Winter paintings along the Maisonneuve bike path

With the path clear I could easily ride my bike along the Maisonneuve bike path and make a few paintings along the way. The first one shows a few of the trees at Westmount park with the shadows cascading over the snow. In the background is mount royal.

Snow shadows, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, December 2024

In front of the bicycle shop there is an old car, probably a Volvo, on stilts and in disrepair. With strong wind coming across from the east, it was a good challenge to stay warm and make a painting. Everything held up but my toes were a little cold throughout the trip. At least the hands and fingers were fine.

Ccar on stilts, watercolour 5 x 7.5" cold press, December 2024

This is about where Maisonneuve turns south and Ontario street carries on. Initially, I wanted to paint more of the snow on the grass in the foreground, but the background buildings were very tall to fit onto the paper. I will try to figure out how to get bigger paper on location in the winter.

Maisonneuve/Ontario street, watercolour 5 x 7.5" cold press, December 2024

These chimneys had great silver plumes, likely condensed water from laundry outlets rather than smoke. Burning wood is illegal in and around Montreal. With the sun coming from behind, the plumes were illuminated. I really pushed the limits of when you can do in the winter with this one, and like the last painting, a bigger piece of paper would have allowed more of the components to fit in. After painting 6 x 7.5 and 8 x 10 all summer, its an adjustment going back to the 5 x 7. Actually I cut them 5 x 7.5 to use the whole sheet.

Chimneys cold day, watercolour 5 x 7.5" cold press, December 2024