Final paintings of the "summer' ... almost

Technically summer season ends September 21st, but labour day marks the end of the practical summer for us working folks. Yes tomorrow the students are going to swarm the campus once more and professor D will be in front of the classroom droning on about pharmacology and physiology. SO lets talk about art. This painting is the classic Beaver Lake up on Mount Royal, although the complete lack of beavers makes it more of a pond encased in cement would be more accurate. There were fish and plants in it though. You cant go wrong with the composition here, the infinite curvature of the pond and abundant people give an almost musical composition. 

Pond curves (musical people), watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, September 2024 (No. 4018a)

 

You might think this was a leftover painting from PEI, but I paitned it today up in Beaver Lake, or concrete pond as I like to call it. The birds were some kind of heron-pelican looking sort, with one seagull hanging out. In the foreground, you can see down into the water where the bottom had a caramel colour and shards of light coming through the ripples, with tall water plants growing. The idea was to capture, the boats, the birds, and the sparkling transparent water along with the dock. A lot of people stopped to look.

Birds on dock in pond, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, September 2024 (No. 4017b)

On the way up I stopped to make this painting of Montreal through the trees, a scene I have eyed many times but never thought of a way to paint it. Today I started with the pale background scene of downtown Montreal, then over-painted the trees and foliage. If I try this again I would paint the trees and foliage first, then leave space for the downtown to show through.

Montreal through the trees v2, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, September 2024 (No. 4018b)

World of windows

Painting windows is never easy, and there sure were a lot of them in this scene of condos near the de la Savane metro station. I used numerous techniques to paint the windows. First, I outlined the buildings in greyish paint (PBk6 diluted), then filled each in with a different pastely colour including cyan, blue, violet, orange, yellow and green. In fact, the whole pastel rainbow is here. Then I added window shapes as squares, or as hash marks, or I painted the brick work as cross hatches which created the dark on light effect for example the building on the left. Once all that was established I added somewhat random details from the buildings to give enough variety. Rows of trees, and a cloudy sky provide the environmental atmosphere. I thought the painting would look chaotic and stressful, but now that I see it, it seems serene and gives a sense of community. The buildings are like good neighbors in a way. Its a hard painting pull off because of the subtle details and massive scale in real life.

World of windows, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, September 2024 (No. 4017a)

 

Old and new structures

In the area around de la Savane metro, nestled between the Decarie expressway and autoroute 40, there was an old industrial/residential area that has been rapidly converted into massive condo developments. In among the towering skyscrapers, there is a stretch of road with an old fashioned auto shop. When I rode by, it was one of the scenes where I just slammed in the brakes, set up and started painting. On the left is a yellow oachre-brick and brown siding building with an emerald green awning adorned with gold lettering. On the right, a dilapidated plaster alley way covered in rusted pipes and tubes, with an old fashioned stone facade circa 1960's or 1970's. Its a wonder this isn't a condo development, but maybe its zoned industrial. I hope the city keeps spots like this, not for an artist's sake but it gives jobs and services to the community.

Old fashioned auto shop, watercolour 8 x 10" cold press, September 2024 (No. 3906a)

 

This is the same building but viewed from the rear, where there is a medium sized soccer field in the foreground, and an array of new condos in the background. Seeing the old building sandwiched between these elements was kind of neat. Funny enough, there was hardly a person in sight anywhere despite the thousands of condo units everywhere.

Old and new buildings, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, September 2024 (No. 4015a)

 

Changing neighborhoods, this is the Mile End, you see the iconic rusty water tower on top of the disused factory. In the middle is the new garden they built next to the off ramp, and some sumac trees in the foreground. The sumac was done with a mix of greens, then over-painted with red (PR179 + PR109), using a flat brushstroke. That's where the brush is applied on its side, taking advantage of the fact that brushes are pointed you can make that shape pretty easily.

 Factory and sumac trees, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, September 2024 (No. 4015b)

 

Here is my interpretation of the unofficial iron sculpture park where one or more of the local artisans anonymously install these interesting works. Okay, I may have installed my initials too, if you look closely!

Iron sculpture park, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, September 2024 (No. 4016a)

Labour day Monday paintings around Montreal

Taking advantage of the near complete absence of car traffic on labour day Monday I took a bike ride around Montreal with my trusty paint kit in the bike pack. Initially I thought about going up to the north shore but the ride is dreadful and there is not much there from an art standpoint. This neighborhood is in the middle of the island, near the end of Montreal, it has been intensely developed with condos. To paint the 13 story building on the left I painted out the skeleton in black paint (PBk6) then filled in the sky, worked on the bottom left fill elements, then painted the green wash over the building to represent window tint. Most of the composition is the sky, which was part of the plan here, it was an intense cloudy sky with a cold wind. 

Sky and apartment building, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, September 2024 (No. 4014a)

 

On the way I stopped to paint this KFC which was rebranded PJD in the painting! It was all manner of pink and coral colours, with a bone white facade. I heard a song called 'Pink Pony Club' by Chappell Roan the other day, I still dont really understand what the song was about, but this building reminded me of that. So pink pony club is a fried chicken restaurant, at least in Montreal.

KFC or PJD? watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, September 2024 (No. 4014a)

 

In mile end there is a long stretch of old factories that are now artist studios, antique stored and small galleries. This seems to be a studio/condo, the person who lives there showed up and walked in the front door as I painted from across the street. The window had iron sculpture on it, the front door had a painting, and the facade was painted in cyan, yellow, green, violet, red, and blue, half of which appears in the painting. The door said Nomad Life TV for some reason.

Nomad Life TV, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, September 2024 (No. 4013b)

Stormy sky over factory

As the ominous looking clouds were rolling in from the north west, I was trying to calculate how much time there was before the rain started. Luckily it worked out and the first drops came down as I approached the condo on the way back. This was the last one of the trip, its a rather dramatic view of the big concrete factory as seen from the rear view. I painted the frontal view of the factory way back in May of 2020 in the throws of the pandemic. In the background, at the top, you see one of the many overpasses connecting to the Turcot exchange, which is a complex spaghetti bowl of highways. To paint this scene I established an outline with brush and blackish paint (dilute PBk6), then filled in the colours and values. The building was a baby blue, or more accurately, a pale cyan that I made with PB15, PG7, some 'grit' and water. The grit I am referring to is the grayish or brownish paint that accumulates on the palette after making a bunch of paintings. The impressionists called it 'cutting' the paint, which meant they were reducing the chroma. Nobody did it better than Monet who was the master of the pastel tones. Actually, this painting has the appearance of a group of seven painting, just set in industrial ville st Pierre!

Stormy sky over factory, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, September 2024 (No. 4038)

Butterfly, stone leg on a windy day

Looking across to Lachine from the narrow sculpture park I saw a lone butterfly, likely a Monarch flitting by. It was the first one I had seen all summer. After painting the sky and water and letting it dry a bit, which happened fast in the sun and strong wind, I painted in the orange butterfly from memory. The composition draws your eye from left to right giving the flying insect a sense of movement. 

Butterfly on a windy day, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, September  2024 (No. 4012)

Less affected by the wind was this giant stone leg, which is one of many that were placed along the first part of the park, facing south. I've rode past these monoliths a hundred times and never wanted to paint them, its the kind of thing you may as well take a picture of and many people do. So its a bit touristy but I knew the weather was going to sour and had to get the paintings in while I could. If you are wondering how it is held up, there is a steel wire cage in the shape of a leg holding the whole thing together which I omitted from the painting. I also edited out the tall trees and the walking path so as to fit it all on the small paper.

Stone leg near river, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, September 2024 (No. 4011b)

 

The wind was severe here, it was all I could do to stand up and not loose my bike and painting gear. My painting kit on the back of the bike is wind-proof, and I bring elastics to secure the paper to the cardboard support, however, you really have to squeeze things to keep them in place. The river changes colour from turquoise to blue to a caramel or red ochre hue near the shore. 

The mixes I usually use are turquoise PG7 + PB15 or PB60, blue PB60 + touch of red ochre PR101 for neutral blue, and PB15 + touch of PR122 for brighter blue. The caramels are combinations of yellow ochre (PY43), red ochre, perylene red (PR179) and orange (PO62 or PO73). Textures are created with the side drag of a semi moist brush.

Wind blast on river, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, September 2024 (No. 4013a)

Train bridge with boat and geese

At some time in history this bridge probably rotated to allow tall ships to pass, but now it is permanently fixed across the Lachine canal, it connect to the Mercier car and train bridges that go over the st Lawrence river to the south (left in the painting). As I painted an inflatable boat went by, and there was a gaggle of geese in the middle of the pillars. Its always a joy to paint this bridge, it has a dark neutral blue covered in shades of iron oxide rust. The giant 'fly' on the furthest pillar is actually a motorcycle that was reconstructed to look like a bug with wings by some intrepid artist.

Train bridge with boat and geese, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, September 2024 (No. 3997a)

 

In Ranger park, Lasalle, I found a winding path down to a small rocky beach with a view of the Mercier bridge. It splits into three branches for trains and cars on the far side of the river. The wind was so strong it was blowing my bike and palette around something fierce. My new boonie hat has a good chin strap which kept the hat in place despite the powerful wind gusts. Some dark looking clouds were rolling in and the forecast called for severe thunderstorms in the late afternoon.

Windy shore with Mercier Bridge, watercolour 8 x 10" cold press, September  2024 (No. 3907b)