Back on home turf

Somehow we dodged the bad Montreal weather when we went to PEI, then when we returned, the weather was back to fantastic here. The painting was done in the Westhaven neighborhood I believe this is Elmhurst street. In the background is Sherbrooke west, and the City Fruiterie is the little yellow blob in the middle. The apartments on the right are all different colours and styles, and a man was tending to the grass and shrubs growing on the narrow space between the sidewalk and the buildings. Just a few meters of greenery can really add to the ambiance.
 

View up Elmhurst, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August  2024

A small garden and vegetable planting area can be found in Westhaven neighborhood on a plot of land owned by Renot Depot. There were still a lot of colourful flowers growing here, although I embellished them quite a bit. In the background is the famous field where I painted tables and chairs.  

Westhaven community garden flowers, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August  2024

 

There is a dairy manufacturer that has dangerous silos full of coolant that can explode at any time. We know that because we get a flyer every so often explaining that there is a siren, and you should close the windows if you hear it. Who knew making yogurt and milk was so dangerous. The building is a mishmash of different architectural eras, you see some early 19th century brick construction along side of modern prefab, and the shiny drums.

Parmalat two silos, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August  2024

 

And there are up to six silos, this painting shows three of them with one tucked behind the tree. When I select scenes like this the tree and grass are important, since the whole theme of my paintings has to do with the co-existence of nature and urban development. To do this kind of painting, you have to paint the sky first, leaving the shapes of the silos blank. When dry, you can carefully add the streaks of colour using neutral grey, blue, and white (aka blank paper). There is no white paint used in any of my paintings. Even if I had white paint it would not produce such a crisp effect, it would look cloudy and gummy. Its one of the challenges of watercolour, especially if a painter is moving over from oil or acrylic where you can use white paint.

Parmalat four silos, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August  2024