Waiting for LUFA, last paintings before trip

Waiting for the LUFA vegetables after work, I rode out to the ridge line on Benny Hill behind the mega hospital. You can walk up a narrow, tree-lined dirt path to get great views of downtown. Somebody installed a vigilante park bench here, it was painted bright blue and had rust on it, no way it was a city installation. They always put a concrete slab underneath, and the benches are made of more durable material than this. 

Blue bench Benny Hill, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, April 2026 

Behind the hospital there is an enormous grassy flats, probably a water reservoir underneath else it would have been developed. It could also be hospital land they are holding on to for a future expansion, who knows. This view looking due north shows the commuter train going by with some housing, and Mount Royal in the background.  

Commuter train grass flats, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, April 2026 

Still no vegetable delivery (they text you when it arrives), I caught this view of the commuter train rumbling by, almost head-on from the bike path. I painted it from memory... when it passed, I just memorized the angles and some details. I made the grill look like an angry face. 

Commuter train head on, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, April 2026 

You think Quebec would have learned their lesson after Lac-Mégantic 's disaster when a train derailed, but they continue to build housing next to train tracks. This one is right beside the tracks, which are unseen to the right. As they build the condo, it has a red layer on top where they pour concrete for new levels, then the green insulation and window frames rising up from the bottom. Next they will lay bricks and install windows. 

New condos red and green, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, April 2026 

Finally the delivery arrived at Trenholme park. I did one last painting of a poor old tree on its last days. The trunk was split and branches looked sad, that orange spray-paint is the way the city marks trees to be cut down. They plant new ones eventually, these trees are probably from the mid 20th century. 

Tree last days, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, April 2026