Painting in London Ontario, Bins and other Scenes

While living in London Ontario I made hundreds of small paintings, mostly between 1996 and 2004 when I departed for Montreal. There wasn't much to inspire a painter in London Ontario but that did not deter me from finding motifs. This particular painting is a great example, it shows a concrete garbage bin with a black plastic bag, strongly lit by sun. I recall doing this painting at the campus quad which was all paved in concrete. At the time I was moving towards a photo-realistic style, and used a lot of cerulean blue in the mixes and for my signature.

Benches and Bin, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, 1999 (No. 0483)

This scene is down by Saugeen Maitland residence, looking up towards the hospital behind the trees. I did better versions of this scene, this one was an earlier attempt. It was ambitious, you can even see the parking sign and details on the pole. The purplish asphalt in the foreground is a neat colour. As I look back on these paintings I notice a few trends. Most paintings are on the landscape (horizontal) format, and I would mostly only go out and paint on sunny or partly cloudy days. 
 

Electrical Box, watercolour 5 x 8" cold press, 1998 (No. 0484)

 

Shortly after my first watercolour painting en plein air (outdoors) I really started to do a lot of painting in London and abroad. Record keeping wasn't my strong point, and the internet barely existed at the time. I know this scene, it is downtown London near the location of the stadium, looking south. Last time I was there in 2018 on sabbatical I noticed a skyscraper condo in this location, maybe they built over these old buildings.

Old Buildings,  watercolour 5 x 8", 1998? (No. 0496)

 

Here is another realistic depiction of old houses and an auto shop. Who knew I would go on to make so many paintings of auto shops in my career. I like how the van is depicted. It is a white van in shadow, with different tones from reflected light, bluish at top, yellowish at the center, and greyish at the bottom. To paint, at the time, was a reactionary process. Paint, paper, brushes, water. The cerulean blue, as seen in the sky, trim of the auto shop, and shadows, really works in this design.

London Auto, watercolour 5 x 7, 2000 (No. 0497)