Looking over the Artist's Shoulder

Going through the carton of paintings I dug up some relatively recent paintings of Montreal that I did prior to my expansion in 2020. Although I did not paint on location very often, you can see the interest I had in local scenery and architecture. This painting shows the Lachine Canal close to downtown, just before the Peel Basin. There was, and still is a train bridge, although nowadays there is another bridge over top of this one. The water was nicely done and the city framed by the bridge support was a neat composition.

Down town view through train bridge, watercolour 7.5 x 11" cold press, 2014 (No. 1136)

From time to time I wonder why I paint. These paintings would have primarily sat in cartons for many years, just a few made it to the blog which started around 2008. Part of the answer is that I enjoy painting, it is a kind of compulsion, and the other part is that other people can look at the paintings and enjoy the finished product. Occasionally people see me painting and seem to get a kick out of it. There is also a bigger picture. Artists look at their surroundings in a different way, and their works can provide a cultural impact, a kind of definition. If you think of water lilies, you think of Claude Monet, if you think of sunflowers you think of Vincent Van Gogh. If you think of dumpsters and garbage bins, you think of Peter Darlington. Just kidding, I also painted water lilies and sunflowers.

Bernard Church and Auto Mechanic, watercolour 7.5 x 11" cold press, 2008 (No. 1142)

 

Which brings me to the third concept, that art is produced for art itself. Long after the viewer and the painter have moved on, one can hope that paintings remain in some capacity, at the very least immortalized on the internet. So painting is about the experiences of the artist, the viewer, and the existence of the art itself. Next time I will be the viewer standing over my own shoulder, watching myself paint.

Speaking of the three paintings I posted, the dates are only an estimation, but they were all done in the past 15 years or so. Maybe its just a coincidence, but all three of them feature a streak of green prominently in the composition. Perhaps if I am in these areas again I will do the same scene again for comparison. For one reason, the backs of these paintings are all blank, inviting new paintings to be done.

Roof Tops Mission, watercolour 7.5 x 11" cold press, 2016 (No. 1143)