Melting snow evening scenes in the neighborhood

 

Standing under the Metro grocer over-hang provided cover from the drizzle, and strong white light to paint under. Its a matter of convenience as this scene is just across the street, the much-painted Joe and Ralph's auto shop. The hardest part was getting the winter clothes on and slogging outside with my paint kit, it had been a few days since I last painted and needed to do a few after another rotten day on campus. It worked though, I felt much better after completing these paintings in the relative silence of an evening in the neighborhood. To capture the effect of melting snow with all its reflections, I daubed on several layers of moist painting while retaining a few white highlights, then finishing with some textural and detail elements like the gas pump and carport door. 

Joe and Ralph's auto shop melting snow, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, December 2024

 

Here I tackled the difficult effect of a traffic light reflecting off the moist road. I did a similar painting back in February called pharmacy on a wet night, which is probably one of the better paintings I did all year. As the end of 2024 approaches, I will be preparing my painting, year in review blog which covers the best paintings of the year, at least in my opinion and taking into account the number of views and feedback. This painting turned out okay, I like how the green pops off the otherwise dour background elements. It is extremely difficult to paint in these circumstances, being at night and moist with misty rain. But no excuses. I once painted during a rainstorm, the second one from that blog showed car headlights on a rainy night to great effect. With more rain in the forecast, it will be a messy couple of days in Montreal.

Green reflection on Somerled, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, December 2024