Lachine Canal Freezing

 

The Lachine canal was partly frozen today, there were just a few patches of open water like you see in the painting under the bridge. The water was reflecting the city-scape and glowing sky, while the frozen parts had a grey matte texture. Behind the pale green footbridge is a highway that sloped gently upwards from left to right. A constant stream of cars passed over the canal. As for the rest of the scene, it was an odd mix of spring and fall colours. Mixing in a bit of dilute salt water was essential since the below zero temperature was causing the fresh water to freeze. With just light snow in the forecast, it looks like I can continue to ride my bike to locations. Last year, it was heavy snow and the bike paths were blocked until late April.

Canal Freezing, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, December 2023 (No. 3675a)

Painting Year in Review: 2023

 

Lachine Canal, Sunset on a Snowy Night

I've been posting these retrospectives for some time now, you can find the previous years in review for 2020, 2021, and 2022. It was another busy year of painting in Montreal interspersed with some important trips abroad. I always start the review with my personal favorite painting, the one that stuck in my mind all year. This one was done back in February down at the Lachine Canal on a snowy night, with the sunset just finishing. The traffic on st Patrick can be seen on the top left, and the lamps along the walkway provide an eerie glow. Considering what an exhausting slog it was to get down there by foot after a long day work, and what the painting represents is quite definitive for this part of Montreal, and the snow effect is captured beautifully. There were a lot of other great paintings of the Lachine Canal, such as the train bridge at sunset, a frozen buoy in canal, and three ducks in a lock on the canal. By the way, another personal favorite of mine this year was Chartreuse Dumpster on a Sunny Day, it says a lot about me as a painter, doing paintings on the way back from work!

Montreal provides a never ending supply of industrial-urban scenery, typified by the dilapidated Canada Malt silo upon which the pink house sits. In this painting of the old Canada malting silos, you can see the rusted metal exterior with crumbling bricks, the iron structures on the ground rusting away, the colourful wall of graffiti, and if you zoom in, there is a bike in the distance on the canal bike path. This was a difficult painting to pull off, and perhaps the best technical piece of the year, although the monumental Château Frontenac at night was equally if not even more of a technical feat. Some other cool industrial Montreal scenes were Farine Roses and Grain elevator, gantry crane with sunset, and the Victoria Bridges.

 

Auto shops were a theme this year, for example a gas station at dusk, an orange sun over auto shop, the auto shop at dusk, and auto shop blue. In the painting above, Auto Shop Night Grey, I did a scene of the auto shop across the street at night, after they had painted it grey. It really captured the LED-glow on the otherwise gloomy surroundings. I wanted to mention this painting too, because it had one of the highest view counts of all the blogs, so apparently this one wins the popularity contest! Another popular one was Fresh Snow on Campus.

Cilei and I went to Brazil for a few weeks to visit her family and see her new house that her Dad built. I made quite a few paintings including the intense colours in the neighborhood, seen above, which shows a steep street in São Paulo, with the tallest mountain in the area, Pico do Jaraguá, in the background. There were lots of great paintings from the trip, including the Brazilian Kitchen, a city vista, and a plate of fruit which was one of Cilei's mother's favorites and we left it with her. 

 

Speaking of trips, I spent about 5 days in Québec City on a conference, and managed to squeeze in some fantastic paintings. It didn't take long to adapt to the environ, in fact, the painting above showing the view north, was the first one I did on the trip, still with luggage in tow. Other notable Québec City  paintings were a sunset in the city, flowers on the Plaines, a dancing corner at night, and a view from the hotel window. But really, most of the paintings I did on this short trip worked out better than I had hoped. Later in the year I went to another conference in Toronto, and made a series of paintings in challenging conditions.

It was another decent year for abstract paintings. I did a large doodleism painting called the Budget Beast, an AI-guided abstract called Sun Earth Moon, the punk rock painting, and the stress-induced Grant Grunt. One of the neatest ones was Invasive Spectrum, seen above, which also had a high view count, so it must have been good! It has a nice flow to it, and a pleasing harmony of colours. It was actually inspired by banana slugs.

 

I continued the World Inspired Landscapes series, where I do research on the internet and at the local library to learn more about countries and compose an original painting. The Italy painting seemed to hit all the right chords, it had an interesting blend of colour, contrast, and composition. You can see the whole series on one page, which gets updated regularly.  

 

Trying to pick the best overall painting is highly subjective, and this year there were a lot to pick from including Sunset on a Snowy Night, which was shown at the top of the blog, the brave Montreal scene of a snowy bridge, a scene of a parking lot with melting snow, a vista of Montreal's curving highways, springtime flowering shrubs and tulips, a night scene of crescent moon over power station, or a touristy scene of Old Montreal. But the one painting that stands out has to be Rain on the Deck with Geraniums, done while sitting in my parent's kitchen in Bolton. The blog for it has one of the highest view counts, but I know its a good one because before the painting even had a chance to dry, my Dad put it into a frame and hung it on the wall right next to the sliding doors! So now even on a sunny day they can see what it looked like on a rainy day. The painting has eye-popping geranium-red flowers set against an earthy, damp background, and the rain drops on the puddles combine seamlessly with the wooden deck boards. There were quite a few paintings from Bolton this year, flowers next to path was another favorite. 

In conclusion, after completely rebuilding my palette and updating my knowledge over the past few years since the pandemic started, it seems to be all coming together with some fantastic artwork this year. The painting above is a memory painting, showing my family paddling in a rainstorm on Balsam lake. That says it all, just keep on paddling and you will get through the storm with some help from family. 

Unfinished Product

 

A game, a paper, a renovation, there are so many unfinished projects. When it comes to art every project is unfinished until the brushes are put down for the last time, literally and figuratively. A lot of artists wonder when to stop working on a painting, they ask themselves if its over worked, under worked, or just right. I my experience, when I fiddle with a painting and keep trying to add stuff its a sign that the composition was not quite right. No amount of detail or technique can overcome a weak composition. Its the equivalent of trying to build a house on a shaky foundation. Conversely, if the composition is right then the painting will seem to finish itself. I learned composition by instinct and trial and error, along with careful study of art history. More recently I studied the Japanese 19th century print makers and that also helped a lot. Its hard to describe, but I can feel a bad composition, it makes my arm tingle and stomach turn a little. A good composition on the other hand gives me a sense of calm and confidence.

Unfinished Product, watercolour 9 x 12" watercolour paper December 2023 (No. 2891b)

Harley Street end of Fall

Usually its the beginning of winter, if not in weather only. Technically winter starts on the 21st, but right now it feels more like spring, or I guess the end of the fall would be accurate. I made this painting of Harley street looking west, in the distance is the Snowdon Bakery, while in the foreground is Rafi auto which I have painted several times. I kept the cars in the composition to fill out the bottom left triangle, and to give a sense of ambiance. A few people are entering the bakery. To make the painting work, I embellished the amber glow of the bakery, and gave the sky a warm aura. The light seems to spill out onto the street, creating an infusion of colour.

Harley Street end of Fall, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, December 2023 (No. 3673b)

Rialto Theater

On the way back from Anatol yesterday I stopped on the corner of Bernard and Parc, and made a quick painting of the iconic Rialto theater. Theaters have a way of disappearing eventually but this on has survived the test of time. I started with the roof line, then decided to omit sidewalk and street level from the composition to focus on the facade. It looked comically bad as I painted, a few people even stopped to look, but once the textural effects were applied and the last of the values filled in, magic happened and the sign and other bright highlights really popped. Since I bought this floral tea, it smelled like potpourri the whole time I painted.

Rialto Theater, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, December 2023 (No. 3672b)

Hall Building Night

After the final exam downtown I made a quick painting standing next to my bike, with all the exams bundled up in my bike pack. The scene shows the Hall building in the background, with some buildings and a line of traffic in the foreground. The bike path is off to the bottom right. I didn't initial this one because the painting was so moist. You can take a photo on this location and paint at home, but it would never turn out quite like this. Standing on location you have to imagine the noise of busy traffic going in both directions along Maisonneuve and Guy streets, crowded sidewalks with people talking and walking by, and a chilly dark night with breeze. I think all of those elements come together to create a kind of energy in the painting. Since the eye is more sensitive than a camera, I can also pick up subtle colour variations in the sky and shadow areas that would otherwise show up as a flat charcoal-black in a photo. These are some of the reasons to paint on location. It takes a lot of experience though, especially in the dark and cold. Occasionally people will talk to you, which adds another challenging element.  

Hall Building Night, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, December 2023 (No. 3674b)

Pink Clouds Across from Office

There I was thinking about grading another ten papers when I looked out my office window and saw these amazing pink clouds across the street. Bundling up and grabbing my paint kit I went out and braved the icy cold wind to make this painting. Without any salt in the water the palette turned to slush and the painting surface froze, but by some stroke of luck the background dried and I could fill in the various details. Using a mix of carbon black and red ochre helped get the dark highlights to stick and add window details. The pine tree on the right was perylene green with carbon black. So I was pleasantly surprised at how it turned out even though it was bitterly cold. I headed home after that, wondering what could I have possibly forgotten about back in my office  :p

Pink Clouds Across from Office, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, December 2023 (No. 3674a)

Every Instance

Artist's log, star date 12.12.2023. We have gone where no artist has gone before and in every instance we have discovered new shapes, new colours and explored new themes until the end of the universe and beyond. I may have borrowed some of that from a certain TV show/movie franchise. The goal of this painting was to create an earthy abstract scene with lush foliage and sweeping branch-like structures interspersed with geometric elements. It was part of my ongoing palette cleanser series where I literally clean my palette with a brush and use the paint to make these experimental compositions. After the Toronto trip my dirty water bottle (I keep all the dirty water and dispose of it in a sink), had an interesting grey-orange tint to it, probably from all the concrete and buildings, combined with the intense magenta I used for the CN tower at night scene. On location I struggle to find colour, but with the abstracts I can as much or as little as I like. 

Every Instance, watercolour 9 x 12" watercolour paper December 2023 (No. 2658b)

Paths to Provisions

Some time ago getting food must have been a real challenge, and the winter made it even more so. Now a days we just head out to the grocery store and expect food to be there, or phone for some take out. In the old days if our ancestors wanted take out, they had to fix a message onto the leg of a pigeon, for example: I want a large pizza with pepperoni and mushroom and two soda pops. Once the pigeon reached the pizzeria, they would send the order out by dog sled or horse and carriage. And if that didn't work may as well just eat the pigeon. But seriously, I don't know how they did it, perhaps a mix of farms and hunting would do the trick.

Paths to Provisions, watercolour 9 x 12" watercolour paper December 2023 (No. 3197b)

Remaining Scenes from Toronto Trip

Yes I did attend most of the conference programming, with occasional painting sessions outside! With my newfound urban painting skills, I was better equipped to tackle the difficult task of painting in a dense urban area. In this view I am looking east along one of the cross streets near the hotel maybe Richmond or Adelaide, with a long line of cars and a neat mix of architecture. You see gleaming glass sky scrapers reaching up into the sky right next to old brick structures from over a hundred years ago. 

Sky Scraper Sky, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, December 2023 (No. 3671)

 

With a bit of time to spare before departing on the GO train I made this painting in front of the station and tried to capture the traffic, people with suitcases, and even a pigeon. Most of the facade is a warm orange yellow, like raw sienna, and it was reflecting tinted light on the surroundings.

People at Union Station, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, December 2023 (No. 3672a)

 

Searching for colours, I found this scene of a gleaming salmon-coloured glass building with the sun shining on it. In the foreground is one of the clock towers of the provincial parliament building, and the horizontal concrete in the foreground is the top of the skating rink enclosure. To make the salmon colour I used pyrol orange (PO73) with dabs of orange (PO62) and red (PR254).

Colourful Building, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, December 2023 (No. 3673a)

I tackled this scene because of the history of the graphics arts building, seen in the left foreground. Members of the group of seven had day jobs as graphic designers, and this was one of the building they worked in. They illustrated posters and media images at a time when photography was just taking off. Seeing the lights on made me imagine that the group of seven were sitting up there working late on a project back in early 20th century. The view essentially contained a wall of windows from three different buildings. If you look at the very top, there were little people walking on the floors of a glass-walled office tower, which was pretty neat. I also tried to capture the track lighting that you can see inside of the office towers, which adds perspective and contrast. Of course, the snow was gently falling which created a mottled effect. Now a days the building is a condominium, which at least means that the structure has been carefully conserved.

Graphics Arts Building, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, December 2023 (No. 3920a)

Toronto Morning and Night

 

Early in the morning before the train departed from Toronto, I made a quick painting in the relative darkness of the morning. The sky had a deep purple tint which played well against the pale yellow and grey glow of the environment. You can imagine pulling your luggage on a chilly morning and glancing up at the old fashioned clock. Despite the gloomy atmosphere I tried to create a scene that was warm and inviting with pops of colour here and there.

Union station in the Early Morning, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, December 2023 (No. 3669)

The CN tower is the most recognizable attraction in Toronto, it is also one of the tallest free standing structures in the world. Elevators take tourists up to the central section that is like a doughnut shape, it contains a restaurant and the dreaded transparent floors. It took awhile to get an angle on the CN tower, it was completely obscured by skyscrapers until I approached Union station and looked west. The intense red and magenta lights from the elevator and restaurant section were casting an eerie glow onto the surrounding clouds. Strong yellowish flood lights adorned the doughnut section, the cast sharp beams of light and gave the appearance of a UFO landing. On top of that, the snow was pelting down which created a mottled snow-effect on the painting's surface. I feel like this painting achieves more than just a sum of its parts, it gives an immediate, visceral sense of atmosphere and lighting. The actual scene was even more spectacular than the painting indicates, so much so that I was skeptical that I could even come close to capturing the effect.

CN Tower Cloudy Snowy Night, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, December 2023 (No. 3670)

Hot Dog Stand

Colour was hard to find in downtown Toronto due to the season, the vast expanses of concrete and asphalt, and the freezing rain/snow. Across the street from the hotel there was the skating rink that made for some interesting paintings, and a row of food vendors that were extremely colourful. The one depicted in the painting appeared to be promoting hot dogs, sausages, and had a black red and green flag that I could not identify. Turkish symbols adorned other parts of the cart so it may have been a Turkish theme. I walked around this location a few times trying not to look weird as I scoped the angle, but then I realized there were a lot of weird people mulling about aimlessly and I felt more at ease. The city placed large decorative flower pots along the sidewalk, and when I saw how its shape fit with the food stand and the crowd waiting for the food, I stopped, opened my paint bag, poured the water, and got the paper holder, palette, and brush in my mitted-hands. As I painted the snow gently fell, creating a neat snow effect. The chef in the stand was illuminated by a magenta lamp, which played nicely off the yellow red and orange signage. The figure work is some of the most expressive I have achieved on location; it was important to the composition that they appeared huddled and cold as the waited for the warm food.

Hot Dog Stand, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, December 2023 (No. 3668b)

Skating Rink Nathan Phillips Square

Nathan Phillips Square is at the center of downtown Toronto, across the street from the hotel I was staying at for the multiple sclerosis conference. It was steadily snowing on this day, which created a mottled effect on the painting that looks like actual snow. I did this by intentionally standing in the snowfall while painting. The arches span the entire width of the rink, and have lights on them for night time.

Rink with Snow, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, December 2023 (No. 3667a)

Done on a clear day, this scene of the rink is looking south where I got a glimpse of the CN tower through the sky scrapers. Due to the format I had to compress the tower a bit, wish I had the 12 x 4" paper with me but I traveled light, and I was there for a conference after all! The main part of the composition was to keep the people and skating rink area high contrast, with the rest of the scene being grey and brown. 

Rink with CN Tower, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, December 2023 (No. 3667b)

This was the first painting of the trip, I stopped in front of the hotel, bag on tow, and attempted a complex night scene of a illuminated rink with the vast city hall in the background. It worked out all right all things considered, although I had to touch up the bottom part back in the room due to the moisture. Most of the painting on this trip was a collaboration with the elements!

Rink at Night, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, December 2023 (No. 3668a)

Bolton Pond with Geese

The first big snow fell in Bolton, it gave a light dusting over the storm pond that they finished renovating recently. Reeds and tall grass have grown back, and in the summer I saw ducks swimming around. As I painted this scene it was pure silence until several groups of geese in V formation flew overhead and I hoped that they wouldn't crap on me. That didn't happen luckily, and I decided to fit in some geese to the final painting for some ambiance. It was a stark contrast to Toronto where I spent most of the week at the multiple sclerosis conference. There are about 10 paintings from Toronto that I will post later, it was the first time in awhile I painted downtown. The buildings were dense and very high, although I found some neat angles. 

Bolton Pond with Geese, watercolour cold press, 5 x 7" December 2023 (No. 3666)

Auto Shop Light Snow

Preparing to leave today for Toronto I made a quick painting of the auto shop and some light snow that came down this morning. I was sitting in the living room looking out, not wanting to go on location at the moment since my paints are packed and ready to go on the trip, this was done with my backup brush and palette. I am not sure what to expect on the trip regarding painting conditions. When at a conference, especially a short one like this, there are not that many opportunities anyways and Toronto last time I was there was not particularly inspiring for an artist. I will make a quick trip to Bolton to the north and might find some scenes there, not to mention get to see my parents. 

Auto Shop Light Snow, watercolour 8 x 10" cold press, December 2023 (No. 3843b)

Raffi's Auto

 

Usually its a painting of Joe and Ralph's auto shop across the street, but today I was picking up some food at the Snowdon Bakery and made a quick painting of Raffi's auto shop at the end of Harley street. It's not the first time I painted it, but it has been awhile. There are a series of large concrete blocks along the sidewalk which make for good seating locations to paint, although I paint standing up most of the time its nice to sit if possible. The perspective was the key to success. I made a mid line perpendicular to the bottom edge of the painting, and held my brush up to the scene to understand the angle. You can see things don't quite line up at the apex of the building but the overall effect is strong enough. I intentionally varied the left shadow from purple to yellowish, and made it green on the right in order to accentuate the red trim and enliven an otherwise dull scene. I could probably make another post tomorrow, then I travel to Toronto for a conference and brief family visit. I also completed the 'year in review' post for 2023 and it is scheduled to be posted on December 20th. That gives me some time in case I do another notable painting before another year draws to a close. 

Raffi's Auto, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, December 2023 (No. 3665)