Finding something to paint after work is a theme sometimes.. I ride down Maisonneuve bike path until the sun goes down and find a spot. Lately, it has been bright blue skies after work as the days get noticably longer and we had the daylight saving time shift recently. This scene was done at the end of NDG, those buildings in the background are on Decarie Blvd, which is a road that runs parallel to the underground Decarie highway. The old bike path must have ended here because the asphalt path goes in a loop around these trees and a small grassy area that you see emerging from under the melting snow. The path was a pale yellowish grey, with dark spots where the water had seeped in. The grass had that de saturated beige green that you see when snow melts before spring starts. I got the colours right in this painting, and the contrast really pops.
Pine tree snow melt, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, March 2025 (No. 4283)
It is such a great spot for an artist to set up and paint, right in the middle of all the action but safely tucked away in this mini park-oasis in the city. To help the trees here I added fertilizer spikes a few years ago and they look great now. Looking due south there is a dystopian view of the glen hospital in the distance, and the commuter train rumbled by a few times as I painted. Being able to work without gloves meant I could get in more detail than usual when I wear the 'oven-mitts' during the cold winter. The fence was the coolest part, it was a twisty, rusted thing with cut tree stumps and new growth all throughout it, almost like folk-art. Sandwiching in the train and the billboard completed the scene. I wasn't sure I could pull this one off on such as small format, but shortly after getting the outline established it was clearly working out. I initialed the billboard on the top right.
Glen hospital train and billboard, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, March 2025 (No. 4284a)
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