and blogging in 2023.
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