Colourful barricade and other iconic scenes

Perhaps the city was feeling bad about putting ugly barricades that get graffiti on them, so this one downtown had a dozen or so colourful placards branded with transportation symbols. Additional barricades including concrete dividers, fence with blue tarp, signs, and pylons completed this iconic summer Montreal scene. Oh, and that is beautiful Montreal in the background! 

Colourful barricade, watercolour 8 x 10" cold press, June 2026 (No. 5397a)

 

Park Dalhousie is found along st. Hubert street near Old Port, it used to be a train yard with many parallel rails, now its a manicured sitting park with historical displays. These benches sit in front of a small field of purple puff-ball flowers growing under the shade of trees. Getting the perspective correct was key here, so I started with a fain paint outline of the path and benches before filling in the colours. 

Parc Dalhousie purple puff balls, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, June 2026 (No 4252)

 

Rue Notre Dame is elevated here with what used to be a train bridge one could assume. A lot of the area is sectioned off since the city is working on the new neighborhood where Molson Brewery used to be. It will become a multi-use housing and park project, with views of the river.  

Rue Notre Dame elevation, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, June 2026 (No. 4245)

 

Peeking through the construction fence I got a glimpse of a giant crater where Molson's brewery used to be. The main part of the brewery with its iconic sign is still up, its just off to the left of this scene. In the background is Jacques Cartier bridge and Park La Ronde off to the right. One day this crater will be a community development, the Molson family donated the land to the city. Their new brewery is an enormous modern facility down in Longueuil.

Molson's crater, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, June 2026  (No. 4246)

Scenes of construction and concrete factory

Down in Ville st Pierre there are plenty of neat scenes of the highway overpasses, and this past few years its been in the midst of a massive construction project. Once known as one of Montreal's most dangerous intersections, now its completely safe because the cars are basically stopped at all times and there are crossing guards everywhere. This view shows a grassy hillside casting a shadow, with construction in the foreground. 

Grassy hill overpass shadow, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, June 2026 (No. 5229)

The blue house is surrounded by construction pylons as you can see in this painting. A curvy arrow sign tells drivers where to go. Okay, I tend to embellish signs on occasion for maximum confusion. That is how people feel when they see such signs. A traffic cop was directing things too, which helped ease confusion. 

Blue house orange pylons, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, June 2026 (No. 5230)

 

A massive concrete factory on the Lachine canal was chugging away with a lineup of concrete trucks taking loads. In this scene I featured three interconnected concrete pipes and place my initials at their ends. It was best to not copy too much actual detail, rather, just get the feel of it all. 

Concrete factory external pipes, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, June 2026 (No. 5231)

Sunset Turcot Interchange: C'est vraiment Montréal!

It was a colourful sunset on the Turcot highway interchange, as seen from ville st Pierre. Starting with yellow, orange, magenta, and pale blue, I worked up dark browns and greys with variations on burnt yellow ochre (PR102) and indo blue (PB60). Accents of pylon-orange, green, pops of red, and dark sketch elements done in carbon black (PBk6) completed the scene. As I flicked the brush, little droplets accidentally hit the painting, reminiscent of Jackson Pollock, a late American painter who threw paint on the canvas quite intentionally. When painting something like this on location, you just have to be along for the ride, so to speak, and let your brush do all the work. Its a great spot to catch the sunset, albeit a little noisy and smelly, along with the massive construction project that is ongoing. I really liked painting a juxtaposition of bright pylon-orange against a pastel sunset. C'est vraiment Montréal!

Sunset Turcot Interchange, watercolour 8 x 10" cold press, May 2026 (No. 5386b)

Endless Pylons

I hope the Mayor of Montreal sees this painting, after proclaiming that orange pylons would be banished from Montreal! Its a scene looking along the Concorde Bridge towards downtown. The nice thing is they finished paving the bike path after many years of working on it, so the path was silky smooth. Traffic was actually moving along the bridge, the pylons seem to be there instead of road lines. Not sure... 

To paint Endless Pylons, I started with the road, bike path, and side of bridge, along with the river underneath. Next I filled in the sky and tree-line, with building details in the background. When dry, I applied the pylons over top of the road using a mix of benzi orange (PO62) and pyrol orange (PO73), which I call "Montreal Orange" because it replicates the exact shade of pylons. Its looking like there will be a lot of orange this summer!  

Endless Pylons, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, May 2026  (No. 5157b)

Tulips and Montreal Orange construction

Spring is a time for colourful flowers like these orange and pink tulips, with a few yellow dandelions in the grass. Its also a time for construction signs and pylons.... "Montreal Orange". Its a mix of benzi orange paint (PO62) and red-orange paint (PO73). To do this painting, I worked up the colour highlights first, then filled in the sky, bridge, and middle-ground. Today, I used a separate brush to do the sky with phthalo blue (PB15) and blue-green (PG7), so as to keep the other brushes clean. Since I started cleaning the brushes after every trip, I noticed how much phthalo blue remains in the brushes, and it makes the bright colours difficult to achieve, especially yellow and orange. So today, the colours were really popping in my paintings. 

Tulips Cartier bridge, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, May 2026 (No. 5163a)

It was pretty disappointing today... the boardwalk that oversees Old Port was completely blocked off for construction, every other street downtown was construction, and the bridges connecting to Notre Dame Island were completely blocked off. I was hoping to get to Notre Dame Island to paint the flowers and flowering-trees. You can see my post from May 3 2025 on the location. So instead I made another tribute painting to Montreal... Construction blocking the Concorde bridge with sage advice on the signs. 

Montreal FU construction, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, May 2026  (No. 5163a)

Spring... even pylons turning green

Trees need lots of rain in the spring but how about liquor? This tree had a small plastic liquor bottle wedged in its branches, as if it were taking a swig. Its down at the Fort street ramps, part of a small park called Ernest Cormier Esplanade. I was hoping there would be flowers, but maybe this kind of tree wont make flowers. Its only half the tree shown. 

Spring tree drinking, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, May 2026  (No. 5160)

 

Even the pylons are turning green this spring! I spotted some rare green and orange pylons down near the Notre Dame and Peel construction site, it seemed essential to paint them. Usually the pylons are orange and white, sometimes with magenta or black. This location is where the highway underpass starts, and many signs.

Green and orange pylons, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, May 2026 (No. 5161a)

 

Its a sign of summer more than spring... orange traffic signs and construction. This one is part of the massive upheaval around Peel street downtown, but the site is up on st Antoine cross with Cathedral street. I made the background deliberately confusing, like WTF, or where am I? The orange is a mix of PO62, with dabs of PO73... I call it 'Montreal Orange'

Cathedral st Antoine construction, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, May 2026 (No. 5162a)

 

Sign, three pylons Notre Dame

Its been awhile this location is under massive construction. At least there is a sidewalk going under the highway ramps on the east side now which will make it easier and safer to get through. That remarkable neon-orange colour is made with pyrol orange (PO73) and benzi orange (PO62) mixed just so... it scans a bit more red-orange than I see it on the original painting. I call it "Montreal Orange" because you see so much of it around especially in the summer. Here in Ville st Pierre, they also add magenta flair to the signage, the main sign had a magenta post, and the pylons mostly had magenta bases. The new Mayor called for removal of all orange pylons, I can't wait to see what colours they go with next! 

Sign three pylons Notre Dame, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, April 2026 (No. 5122)

More Griffintown construction

Griffontown was once a light industrial, warehouse and storage area that grew up around the peel basin which used to be a major shipping and receiving port. Looking at Google Maps street views from 2012, and you can still see all the old structures, just a few stories high, a labyrinth of streets, parking lots and alley ways. Now its mostly all filled in with glass condo skyscrapers and hipster restaurants and cafes which is cool I suppose. This construction is right beside one of the small offshoots of the Lachine canal. In the middle ground you see an iron wall, its actually keeping the whole Lachine canal at bay as they dig down. Its a wonder they can dig down so much and put in a foundation given the virtual river right next door. 

Construction vehicle Griffintown, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, April 2026 (No. 5095a)

This is one of the few 'old lots' left over in Griffintown, probably because its some sort of utility building. The building in the middle is an old warehouse converted into shops and condos. I just wanted to paint this kind of thing because it typically wont last long... one day it will just be a memory on Google Map street view, not to mention, my blog!

Old lot Griffintown, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, April 2026  (No. 5095b)

Here is a scene of the Lachine canal offshoot, a berm of earth, then the iron fencing walls around the giant hole they are digging. The water was still largely frozen on top, in fact, it was so cold I had to bail on the painting trip since I had dressed for warmer weather but it was bitterly cold. 

Foundations and canal, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, April 2026 (No. 5096a)

Scenes at the heart of Montreal

If you have been downtown Montreal anytime lately, this kind of scene is all too familiar. I call it Montreal orange, that particular shade of the construction sign that I mix with pyrol orange (PO73) and benzi orange (PO62). The numbers in parenthesis are the pigment code of the paint colourant that I use. To establish this painting I applied a faint outline with grey paint and a number 2 round brush, then started to fill in the colour blocks, with layers of texture and detail. Planning out where the paper would show through was essential to get the signs to pop. My initials are hidden in one of the signs. 

Peel street Montreal orange, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, November 2025 (No. 4907a)

Concordia University has been in the news again for all the wrong reasons...they want to postpone the sabbatical for professors, which is a professional development year, and eliminate all the limited term appointment teachers. Even the pigeons were disgusted, they flew away from under the yellow trees at the downtown Campus. 

Pigeons under yellow trees, watercolour 8 x 10" cold press, November 2025 (No. 4879b)

 

In my authoritative Curio Folio series, this museum has come up a few times, its called MARMALADE. Since you may not believe everything I write in the Curio Folio blogs, I decided to make a painting of it just for evidence that it exists, really.   

MARMALADE, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, November 2025 (No. 4908a)

Construction reflections

One of the challenges I set for myself this year was to master reflections and transparencies. The painting of three busses did a good job of it, and I used some of those lessons to capture the reflections in the side windows of this large construction vehicle sitting on Dorchester blvd in Westmount. The whole section of road was closed off to traffic, and as usual, there were no construction people working. I started with an outline of the vehicle, then painted the sun-highlight and tint on the window area. Then I completed most of the vehicle and background before doing the overlays on the window. There was a shrubbery in the background going across and the interior of the cab showing as transparencies, and the row of 19th century housing that was behind me was reflecting. The message here is to juxtapose the demolition vehicles with the image of the housing which is probably doomed to re-development. The Westmount re-development was controversial project, and I guess we will see how it turns out in the end, and make some more paintings of the neighborhood. 

Construction reflections, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2025 (No. 4804b)

Construction Site #5: Greene and Dorchester

Greene avenue which is over on the east side of Westmount is undergoing a renovation, the entire portion is shut off south of Maisonneuve avenue all the way to Dorchester boulevard. This area around Dorchester has been approved for re-development, so say goodbye to parking lots and historically important housing, and say hello to more brick and glass condos. But we need more housing something something. Its made for some good art subjects this year, and this one is another installment of my 44 construction sites of Montreal series. 

Dorchester Stop construction, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2025 (No. 4803b)

A large, aged parking lot surrounded by established landscaping is the main feature of this neighborhood. I don't know if parking lots can be deemed heritage property, but this one sure has a lot of character. Trees like this line the entirety of Dorchester blvd. 

Tree shrub construction sign, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2025 (No. 4804a)

The trees are so old here, their bark is heavily textured and patterned with moss and scars. These parking signs were painted a cadaverous grey, but peeling paint revealed a burnt sienna undercoat, and rusty iron under that. I wanted to capture all the textures, which overcome the grey, brown and green surroundings. 

Parking lot textures, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2025 (No. 4805a)

Night pylons

Usually you go out trying to avoid construction but this evening as the sun went down I was looking for construction projects. Just down Monkland and they were doing some sidewalk work and installing corner planters... small rectangular gardens that eventually get landscaped with shrubs or flowers. For now it was just pylons with the Meunerie bakery in the background.  

Pylons bakery, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2025 (No. 4785)

On the same location, looking back towards the west, the pylons were silhouetted by the glowing advertisement on the side of the bus stop. Eerie shadows were cast from various light sources. Monkland has strong LED lighting that is white, and decent for painting without any artificial light source of my own. When doing a painting like this, it looks pretty weird until the last brush stroke is filled in, ideally you just want the highlight areas (the sign, and the lamp) to be the white paper showing through, everything else needs to be shades of grey (medium value). 

Pylons bus stop, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2025 (No. 4786)

This scene was near Marianopolis College, but looking due south at another blockage due to road work. The overhead lights were amber, so I had to check periodically with my bike light to see if the colours were correct. Under amber lights, the orange looks yellow, and the red looks orange. Blue and green both look black, do its hard to judge when the light source is amber. It looks about right here. I chose this scene for the construction, but also the cool downtown Montreal in the background as seen from Westmount. 

Bike detour, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2025 (No. 4787)

Construction Site #4: Peel and st Jacques

There are so many road construction projects, 44 apparently, that I started a series of paintings to continue throughout the Autumn season. On st Jacques at the corner of Peel downtown, they dug an enormous hole blocked off by signs and fences. The pylon on the left was a rare orange and brown one, on the right is the typical orange and white one with pink accents. One sign said rue barrée which means road blocked in case you didn't notice. It sounds like the word ruberry which my Mom invented to describe a rhubarb and strawberry pie... ruberry pie. I would rather have the  pie than another rue barrée!

Signs and hole construction, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2025 (No. 4772)

Construction Site #3: Notre Dame and Dollard

Continuing my fruitless quest of painting all 44 construction sites currently in Montreal, here is number 3. Where highway 20 merges with highway 138 in st Pierre, there are soaring overhead highways going every which way. I have included them in many paintings over the years. In this case, I was featuring some of the imposing orange signs indicating construction ahead. Turn left, or merge, or right, or something something. 

Signs under overpass construction, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2025 (No. 4761)

Here is closer to the action, at the corner of Notre Dame and Dollard streets. The large arrow sign was blinking on and off, and there was one sign that had another sign inside of it. Genius, I thought, a sign within a sign, that costs at least four times more than just one regular sign. Cars and a bus were working their way through the pylons and confusing arrows, while the highway 138 ramp was still visible in the background.

Sign in sign construction, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2025 (No. 4762a)

If you were driving and wanted a donut, it was not a simple matter. They did however, have custom printed signs telling you where to turn to get into the Tim Horton's. Somehow, a giant potato was growing in the background. If you look hard enough maybe you can spot Waldo too! Just kidding, no Waldo here, maybe next time.  

Donut anyone? watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2025 (No. 4762b)

Construction Site #2: Courcelle street

 

The corner of Courcelle and st Jacques street down in st Henri has been undergoing a seismic construction for the past few months. Mostly blocked off there are still some passages to get through by foot, car, or bike as the signs would seem to indicate. I changed the walking sign to a jumping character, like you have to jump over things to get across! Today I adjusted the orange mixture to contain more PO62 pigment so it scans more accurately. For some reason the scanner and computer monitor make fluorescent orange appear to be too red. Book idea: The science of painting construction signs by PJ Darlington. 

Construction signs Courcelle, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, August 2025 (No. 4752)
 

At the same site, which was wonderfully silent and free of traffic today, I found a good view of the giant pit they are digging. I changed the colours to be molten red, orange and yellow giving the impression that some deep layer of the earth's crust has been breached. There is a mysterious box in the middle of the wreckage, and the signs are a ? of confusion. 

Pit of construction, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, August 2025 (No. 4753)
 

Next to the giant scooper machine, a narrow path allowed people to cross over st Jacques and into st Henri. A person hit the fence and fell off their bike here but they were going slow and seemed to be okay. The more of these construction site paintings I do, the more exaggerated they become. In this case, the vehicle occupies about 75% of the scene. 

Walking path, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, August 2025 (No. 4754)
 

44 Construction Sites of Montreal #1

Recently, Mobilité Montréal announced that there will be 44 new construction projects on the roads of Montreal this fall. And I was just saying how the number of projects seems to be down compared to previous years... looks like they were just saving them up to do all at once. The ministry even warned car drivers to consider public transit or riding a bike instead of driving around Montreal. This gave me an idea for a new series, although not one that I am likely to want to finish... 44 Construction Sites of Montreal. Well I did one today after painting up at the Chalet, then taking it easy up at Beaver pond for an hour, I zoomed down the south and east side of Mount Royal on my bike and came upon the massive project going on at the corner of Avenue Parc and Rue Mont-Royal. Let's call it site #1. The sign on the left said complete 2025, but I changed the date to 2029 in the painting just to be sure. 

Av Parc Turn left construction, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, August 2025 (No. 4749)

Rue Mont-Royal looked like an archeological site, they were digging down for artifacts. The orange of course, is Montreal orange, a blend of PO62 and PO73 to create the perfect fluorescent orange for signs and pylons. There are many kinds of pylons, I am getting to be quite the expert on the matter. 

Dig down rue Mont-Royal construction, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, August 2025

What construction site would be complete without a dumpster? This one was a bright neon yellow which contrasted nicely with the blue-violet shadow. The rear end of a bulldozer could be seen, in fact, the whole painting was composed around the small orange triangle on its back which I made using the Montreal orange blend and overlapped with strips of pyrol red (PR254). The olive greens and dark yellow complete the warm colour-scheme. These projects might be bad for cars, but for an artist it gives me a safe place to stand and no traffic to block the views. 

Yellow dumpster bulldozer rear, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, August 2025