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