Western Blot Apparatus

Here is a rare painting of a western blot apparatus, used in the research laboratory to measure proteins. The device on the right in red and green is the chamber, it pulls proteins through a gelatinous rectangle floating in a buffered saline solution. On the left is the power pack that supplies electricity. A bottle of ponceau sits in the middle, it is a pink dye used to stain the proteins after the test completes to check for quality. Other accoutrements like graduate cyclinder, basin, blue sharpie, gel comb, pipette with loading tip, and a Styrofoam box adorn the picture. Like all labs, a jumble of shelves, doors and eerie fluorescent lamps complete the scene. Unlike the TV shows, real labs tend to be well it but rather bland, so I had to arrange these objects and select some colourful items to create a good still life arrangement. Van Gogh did a painting called Still Life with Coffee Pot, which inspired some of the composition and idea for this one.

Western Blot Apparatus, watercolour 8 x 10" 80lb, May 2024

Patching up the Field

Yesterday I saw orange flags in a wide open field on campus and I speculated that it meant impending construction. Today there was a truck next to the field, but the workers were pouring out wheelbarrows full of top soil onto the positions with the flags. After that they raked the earth piles flat. So they were actually patching up the field, which is heavily used by next door students for sports from the private school (seen in the background). Pitch forks lowered as they say on the internet, that means we don't have to be angry about it anymore. The other neat thing was that the mounds of earth were a very dark reddish brown which contrasted nicely against the green grass. One of the workers was peeking at the painting with each load and told me that it was pefecto in Spanish. The grass effect was something I worked out last night with some test paintings, in the end I settled for a medium value green background with darker green painted over in short directional brush strokes. The green was painted around the flowers, then the blank spot daubed in yellow followed by orange. The inclusion of the worker was a continuation of the Van Gogh theme of showing laborers, for example in the famous Sower with Setting Sun. The link takes you to the Van Gogh museum web page. We were there in real life back in 2018, and it the artwork was quite impressive. 
 

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

Orange flags and dandelions

Unfortunately these innocent looking orange flags likely mean the end of the large grassy field on campus. These flags mark the utility lines and precede the sighting crew. Next they will install the electrical post and the earth works begin. Years ago the University circulated a plan to build buildings all over campus including this field. It seemed odd in the midst of a budget crisis that the University would choose to build an expensive building, then it occurred to me that the building is meant to alleviate the budget crisis. Once an asset is created, money can be borrowed against it thus helping the bottom line. I hope I am wrong but time will soon tell. In the meantime, I will try to make one last great painting of the field, starting with this study. The idea was to mix the flags and the dandelions in amongst a sea of flowing green grass. The technique is meant to emulate Van Gogh's masterpiece called Grass with Butterflies part of his series done early in Paris when he arrived. That painting is going up for auction and could fetch 40 million. When I first saw it, it seemed like one of his later works it was so well realized, but in fact he was just in the process of learning French impressionism. Its very hard to emulate impressionistic brush strokes with watercolour paint since you can not overlap light on dark, but I did learn a few things when trying this. Weather permitting I'll take another crack at it tomorrow on a larger format.
 

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

Earth Water Paint Life

From time to time I do these abstract paintings while cleaning off the palette. To form the palette, I bought a plastic fold-able tray with 18 slots from Avenue des Arts, and then squeeze paint out of tubes and let it dry solid. This can last for several dozen paintings before I need to replace the paint. In the meantime the cleaning just involves running a wet brush with clean water over the dry paint until the gunk is removed. The gunk comes from mixing colours. Its most noticeable on the yellow paint, which turns greenish when you use it to mix green for example. If I am in a rush I just quickly run tap water over the palette in the sink but it tends to waste some of the paint that way. I like to keep the palette clean in this manner so the colours remain fresh when starting a new painting. 
 

Earth Water Paint Life, watercolour 9 x 12" watercolour paper, May 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

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

With a chance of rain I rode down to Lachine park where they have an area called arboretum which means tree area. I've been waiting for these trees to turn red, today they were a mix of pale pink, greenish and some dark red. The dandelions were very prominent, bright yellow against a rich yellow-green. This park is just next to the beginnings of the Lachine canal, although that would be behind me from this vantage point.

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

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

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

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

Pink Tree Next Door

After a long and dreary winter and protracted rainy spring we finally get a bit of colour in the neighborhood including some local tulips, and this tree from a few weeks back. Today the sky cleared and we had a sunny afternoon, this painting was done just before sunset looking to the neighbor's house and their neat pink flowering tree, probably a crab apple. Flower petals were already falling to the ground showing us how short these types of blooms remain. The technique for this drew on the past few attempts. I cut the magenta (PR122) with daubs of yellow ochre (PY43) and some diluted red (PR254). Working in successive layers I applied a damp yellow-orange glow, followed by shadowed red (adding a bit of violet PV55) and then working on the textured daubs as it dried. The rest of the painting is left intentionally drab, a lot of flat green brown and that sensational sky blue. Someone walking by really liked this painting and took a picture of it and got the Instagram address where I post paintings from time to time.

Pink Tree Next Door, watercolour 8 x 10" 80lb cold press, May 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

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

I took a crack at the pink flowering tree across the tree next to the auto shop. There was a neat contrast between the grey structure and black tires sitting beside the delicate foliage. I am still working out the best way to paint such a tree, there may be a few days left to get it right. Anyways, it was great to ride around the neighborhood and paint some colourful scenes today.

Pink tree near auto shop, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, May 2024

Twisty trees and bus

Continuing on the theme of spring trees, this scene shows some of the twisty trees at Loyola Park down the street. The new leaf buds had a dark yellow greenish hue, and the grass was starting to become chartreuse and green. In the background is one of the many apartments on Fielding Avenue, some cars and a city bus with its distinctive yellow, green, and cyan symbol. The walking path ties together the composition by drawing the foreground across into the middle ground. As usual this year, I signed with PJD 24.

Twisty trees and bus, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, May 2024

New leaves and flowers on trees

After work I rode down to the park near Lachine with all the sculptures, hoping to catch the trees with white flowers. They were just putting out the first leaves, a dark red colour in fact. Hopefully they will flower again soon, I painted these trees a few years ago on May 18th with pink flowers, and May 28th when they had brilliant red leaves. The painting was done by applying the background sky and river, then over-painting the tree and finishing with the red dots for the leaves. Pinkish and green highlights made the tree bark glow.
 

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

Mozambique is a low lying country on the south east coast of Africa facing the direction of Madagascar and the Pacific Ocean. It is rich in mineral resources, wildlife and a distinct Swahili culture. Since ancient times, it was an active port dealing with Arab and Indian seafaring traders until the Portuguese imposed colonialism around the turn of the 15th century. It really wasn't until 1975 that is was independent, making it one of the longest standing colonies in Africa. Since then, much of the Portuguese architecture, culture and language remains, intermixed with Swahili culture and millions of refuges from other parts of south Africa. There are currently political instabilities and insurgencies which hold back Mozambique from realizing the full wealth of the land. One commodity that was prominent in the country, and one reason it garnered so much interest from Europe is the abundant gold. There are some official, and a lot of unofficial mines, making it a dangerous and damaging occupation. To extract gold a mine pit or tunnel can be dug, or, the entire lands can be strip mined. To pan the gold, highly toxic mercury must be added which extracts gold dust and particles. 

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