More pleasant scenes Lasalle and area

I generally paint what I see while on location, trying to capture the 'ethos' of the area. In the case of Lasalle it was cars, roads, and industrial themes. Not to mention, tons of duplex and triplex housing. Wanting to get away from the din of the highway, I found a path down to Lefebvre park, just a small recreational park with green grass and yellow flowers. The fence had a 'no dogs' sign, or maybe 'no dog heads' sign I couldn't tell from the graphic. At any rate, I changed the fence into a post, and included the fire hydrant to complete the joke. No dogs urinating on this hydrant please! 

No dogs hydrant, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026

Next I got down to the riverside, and found this view of a small recreational fishing boat moored on a dock. From this angle, looking west, you could see all the way down the st Lawrence river. 

Small recreational fishing boat, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026

After the boat scene, I carried on along the path until Ranger park. Its a river-side park with great views, and plenty of thick greenery. Old asphalt and gravel walking paths wind through the park, which has benches and picnic tables. In early spring, tens of thousands of small 'may flies' congregate here. 

Ranger park green and blue, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026

Finally for the daytime paintings from yesterday, I found a disused pier once used for boat launches. Now it hold an 'aquatic police station' which is essentially an outpost for boat rescues. They had a giant pontoon boat with huge motors and some other crafts ready for action. The whole pier section is now open to pedestrians and bikes, so I rode to the end of it, and found this neat metal sculpture. The white-enamel slices were arranged so as to look like beluga whale tails. 

Whale tail sculpture, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026 

Lasalle: cars bridges river

As I toured around Lasalle yesterday by bicycle, there were plenty of cars, highways and bridges to paint. Here is a scene of a complex merge heading onto the Mercier bridge. I was standing on a patch of grass on the Lafleur x Airlie corner. 

Mercier merge, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026

 

One of the many streets, Cordner, and a long warehouse in the background. It was rather noisy and unpleasant here so I painted fast. Main thing, there was a walking path going between houses that I could stand on and make this painting. The path leads to Lefebvre park where I made another more pleasant painting, will post on a separate blog.  

Cars long warehouse, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026 

 

The elevated lanes going to Mercier bridge had this tunnel underneath for bikes and pedestrians to get across the neighborhood. Connectivity is important, so that these highway structures don't carve up the neighborhood like they used to in the old days. 

Bridge underpass, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026

 

From the same location as the previous painting, I was enjoying the sun and heat finally. You see the two halves of the Mercier bridge on a unique perspective, with a utility trailer parked in the middle. The grass embankments go up to elevated highways. 

Mercier bridge perspectives, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026

 

And here you see the st Lawrence river flowing right to left, and the Mercier bridge soaring over to the south shore. 

Mercier bridge river flow, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026

Lasalle: more industrial scenes

Lasalle is a typical working class neighborhood, with the sprawling Labatt beer brewery, Fliechman's yeast plant, and numerous light industrial warehouses and factories. In this scene you see the tall Budweiser water tower with a bus waiting at a desolate stop, and the Labatt brewery in the background. I was standing in the middle of the bus depot, it was a large round area paved in old asphalt, grass was pushing up through the edges of the area. There was a cool breeze and sun shining, I was really in my element here. 

Bus depot Bud tower, watercolour 8 x 10" cold press, August 2026

 

Some kind of giant funnel attached to a blue bin, on one of the many factory-warehouses. Its near where I painted the Van Gogh-inspired tree. It was the first painting of the day, there were a lot more to come. 

Factory equipment blue bin, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026 

 

I got a view of the brewery, this part was where trucks could pick up bottles and cans I assume, although it was very quiet there yesterday. Well, quiet except for the never-ending traffic, it was amazing how many cars there were in Lasalle. The iconic Labatt sign was changed to PJD26 using my artistic license.

Labatt sign, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026  

 

Here is a view behind one of the massive brick-red factory complexes. Its the business end, where you see towering power lines feeding into the buildings and train tracks ready for cargo. I'm sure those buildings will be condos one day! 

Power lines tracks factories, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026 

 

Between the tracks and the factories there is a well grown stretch of wild plants including grasses and reeds. It makes for a mini-ecosystem with birds and insects. I contrasted the two elements with a natural bottom half, and industrial top half. 

Power station plant growth, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026 

 

Near the bus stop there was this row of empty truck trailers, lined up and opened to the air. Not sure if they were operational, perhaps when the brewery makes a big order they need more trailers. 

Row of empty trucks, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026  

 

 

Lasalle: Intersection Van Gogh tree

I took a little detour on my bike, turning west on Cordner street in Lasalle. Wide streets were lined with light industrial buildings and old concrete sidewalks. Despite it being Saturday morning there were an inordinate number of cars driving about, one thinks Montreal could have a car-free day or something to give it a rest. At any rate, I found some desolate, almost ominous scenes down in Lasalle like this one of the Leger street intersection with a prominent Van Gogh-inspired tree on the corner. I did a number of paintings today and will post the rest of them later. Duty calls. 

Intersection Van Gogh tree, watercolour 8 x 10" cold press, August 2026

Sundown moon up Peel basin views

Getting down to Peel basin by bike and I caught some views of the sunset near the Canadian maltage company. Pastel blue, orange and purple made a nice combination next to the concrete super-towers. My initials adorned the top of the structure. 

Sunset grain silos, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026

 

A crescent moon hung over the highway. Blues, greens, and shadows made for a cool colour scheme. 

Moon up over highway, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026

 

Warm amber light emanated from the setting sun. Lights under the bridge illuminated an outdoor gym. I made good use of orange paint (PO62), with plenty of indo blue (PB60) and burnt yellow ochre (PR102). Dark magenta (PV55) and blue-green (PG7) also add to the pastel-shadowy effects. 

Sunset city under bridge, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026 

Looking back: London Ontario, seasons, campus, grad club

Looking back through my collection of paintings from 20+ years ago, here is a scene of a fancy building in London Ontario with a slate roof. The snow was melting that day I recall, and the painting conditions were excellent. Its a subtle range of neutral beige, yellow and violet, with stark contrast of sun-lit snow. I had a nice touch back then when things came together. 

Slate roof snow melt, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press

 

A neat composition, with poppies in the foreground and the art building, new at the time, in the background. I did a series of paintings from this location from different angles, probably towards 2003 or 2004 the year I left London for Montreal. 

Poppies art building, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press

 

From a similar location, but back in the tree line, I caught this view looking at the rear of the art building and Middlesex college in the background. The University of Western campus was really well maintained. It looks like Spring time.  

Forest art building Middlesex college,  watercolour 5 x 7" cold press

 

A more detailed view of the iconic clock tower, seen behind green trees, probably a summer painting. 

Middlesex college overcast, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press

 

And one of my favorite places to go, its the grad club... graduate club, not much of a club, rather a pub where students and professors hung out and drank beer on tap. A large tent with many long picnic tables on a large stone patio off the back off the Middlesex college building. Its here that I once bragged to my friends about painting at least 5,000 paintings, to which they reacted with disbelief. And rightly so, by my recent count I was probably only at around 500 paintings by then! Now its getting over 8000, but like 25 years later lol. I'll have to arrange a reunion just to give them a more accurate update, and maybe have a pint. 

Grad club, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press

 

Falaise pathway and Lachine canal scene

Here are a few more paintings from the weekend. The first ones were done from the Falaise escarpment bike and pedestrian path. Its a wide gravel path running parallel with the train tracks and the escarpment which has st Jacques street at the top. Where I am standing, about in the middle of the 2km path, it has a fork that goes up into the forest and opens up onto the sidewalk near the Akhavan grocery store. You can see the winding path up the hill in this blog. 

Falaise path wildflowers trees, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026

 

Same location looking due south, you see tracks and highway in the middle ground, and a gantry crane in the background which set along side the Lachine canal (unseen). I reduced foliage in the foreground to show the landscape, its actually pretty heavily grown now. They restored this area about four or five years ago now.  

Tracks highway gantry crane, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026

 

You can see part of Notre Dame street and the Kruger cardboard recycling plant off to the left, with a gravel field full of wildflowers on the right center and bottom. This gravel field becomes more grown each year, now small trees are taking root. The city plans to turn all of it into some kind of managed forest with access points for visitors. Its a shame, I'd like to see how it retores itself naturally after being a highway for 75+ years. I made several paintings around here, including my favorite one of cosmos flowers.  

Wild flowers Kruger warehouse, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026 

 

I did more paintings than I thought yesterday... here is one of the view into Kruger cardboard recycling. Their are great stacks of shredded paper and cardboard, with heavy industrial cylinder-silos in the background. They installed an official 'viewing port' in the fence, so I thought somebody like me should use it to make a painting!

Kruger plant overcast, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026   

 

And a scene of the good old Lachine canal, with a busy bike path on the lower left. The red deck-chairs in the background are quite popular, and people picnic around here in the summer. 

Lachine canal bikes pedestrians, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026  

A few scenes painted down in Verdun

Here is a typical scene from Verdun, lots of green and brown, its Lasage street which runs parallel with the aqueduct. Streets are wide and many of the buildings are two or three-story condos around here, with some aluminum siding. In the background, there are massive power lines that I downplayed in the paintings. 

Lasage street wide view, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026

Looking in the other direction, standing near the pizza shop, I made a painting of this spiralling stair case with white iron railings. Like a DNA double helix, it swooped around with rows of steps. Its a hard thing to paint so I just went with the shape and theme of it without too much concern. Today's sky was a murky blue-green with wispy clouds. 

Lasage street vertical view, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026

This wall is red, no doubt for covering graffiti. Someone (PJD26) had painted their name over top. The old factory is now an art studio, and some other small business sharing the ample space. These artisan-factory converts are always under threat of development. Its on the corner with Hickson street. 

Old factory red wall, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026

Its a rare painting of the aqueduct. Most of the views are blocked by tall plants all along, and the bridge views are rather noisy and unpleasant locations. Today the Sunday traffic was light. To make the water colour I blend dilute phthalo blue (PB15) with raw umber (PBr7). I got a new tube of raw umber by Daniel Smith from the Kama pigment company by mail order awhile ago. Its a chocolatey brown colour like fresh earth or dark ground coffee.  

Aqueduct curve, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026

Turcot interchange: painting with grass

Its not what you might think, although, it looks like it. Actually, I got out to location in a bit of a rush and forgot to bring my paint brushes. The last time this happened I used a fork to paint a scene of the PERFORM Centre on campus in winter, and it turned out okay. This time, I saw some grass nearby, it was the kind of grass with bushy seed pods on top, so it kind of worked to smear paint on the paper. The other end of the grass provided sharper details. After some time I started to get the hang of it. At least the 'paint brushes' were bio-degradable. You can see some of the grass seeds up in the sky of the painting.  

Turcot interchange with grass, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026

Bike ride around the islands, full circle

Riding my bike along Maissoneuve bike path and down Peel, I found my way out to st Helen's island where they have the amusement park. It was built, the island that is, for Expo 67 using the excavated earth from Decarie highway. Since the connector-path along the south seaway was finally open, I could keep riding to where the Champlain bridge is at, and over the ice control bridge back to Montreal. In this scene, my favorite on the day, you see a remnant structure of the old Champlain bridge, with the new Champlain bridge sweeping across the background. 

Old Champlain bridge remnant, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026

On the center left is the Island Bridge, connecting st Helen to Notre dame islands, with a view of Montreal condos in the background. So I am standing over in Notre dame island near the race track, which is used for bikes this time of year. 

Island Bridge city-scape, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026

The Villeneuve race track is used for car racing once a year, but people on fast, expensive bikes wearing spandex use it for the rest of the summer. I made this painting looking west, with part of the Island bridge visible at the top. I used just a few brush strokes for the cyclists, leaving some white spots open when I put the wash down for the track. 

Fast bikes track, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026

The river that runs between ile Notre Dame and the south shore is called the Monks channel... it has chunks of rock all along its banks, with fast flowing water. When the sun shines, the water takes on a pleasant turquoise colour that I always enjoy. 

Turquoise river, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026

This was a challenging scene to paint, it shows part of the Victoria bridge, and that's the Montreal shore on the other side of the st Lawrence river. I was standing under the bridge next to the bike path looking up, and cars were visible through the steel grating. It made quite a noise too, so I painted fast and moved on to the next spot.

Cars overhead, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026 

Curio Folio: Potateor

You may have heard about today's partial eclipse, star alignment, and meteor shower, but what about the falling potateor? It was only visible from a narrow part of the sky directly above my apartment, and I could see it clearly with my telescope. Since the telescope does not have a camera, I made a painting of the scene from direct observation. It was an odd shape for a meteor, very potato like as it crashed through the upper atmosphere down towards earth. It took on a charred appearance then broke into pieces and landed in our back yard. Slices of the meteor were a crispy golden-brown with the aroma of french fries. Piles of debris were rather like mashed potato. I dared to taste a bit and sure enough... potato! How a giant potato-meteor (potateor) ever came to be in space we may never know, perhaps a tech-billionaire launched it into space for reasons unknown, or there are aliens that fly via potato ships. At any rate, it makes a wonderful addition to my curio folio of things you have never heard about, but absolutely really exist in real life. 

Curio Folio Potateor, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, August 2026

Westhaven field and flowers

At the end of Harley street int he Westhaven neighborhood, there is a field belonging to Loyola College, and it contains a community garden called Collectif - Le Dépot Garden. I've painted there many times before, too many to count,  because its a very relaxing and beautiful place to paint the trees, grass and flowers, and its nearby my office over at the Concordia University campus. Here are links you can click to a brown chair in the field, another scene of flowers, and a painting of the community garden. 

Field and flowers Collectif, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026

 

Today I talked to one of the community members who maintains gardens, and is active in preserving the use of the land for community, her name is Cynthia, I first talked to her last year. Today she gave me some dried brown eyed Susan-type flowers which contains seeds I plan to add into our local 'garden street corner' they installed up on Somerled. She also is writing a land use report and wanted to include a painting or two in the report. I gladly offered her to right-click a few images and use in a report. I really appreciate this space and wish the continued success of all the locals who volunteer to keep it going. 

Hydrant field and flowers Collectif, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026 

 

Scenes along bike path near Trenholme park

Riding along the Maisonneuve bike path behind Trenholme park, and there were a few good scenes to paint after work. This one shows the train tracks and pea stone embankment in partial shadows, with creeper vines growing along the front fence. The shadow was done with dilute indo blue (PB60) dark magenta (PV55) and burnt red ochre (PR102). 

Train track embankment shadow, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026

Looking towards the park, and you see an embankment grown over with wildflowers, a kind of yellow Queen Anne Lace variety. I worked up successive layers of green, yellow-green, yellow and dabs of dark green and brown. It was a real 'flex' on the yellow-green range of my palette. In the background, is one of the large condos buildings on Sherbrooke street. 

Yellow flower embankment horizontal, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026

As I painted the previous scene, I noticed a few bright white flowers growing in among the yellow wildflowers, but it was too late to include them in that painting. In this version, I composed the scene on the vertical axis, then made sure to keep the paper showing where you see the white flowers. Bismuth vanadate yellow (PY184) provided the intensity here, although it is a very opaque paint, it can shine when put next to more neutral colours. 

Yellow flower embankment vertical, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026 

 

 

Purple Ferrari hazy day

I've been making paintings of this Ferrari sitting at the auto shop next to Decarie highway, its front left wheel was busted up and removed. Finding a spot on the sidewalk I made a portrait of it, then super-imposed the Decarie view to give an impression that the car is zooming up the off-ramp. Working the purple colours in successive layers, I also created an eerie glow all around with raw sienna (PBr7) and yellow ochre (PY43) in the sky and on the roads. So there you have it, the famous purple Ferrari brought back to life, on the road again, at least in my painting!

Purple Ferrari hazy day, watercolour 8 x 10" cold press, August 2026

Yellowish sky, hazy day

I stopped first at 'triangle park', near the Vendome 5-way intersection, and made a painting of the neat tree that grows there. Its a birch tree, and its bark is always peeling off. Maybe it needs some extra birch tree nutrients. With a hazy, yellowish sky mid-afternoon, it was a sign of wild fire smoke once again. The yellows look really bright, the blues turn greyish, and everything has an eerie glow. 

Birch tree bark peeling, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026

 

The yellow-orange sun was penetrating through a hazy pale-blue grey sky today. Hanging over a glass vaulted arch, it made for some interesting scenery to paint on location. A faint smell of 'camp-fire' confirmed this was from a far-off forest fire. I was standing in Dorchester square downtown, looking northwest. 

Glass vaulted arch yellow sun, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026

Taking on this scene, while the sky dried on the previous painting, I captured the intersection of Rene-Levesque and Peel street. Avoiding blue, I tinted the cars yellow with dilute raw sienna (PBr7) and yellow ochre (PY43), then used black (PBk6) for shadowing and details. This painting seems significant to me, in that its perhaps the best painting yet of such a scene. When downtown the amount of stuff can be overwhelming. Using a sharper brush and larger sheet might get even better results. 

Traffic near Dorchester square hazy day, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026

This painting was a bit of a fail, the paper was absorbing too fast creating flat washes and difficult to control details. I will try the scene again sometime, although its always back-lit. Perhaps a night scene would be good here, its a famous pub with a lively crowd. Soon I will get back to using new paper, for now I am working on the backs of old paintings as I consolidate the collection a tad. There is one more to post from today, I will make a separate blog for it, its a neat one!  

Peel PJD Pub, watercolour 6 x 9" cold press, August 2026