Dual Fall Colours

To close out October I made a quick painting after work before the sun went down at the Benny park area outside of the sports complex. You would think you were in the enchanted forest with this view, actually, there are busy city streets on all sides but I left those out. The tree in the foreground was chartreuse with dark yellow, while the tree in the background was orange-yellow with bright yellow. In the foreground the grass and walking path was completely covered in leaves. As time was running out on the sunlight I finished the painting while it was still moist, which created a soft glowing effect that is quite pleasant. Okay I am ready to paint some snow scenes now!

Dual Fall Colours, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, October 2023 (No. 3582a)

Moon over Canal

 

Sitting in the nice warm couch this evening it occurred to me that I had to ride down to the Lachine Canal and make some paintings. It was approaching zero with mild drizzle, but I have plenty of warm clothes to wear in bad weather. I don't know why I complain about the weather in my blog since I will go paint in virtually any condition like heavy rain, extreme cold, and blizzards. Instead of trying to fit the moon into the painting, I approached the canal near the foot bridge that goes to St Patrick and Senkus, and looked down at the moon reflecting in the dark water. I was nearly out of blue paint so had to use carbon black and a combination of blue-green (PG7) and magenta (PV19) that ends up looking like indigo. The footbridge was simplified and abstracted a bit since it is not possible to paint too much light detail on a black background. The moon reflection was tricky, it had to go right the first try because that is the white paper showing through the dark water.

Moon reflection in Canal, watercolour 8 x 10" cold press, October 2023 (No. 3632)

To capture this scene I rode about a kilometer down the path and set up near the Gantry crane on the other side of the canal. Looking up and through the iron work I could see the moon prominently against the indigo sky. My head lamp was illuminating the fall-colour foliage in the foreground. I had to let the dark blue sky dry before applying the iron work which is a combo of red ochre (PR102) and carbon black (PBk6). The moon is the paper showing through, with a touch of neutral yellow ochre (PY43) to depict the textural effect on the moon. The painting was pretty moist and I didn't have the drying rack with me, so I set it up in my bike pack so that it could dry without getting smeared. The smears on the left side are from my gloved hand. My clothes held up well enough but the cold was starting to get to me.

Moon through Gantry Crane, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, October 2023 (No. 3580)

Fear Application

Yet another palette cleanser abstract painting, this one explores the concept of fear just before Halloween. I added some unusual colour contrasts and avoided the colour yellow which is usually a pretty happy colour. It would have been scarier with a clown peeking out from the background or a bucket of snakes and some disembodied eyeballs but that would have been tacky. 

Fear Application, watercolour 9 x 12" watercolour paper October 2023 (No. 3657a)

Iron Sculptures Mile End

At the end of the Mile End is a small vacant lot next to a disused warehouse. Since 25 years ago a local artist has been installing iron sculptures in the area, there must be over a hundred now including some artistic iron benches and seats. To paint this one I did the background first, let it dry, then over-painted the details. The last thing I added was the sculpture itself which completed the composition. I had to leave a spot for it, and set up the contrast between the pastel sky, the fall colours in the background trees and field, with the dark rusty colours of the structure.

Iron Sculpture Mile End, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, October 2023 (No. 3578b)

While the background paint dried for the first one, I turned right and painted the scene looking up the highway off-ramp and the disused warehouse with iconic water tower on top. If you are into painting rust this is the place! Of course I used burnt ochre (PR101) which is the exact same colour as rust, along with some carbon black. With the low light, car headlights were popping. The sculpture garden is tucked away in the bottom left of the composition to give you a feel of the entire environment. There are plans to modernize this building but its a tricky thing because it is also a heritage building and it defines the local landscape in many ways.

Sculptures and Warehouse Mile End,  watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, October 2023 (No. 3580)

Fall colours around the Lachine Canal

 

The weather was quite pleasant today, cool with a clear blue sky. With lower evening temperatures the leaves changed colours a bit more although most trees were still green and brown. In this scene, the locks were in the foreground, and some old silos and the new cruise boat tower in the background. I embellished the trees, there was a warm yellow, an orange-red, and maroon colours.

Fall Colours Near Old Port, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, October 2023 (No. 3578a)

 

This vacant lot was bought up by the city of Montreal with plans to turn it into a park. The developers have been building sky scrapers at a phenomenal pace as you can see in the background. Large chunks of concrete were strewn about, they look like piles of snow! The middle ground building is a converted warehouse, it has bright blue awnings, and shops on the ground level.

Vacant Lot and Skyscrapers, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, October 2023 (No. 3575b)

 

Between the condos they installed a biodiversity area, which consists of a board walk surrounded by wispy trees that almost look like bamboo but are thinner. It was very windy today but I was somewhat protected sitting here. My back is facing the bike path and canal, so this view is to the north towards downtown Montreal. 

Biodiversity Area, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, October 2023 (No. 3579b)

Fall Trees near Classroom

The other day during class break I saw these colourful fall trees outside. Since the class ends late it was dark, so I returned to the spot today a bit earlier from the outside and squeezed in this painting before there was any rain. It started spitting rain a bit but held off mostly. The trees were greenish yellow, yellow-orange, chartreuse with green, and a rusty red in the background. I kept the lawn lighter than it was so that the leaves popped and the trees seemed to have a glow. To the left is the edge of the building and the classroom behind the door, although that door is the emergency exit as far as I can tell. Although, maybe it is a door to the classroom, normally I take the long way from the front and go through the hallways. Like most campuses, its a labyrinthine with little to no signage to help. The weekend calls for more rain but hopefully I can get out for a few paintings.

Fall Trees near Classroom, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, October 2023 (No. 3579a)

The Family Unit

Our family used to go camping around Ontario including at the well known Balsam Lake. One day, we were paddling and the weather turned rough. I remember the whole sky was grey, the water was churning and we were going against a stiff wind and strong rain. The four of us paddled at full force to get through the gale as fast as possible. We made it, no worse for wear but a little wet. I remember feeling the power of the canoe moving though the rough water, it was the power of the family unit. With the weather equally poor recently I've not had the chance to paint outdoors much, so I made this painting from memory. I was going to copy another Maud Lewis painting, but instead I tried to copy her strategy. Perhaps not by choice, she painted in her small cabin from memory, and her paintings seemed to evoke scenes of nostalgia and happiness. Was my family paddling through bad weather a moment of happiness? Not at the time, but in retrospect it was a triumph of sorts.

The Family Unit, watercolour 8 x 10" cold press, October 2023 (No. 3631b)