Looking south along autoroute 15, there was an incredible view of the elevated train approaching Montreal island, dense traffic winding its way along the roads, and the Champlain bridge illuminated in cyan off in the distance. It was a daunting scene to paint on location and I wasn't sure about it until the elevated train rumbled by and then everything clicked. The composition held together with a Van Gogh-inspired sky, undulating highways, and a curving bike path. When Van Gogh completed the famous 'Starry Night' painting he wrote to his brother Theo and said that perhaps he had gone too far with the painting, too abstract. I had the same feeling about this one, had I gone to far? It was the idea of graffiti that kept me going, just paint the city and stop thinking. To that end, my intials were added in graffiti bubble letters on the bottom left. After completing this painting, I went back to the glass factory, did one more, and headed home.
Night sky autoroute 15, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, October 2025
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