The Mile End is a neighborhood on the west part of Le Plateau next to Mount Royal. I used to live there for a number a years and got to know the local shops including the famous Fairmount Bagel, depicted in the painting. There were stacks of orange bagel crates outside, and the bricks had an interesting reddish hue. I tried to capture the architectural elements in an authentic way, so that you can practically smell the bagels cooking. Some people made a short video of me painting after asking permission, that has become more common recently.
Fairmount Bagel, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, October 2023 (No. 3568a)
On the way back to NDG I cut through McGill University campus and found some high ground where the sun was still catching the tops of buildings. The structure in the front was Morrice hall according to the sign, it had elaborate turrets and brick work. I liked the contrast between the earthy campus colours and the bright turquoise skyscraper in the background. For the turquoise I mixed the classic phthalo green blue shade (PG7) with phthalo blue (PB15) and some yellow (PY154) int he lighter areas. The foreground trees were painted wet, then orange blobs were dobbed in to give the fall colour. I had to improvise that technique, because the trees are still mostly green with orange and red leaves here and there. Its a strange thing to see but the fall has been very mild.
McGill University and Downtown, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, October 2023 (No. 3569a)
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