Palette Puzzle, watercolour 9 x 12" watercolour paper, May 2024
Saturday, May 18, 2024
Palette Puzzle
Friday, May 17, 2024
Western Blot Apparatus
Western Blot Apparatus, watercolour 8 x 10" 80lb, May 2024
Thursday, May 16, 2024
Patching up the Field
Patching up the Field, watercolour 8 x 10" 80lb, May 2024
Mushrooms on Sherbrooke
On the way over to the laboratory I stopped to make a painting of a giant group of mushrooms growing next to the sidewalk on Sherbrooke street. To begin I outlined the mushrooms and the perspective lines with dark brown paint that I mixed with burnt umber and lamp black (PBr7 + PBk6). Next I filled in the initial washes on the mushrooms with shades of brown and lots of white showing. After blocking out the grass and doing the sidewalk and street I added more textural elements to the mushrooms. Meanwhile the sun was fully shining on my right neck and shoulder without any sun screen which was noticable as I painted. One dandelion was growing tall out of the mushroom bunch.
Mushrooms on Sherbrooke, watercolour 5 x 7" 80lb, May 2024
Wednesday, May 15, 2024
Orange flags and dandelions
If they do start construction I'll do another series sarcastically called "Green Concordia"
Orange flags and dandelions, watercolour 5 x 7" 80lb, May 2024
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
Earth Water Paint Life
Earth Water Paint Life, watercolour 9 x 12" watercolour paper, May 2024
Sunday, May 12, 2024
Across the Neighborhoods
Final destination st Hubert street, took me across at least six neighborhoods including NDG, Hampstead, Outremont, Mile End, Little Italy and La Petite-Patrie where I stopped to make this painting. The location is Place Hector-Prud'homme a tiny postage stamp of a park mostly paved with concrete, its surrounded by what appear to be crab apple trees that were in full pink blossom. Sitting to eat a snack and rest after a long bike ride, the fellow on the bench down the way started smoking some pungent pot that wafted over. Along with the Arabic music he was playing on the radio it was quite the experience painting these flowers high up in the sky. First I outlined the flowers in purple magenta (PR122) then filled in the bus and building outlines, and finished with the green foliage, dark brown branches and details on the bus which I had to memorize since buses tend to move a lot.
Crab-apple Flowers High, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, May 2024
To get to the Aquarium du Nord I cut down this rather smelly alley it was recycling day apparently the cat didn't mind. Some of the alleys in Montreal are astounding, I've seen photography books that feature such scenes. The back alleys are mainly for access, services, and emergencies, but they also take on a life of their own. Various cladding, facades, murals, brick, rust, wood, wired and steel staircases adorned this scene adjacent to st Hubert street. A cat walked by, but it looks more like a dog in the painting!
Alley Cat Smelly Alley, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, May 2024
It's been a good few days for the flowering trees, last year it was very brief then we got rain and wind. This year the flowers came out and this weekend especially it was perfect. With rain on tap for the next three days I may have caught the window. This pink tree was just above the Beaubien metro station which I have painted before on several occasions during the 68 station of the Montreal metro series. The only spot to set up was on a distant corner, the rest of the sidewalk was too narrow and crowded to place my bike. I made the pink tree more detailed than the rest of the painting so it stands out more. The traffic was painted as if it were moving, which it was of course. It captures that fleeting moment in the city when you see something colourful and interesting.
Pink tree over Beaubien Station, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, May 2024
Saturday, May 11, 2024
Brewery st Ambrose summer patio
Maybe it would have been nice to stop and have a pint of cream ale on tap here, but I was working after all. That didn't stop the cyclists going by, even the ones wearing spandex they were going in for a pint. I could hear people roaring drunk with laughter and everyone seemed to be having a good time. In the background you see the old factory with the famous pink house on top. The pink house is a part of the factory, some creative vigilante artists scaled up the building and painted it pink with green roofs. There are even faux flower planters under the windows. I've painted the pink house many times from various angles, I suppose one day the whole thing will be taken down and replaced with a condo. I liked this scene because it says a lot about the Lachine Canal's past and present. It used to be a heavy industrial area before the modern ports were built, and over the past twenty odd years its gentrified and become a recreation park. There is another pub down by Verdun, it looks quite popular too and offers some views of the bike path and canal.
To paint this, I started by outlining the scene with a pale grey (no pencil just watercolour). I composed the scene by compressing the background elements, in real life they were much further apart. I also decided to cut off the foreground to give maximum focus on the sky and pink house soaring above the red umbrellas of the summer patio. The sky was done wet in wet, a dilute yellow followed by blue and blue-green around the clouds, finished with a purplish grey for the cloud shadows. The pink of the pink house is a paint from Schmincke I got from Avenue des arts in Westmount, it called purple magenta which has pigment code PR122. Other companies have this paint but the names vary. I always look to the pigment code to know what I am getting since the names of paints are kind of random.
Brewery st Ambrose summer patio, watercolour 8 x 10" 80lb cold press, May 2024
Bike Ride Lachine Canal path from end to end
To paint the dandelions the grass is done first, leaving little holes were the flowers go, then the yellow is applied over top. I used yellow paint that has code PY154, and a touch of orange which has paint code PO62. The paint codes are on the tubes, and there are some tables of information also available on the internet, but the best place to go is Blundell's website and check out her labeled colour swatches.
Pinkish Trees next to st Laurence River, watercolour, 5 x 7" cold press, May 2024
This white blossoming tree was almost glittering in the bright sun. It reminded me a lot of a Monet painting, where he had a woman in a pink tress reading a book underneath a tree like this. The tree was done with a wet in wet wash to begin. After that dried I applied several textural layers from light to dark. Finally I daubed in some brighter yellows and yellow-oranges. The hardest part was the grassy area with dandelions, my wrist ached a little after doing all the brushwork! It took a little while this one, but it was worth it. Of course I had to throw in the fire hydrant and row of cars on st Patrick street.
White blossoming tree next to bike path, watercolour 8 x 10" 80lb cold press, May 2024
At the end of a great ride down the canal path, slaloming through all the pedestrians and slow cyclists, I made it to the peel Basin which is the other end of the Lachine canal. The old rusty train bridge is on the bottom, it is still in use, while the new elevated commuter bridge is just above it, you can see one of the weekend rail car pairs going across. A pile of condos adorns this part of Montreal, they keep jamming them into this neighborhood. I was glad that there were only a few dandelions to paint here!
Bridges over Canal Peel Basin, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, May 2024
Friday, May 10, 2024
Red bench, green grass
The fire station keeps good care of the front driveway and lawn areas, each spring they paint the bench with a fresh coat of red paint and take care of the community herb garden in the form of a tall mound of earth. With the grass finally turning a bright green there was a contrast of red and green that tempted me to make this painting on the way to the grocery store. Even though the bench was a very bright red, the sun light and the reflected light from the ground made the red a bit paler around the edges. I used pyrol red (PR254) which is also called Ferrari red, its probably the exact same pigment they used to paint the bench. We finally have decent weather on tap for the weekend so hopefully I can get out for a good ride and some painting.
Red bench, green grass, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, May 2024
Thursday, May 9, 2024
Snowdon Bakery Delivery Door
We are lucky to have a few great bakeries in town including Meunerie Urbaine up on Monkland avenue, and Snowdon Bakery down on Harley street. In the painting I depict the delivery door of the Snowdon bakery where trucks roll up to the driveway and bring in carts full of flour and baking supplies in. There is an even bigger door for bringing palettes in and out around the side. There is a large antique vent on the wall, it used to have a rusted patina until they painted it with red ochre (iron oxide) rust protecting coat. On the right you can see Rafi auto mechanic in the background with its distinctive painted white brick walls and red trim.
I liked the subtle variations in yellows, you see the yellow dandelions on the bottom right near my signature, the yellow post which protects the brick wall from trucks backing up, and the pale yellow ochre bricks. Mixing these three shades of yellow is tricky, the bricks are yellow ochre (PY43) with some greyish purple mixed in (PB60 + PR179 + PV55), the post is similar but with bright yellow added (PY154), and the dandelions are bright yellow with a dab of orange (PY154 + PO62). Sometimes I think these 'lunch hour' paintings or 'on my way to somewhere else' paintings are the best ones!
Snowdon Bakery Delivery Door, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, May 2024
Tuesday, May 7, 2024
More spring colours in Montreal
In springtime the tulips pop up, the trees flower, and new leaves emerge bright green and yellow. But the most notable colour in spring is orange, I call it Montreal orange! Terrebonne street is being all torn up to remove the lead pipes connecting to houses, which entails a square hole to be cut followed by insertion of some complex metal box device. Considering that they just paved the road a few years back its interesting how now they decide to cut holes in it again. The good thing about construction is that the roads are blocked off partially so I could stand on one side and easily paint the view opposite. Cars were slowing down and stopping because they thought I was some kind of police officer writing tickets, that happens from time to time when I am painting in the neighborhood. To mix Montreal orange I combine pyrol orange (PO73) with benzi orange (PO62) so that it will look accurate after scanning and showing on a screen.
Montreal Orange on Terrebonne, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, May 2024
Monday, May 6, 2024
Pink Tree Next Door
Pink Tree Next Door, watercolour 8 x 10" 80lb cold press, May 2024
Sunday, May 5, 2024
World Inspired Landscapes: Myanmar
Myanmar, formerly or currently known as Burma is wedged between India, China and several other countries in south east Asia. Its central location puts Myanmar in the midst of global superpowers and multiple cultural influences. Historically, there are Homo erectus remains going back 750,000 years and early humans back to 25,000 years ago. Truly a cradle of humanity, Myanmar saw all of the ages from stone to metal to the internet age! It was ruled by various kingdoms until falling under the British empire until world war 2 when it saw horrendous fighting. Since then, there have been civil wars and controversies within the country on top of severe weather events. The geography of Myanmar is quite diverse, most of it appears to be low lying grasslands probably once jungle cleared for agriculture, rolling hills, and some steep rocky mountains with waterfalls.
So far in the series I have painted a few waterfalls, Costa Rica and Colombia come to mind as two examples. In this version, I kept the colour scheme subdued, just a dark yellow (PY43 + PBk6) and variations of green and turquoise. To paint the cascading water first I outlined the rocks to give form, then painted in the water textures as if flowing around the rocks. It was a good opportunity to practice some brush techniques and remind myself how the paper handles. I had this paper once before and quite liked it...Strathmore Aquarius II, a synthetic cotton blend cold press watercolour paper, only 80lb weight yet it doesn't buckle even with copious amounts of water. Its discontinued by the manufacturer so I bought all that was remaining at Avenue des Arts, a pack of 10 sheets measuring 22 x 30" .
World Inspired Landscapes: Myanmar, watercolour 8 x 10" cold press, May 2024
Vendome metro interior stained glass
With 20 minutes to wait for the bus, I made this painting of the stained glass display inside of Vendome metro station. On the left is the turnstile with windows in the distance, on the right is the brightly lit red, orange and yellow-orange stained glass windows set on a dramatic angle. A pipe-sculpture hangs near the window, in its entirety the sculpture has the look of a DNA helix. With an information screen nearby I could see the time, it took about 14 minutes before the bus arrived early and I went out. Someone asked me here I got the art supplies and I said Avenue des Arts in Westmount. This painting, and the other one of people walking up Guy street both take advantage of colour contrast. When you compose bright colours next to dull greyish colours, it makes the bright colours really pop. In this case, Vendome is mostly cold, exposed concrete with metallic finishes, so the delicate stained glass really pops out. That was no doubt the intention of the architect. The overhanging light boxes had bright blue signage which would have made a nice contrast if there had been a few more minutes.
Vendome metro interior stained glass, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, May 2024
Rain on Guy Street
I was looking forward to a long bike ride and some painting today but there was steady rain in the forecast all day. Instead, I took public transit down to the Alexis Nihon mall at the Atwater metro and picked up some rain gear at what used to be called Mark's Work Warehouse. Standing outside, although not wearing my new rain gear, I made this quick painting of people walking up Guy street with a but in the background. A lady stopped and said I was good at painting and should keep at it! Bright yellow, red, and orange tulips were coming up in a garden planter between the streets which gave the scene a streak of colour.
Rain on Guy Street, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, May 2024
Saturday, May 4, 2024
Flower power in the neighborhood
Although it was overcast today, the flowers were popping up and shining brightly. Knowing about the Cavendish underpass from previous years, I made the short bike ride through cote st Luc and to the train tracks where Cavendish goes under. Both sides of the road have grassy embankments with large flower and shrub gardens and tall pine trees. It's pretty noisy there due to the traffic but not so bad on a weekend like today. To paint the tulips I did most of the background first including the dark dirt (PBr7 burnt umber + PBk6 lamp black) and green foliage (PY154 + PG36 + PBk31) leaving blank space for the tulips flowers, stems and leaves. The fun part was colouring in the the tulips with almost pure yellow, magenta (PR122), and pyrol red in the background tulips (PR254). The numbers are pigment codes, it helps me remember what I did for next time.
White, yellow, pink tulips, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, May 2024
Using a similar technique I painted another part of the garden with almost all yellow tulips, a few magenta ones, and a flowering yellow shrub in the background. I applied dots of ochre (PBr7) and orange (PO62) over the dark dirt colour because that is what Van Gogh seemed to do in his famous Irises painting. I got to see some of his work in Amsterdam up close, but not the irises painting, which hangs in California.Yellow tulips, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, May 2024
Pink tree near auto shop, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, May 2024
Friday, May 3, 2024
Twisty trees and bus
Twisty trees and bus, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, May 2024
Thursday, May 2, 2024
New leaves and flowers on trees
New leaves down by river, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, May 2024
On Lunch break I grabbed some bread and a sandwich from Snowdon Bakery, then made a quick painting across the street of this tree with white-chartreuse flowers. There are quite a few different species of trees that flower like magnolia, cranberry and cherry. This may be some sort of lilac bush, although lilac flowers come later in the year.
Flowering tree Harley st, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, May 2024
World Inspired Landscapes: Mozambique
In the painting you can see some people peering down into a mine full of gold veins. Its obviously an embellishment, but there are images like this on the internet, and one can imagine 5 hundred years ago maybe there were sparkling caves full of rich gold reserves waiting to plucked from the rock. The painting was done with iridescent moonstone, (PW20) actually a sparkly mica-based paint. The black is lamp black (PBk6), yellow vanadium (PY184) and some yellow ochre (PY43). Its not obvious from the scan but the painting does sparkle and shimmer when held and angles to the light due to the mica.
World Inspired Landscapes: Mozambique, watercolour 8 x 10" cold press, May 2024
Tuesday, April 30, 2024
Painting around Hall Building Rainy Day
Rainy day on Bishop st., watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, April 2024
This was the first one I did as the rain started. The C is backwards because it is meant to be viewed from Maisonneuve. You can see the contrast between the old brick and concrete buildings and the modern green glass and steel sky scrapers.Rainy day on Bishop st. Concordia ,watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, April 2024
This is the kind of scene that will give me nightmares for weeks, the dreaded hallway full of lockers. It was challenging to say the least, this scene was a wall of caramel and beige tones and an infinite row of lockers. The lights are simple white shapes outlines in yellow, green and black to give that eerie glow.
Hall in the Hall Building, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, April 2024
Monday, April 29, 2024
Final Exam Hall Building
Final Exam Hall Building, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, April 2024
Saturday, April 27, 2024
Wellington Street Verdun
Wellington Street Signs, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, April 2024
I took another crack at painting the Eglise metro, its one of the most difficult stations to make look good. It looks like a concrete and metal cheese cake went through the blender or something. This angle has some potential but it would look better if I can somehow fit in the bus and more people.de l'Eglise lamp, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, April 2024
Lave Auto À La Main
After riding past this car wash hundreds of times I always wanted to stop and paint it when the fellows were working there and a car was going through. Since it was early and the sun was shining on the facade, it was the perfect opportunity. Near the end of the painting the guy in the cap, his name was Reza, turns out to be the cousin of the owner and works there occasionally. He loved the painting so much so we made a deal, he got the painting and I could get a free car wash. So if I ever get a car I know where to go!
Lave Auto À La Main, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, April 2024
here is an alternate photo , I took it on the spot with my smart phone which I brought along accidentally, it was in my bag from work on Friday.
Recycle Cycle Used Bike Store
On the corner of Maisonneuve and Decarie there is a used bike store called Recycle Cycle, it has old bike frames adorning its facade and cars on blocks out front. The cars are probably from the Swedish auto right next door. The building is a simple rectangle with pale green siding and boxy windows. Despite the relative simplicity of the architecture it was a difficult painting to pull off on location, I was standing with my bike in a deep pile of mulch between the bike path and the fence and the wind kept blowing things around. I filled in the background elements with great speed, and spent most of the paint time on the windows, bike frames, and interior of the store with its many hanging bikes. The other day I painted the Girouard exchange which is seen just to the right on this painting, one of the shop keepers came out and said cool painting. He was there today too but didn't take a look this time.
Recycle Cycle, watercolour 8 x 10" cold press, April 2024
This was the first painting of the day, I got early to catch the sun shining on the facade of this building, in the afternoon it is backlit. I made some adjustments to the green in the final painting, and made it on a horizontal 8 x 10 instead of the vertical 5 x 7. The first painting of the day on a tip like this is a good warm up.Recycle Cycle (study), watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, April 2024
Friday, April 26, 2024
Girouard Exchange
Girouard Exchange, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, April 2024
Thursday, April 25, 2024
Mural on Elmhurst and Harley ave
Today I painted a scene on Elmhurst and Harley avenues, showing the side of the City Fruit and Grocer, with a view south on Elmhurst, minus the cars this time. I felt like there was enough going on without trying to cram in a row of cars during rush hour, but you can easily imagine that along with the sounds. The side of this building has an interesting mural of animals on a space-like background, you see a heron, a roaring bear and a tiger. This scene incorporates a lot of the character of the neighborhood, including the mural, the other items on the wall, the road and sidewalks and the classic brick condo apartments. It was a warm and sunny, blue sky kind of day although quite chilly.
Mural on Elmhust and Harley ave , watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, April 2024
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
World Inspired Landscapes: Morocco
Morocco, located on the north west corner of Africa has a long and storied history that goes back to the beginning of humans, through successions of world powers and a lengthy colonial rule that would forever change their culture. Indigenous peoples called Berbers were there long before, and to this day they remain as a distinct people although merged with the Roman and Arab cultures. In Montreal there are Jewish people with Moroccan ancestry because Morocco used to be home to many Jewish people before Israel was created. Now, most Jewish people from Morocco live in Israel, France, Canada and around the world with only a few thousand living in Morocco still. Nowadays Morocco is almost entirely Islamic. Echoing the cultural tapestry is the geographical tapestry. Morocco has beaches, rocks, vast deserts, mountains, tall trees and several islands in the Atlantic Ocean or Mediterranean. The painting was really just based on a single line starting in the sea and working its way to an undulating, then flat landscape capped with some tall green foliage. A few brush strokes in the sky, and some textural effects completed the stripped down composition. I thought about using just one continuous line for the entire scene, but then decided to go with a slightly more realistic approach.
World Inspired Landscapes: Morocco, watercolour 9 x 12" watercolour paper, April 2024
Painting Part of the Table
Part of the kitchen table is dedicated to my painting supplies. Although I paint outdoors most of the time, on occasion I will sit and paint something, like the painting above, while most of the time I drop off my location gear and work on the palette here. You can see a ruler used to measure paper, a handmade ceramic cup by Naomi that is used to hold brushes, the palette, some brushes including the big hog's hair, two of the Holbeins, and the pink 1 inch I've had for 25 years. Two plastic containers for clean and dirty water, and a well used rag made from an old T shirt complete the picture. Which object doesn't seem to belong? The can of WD40 in the background which I used to degrease my bicycle chain. So don't try to put WD40 on your paintings! I was kind of inspired to do this after looking at some of Van Gogh's still life paintings that he did presumably when weather was bad outside. He would simply paint whatever was in front of him or on the table at the time like food, books, alcohol, pipes, or on the floor like old boots. The background depicts our small kitchen behind a counter, the yellow colour was copied from one of Van Gogh's still lifes, he liked to use a lot of yellow.
Painting Part of the Table, watercolour 9 x 12" watercolour paper, April 2024
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Pile of Rubbish near Field
Pile of Rubbish near Field, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, April 2024
Monday, April 22, 2024
Blooming Tree Next Door
Blooming Tree Next Door, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, April 2024
Saturday, April 20, 2024
Rustic Scenes near the Highway
Rustic Buildings, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, April 2024
Around the side of the rustic structures is a vast pebble field with patches of tall grass. The city has blocked development here for some time, the idea was to build a massive sprawling shopping and condo development. The main issue was the congested autoroute 40 which would be made worse with a large development here. Its hard to describe the vastness of the space, this view is looking West with the autoroute in the background. It was very windy and cold when I did this painting.Pebble Field, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, April 2024
A rickety old retail space runs along the La Croix road, in the background is the brick wall surrounding a large cemetery. The scene had a wide variety of yellow and green shades, made with combinations of yellow ochre (PY43), orange (PY110), green (PG36), dark green (PBk31) and some brown (PBr7). To capture the building and all its detail I made a fairly accurate outline first with a small synthetic brush I got from Kama pigments last year. There was no indication as to what GBS stood for by the way, one can imagine a lot of possibilities.GBS, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, April 2024
Friday, April 19, 2024
Grocer and Gas Station Rainy Day
Grocer and Gas Station Rainy Day, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, April 2024
Wednesday, April 17, 2024
Gas Station with Mountain View
Up on a berm there are several views such as the odd green and blue building, and this view of the distant mountain with gas station. Most landscape painters would want to paint the mountain view without all the clutter, and so would I to be honest, but somehow its the clutter that makes the scene unique. Parked cars, trees, the gas station, and a construction crane not to mention a lot of traffic and noise. They are actually building a huge 5 story condo block down here on st Jacques right next to all the industry which seems wrong for a lot of reasons. When painting a busy scene such as this, it is important to include a few decisive brush strokes like the mountain, the red roof of the gas station, and the Van Gogh dark pine tree in the lower left.
Gas Station Mountain View, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, April 2024
Tuesday, April 16, 2024
World Inspired Landscapes: Montenegro
World Inspired Landscapes: Montenegro, watercolour 8 x 10" cold press, April 2024
Catherine Booth Hospital Silhouette
There is a saying in English "easier said than done" which could also apply to some painting subjects. In this case, the sprawling Catherine Booth Hospital nearby our house was backlit by the sun as usual. A little bit ominous, scary even, the hospital is built from red bricks and solid stone inlays. I've always wanted to paint the scene, but the scope of the structure and the fact that it is almost always back lit make it a difficult painting subject. After 35 years of painting experience, I know what can go wrong in a painting like this, for example, the brick colour has to be dark but still high chroma. Its tempting to add blue or black to burnt sienna but that will make the product dull and unappealing. Instead, I mixed red ochre (PR101), perylene maroon (PR179) and quinacridone purple (PV55). Where the bricks are even darker I dabbed in phthalo green (PG7). For the yellow-grey stone, the mixture was similar but with more green and a touch of yellow mixed in. Composition wise, a back lit scene will usually be bland because its all in shadow, so I emphasized the orange light over the front door, and made the windows greenish for some colour contrast. I still want to do a larger version to capture the full impact of the hospital, even at dusk or night would be neat. With the weather improving I should be able to increase the scale and detail of the paintings as compared to winter.
Catherine Booth Hospital Silhouette, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, April 2024