Grande beach Atlantic ocean

Close to São Paulo, this beach area got popular in the 1960"s and underwent a massive restructuring a decade ago to accommodate millions of tourists and locals. Now the beach, about 10 kilometers long, is lined with wall to wall condominiums. There is a beachfront road, winding bike path, tiled walkway and a wide beach with soft beige sand. 

Grande beach, 8 x 10" watercolour 2026

The shallow water was pale blue with a tea-coloured tint. Despite being on the Atlantic ocean, it was warm like bath water and pleasant to stand in while waves rolled by. 

Rolling sea, 6 x 7.5" watercolour January 2026 (No. 5007a)

It was fairly crowded considering how large the beach was. People were standing in the water while a few surfers were catching waves. Rolling mountains in the background were typical for this part of Brazil. The drive in and out went along a winding highway that crossed misty valleys, jungle waterfalls and long tunnels. 

Beach crowd, watercolour 6 x 7.5" January 2026 (No. 5006b)

Roofs and cats

There are quite a few cats around the neighborhood  in Sāo Paulo, and not many birds or mice. On an evening walk we saw this cat on a slate roof and I painted it the next day...the cat from memory. Those tall jungle trees in the background are only there because its part of a nun's convent otherwise it would become condo high-rises.

Cat on slate roof, 6 x 7.5" watercolour, January 2026 (No. 5004a)

Up on the laundry level at home, which is covered in a slate roof, the family cat slept in a green plastic basket while it poured outside. Raining the whole day I made a few paintings up here its a great vantage point.

  

Cat in laundry basket, 6 x 7.5"  watercolour January, 2026  (No. 5003b)

 

Here is another scene from the upper laundry platform, an interlocking puzzle of roofs and slate tiles. Its a great scene at night I'll try to do it some time. 

 

Roof puzzle, 6 x 7.5" watercolour January, 2026 (No. 5002b)

Scenes from Brazil

Real oranges have bright green skin with intense orange centers, which looked neat against the blue wall. Instead of tasting overly sweet, they are packed with zesty flavour. 

Green orange blue wall, 6 x 7.5" watercolour, January 2026 (No. 5001a)

This aloe plant grows in a rustic clay pot, illuminated by warm sun. A banana peel was placed next to it in the shadows. The bananas have incredible falvour and there are several different kinds.

Aloevera clay pot, 6 x 7.5" watercolour, January 2026 (No. 5003a)

The view out the window has been filled with condo high-rises, all beige and cream coloured. Slate roof tops are separated by a lush forest, with a busy highway in between. 

Condo wall roof tops, 6 x 7.5" watercolour, January 2026 (No. 5003a)

A Buddhist temple of Chinese culture is a popular tourist destination. Familiar red lanterns adorn the traditional pagodas. Loudspeakers played chanting and drums, with a strong odour of incense in the air. 

Red lanterns Buddhist temple, 6 x 7.5" watercolour, January 2026 (No. 5002a)

 

The top of the steep marble staircase at the temple was flanked by two water installations with large lilly pads and water fountains. I just added this scan after the trip, there were a few I didn't get on the blog while in Brazil.
 

Lily pads fountain, 6 x 7.5" watercolour, January 2026 (No. 5001b)

Curio Folio: Inflationator

Normally I would never do this, but I was reviewing federal grants recently for a new program called Canadian Uninflation Research Devices (CRUD) grants, and came across one that was really interesting. I could get in a lot of trouble for sharing the contents of a grant proposal, so I did a watercolour painting to capture the idea. The device was called the Inflationator... the way it works is to walk into an area of high inflation, inhale all of the excess money, then expel the money out of its rear end in the form of hot air. In the example, the Inflationator could walk into a grocery store, bank, or any place of business, inhale excess money, make heat, and inflation would be reduced. It was a smart and simple idea when you think about it, very feasible. Since this professor will likely get full funding, I believe its okay to share with you, I ranked the grant #1 in the pile. Besides, you will probably start seeing Inflationators at local shops and banks near you soon.

Of course, the production of hot air is bad for global warming, and the Government is familiar with that (both the hot air, and the inflation), which was a drawback to the device. A secondary device, which looks like a small robotic dog, is being planned which can inhale the hot air and poop out money, which may defeat the whole purpose but would surely make for a popular household pet. If that ever comes out, it would make another good addition to the Curio Folio of things you have never seen, heard of, or even imagined. 

Curio Folio: Inflationator, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, January 2026 (No. 5000)

Curio Folio: Grant Press

If you are new to the blog, I've been posting paintings of things you have never seen before, its called the Curio Folio, which began with the interesting case of a petrified pop-tart. In this installment, I made a painting of a 19^th century device used by scientists to assist them in writing research grant proposals. You might think that artificial intelligence was only a modern invention, but print makers had figured out a way to put words on hand-held rollers which could be covered in ink and applied to sheets of paper. The contents of the roller was based on words that appear most commonly in successful research grants, with special attention to contemporary topics most likely to be funded. Famous scientist Dr. Thinkfast used this device to get a grant to invent the world's first fork-knife, and luckily the grant was successfully funded. The grant press was in a Plexiglas display cabinet at the downtown MARMALADE museum where photography is not allowed, but they allow paintings for personal study. Since I am a scientist, I asked them if I could visit after hours and test out the device, but they said I would have to write a research grant proposal first, before gaining access to the grant press. Ironic. 

Curio Folio: Grant Press, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, January 2026 (No. 4999)

Couple more paintings, slushy day

Where Decarie boulevard, which runs parallel with the highway, meets Maisonneuve, there is a five-way intersection. It used to be one of the most dangerous intersections in Montreal, but about 10 years ago they redeveloped it to be much safer for bikes, cars and pedestrians to co-exist. This barber shop is located near this corner, it had pictures of hipster dudes on the outside, I guess if you have a long beard in need of a trim its the place to go. 

Zanzibar Barber, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, January 2026  (No. 4998b)

There was not much light left so I painted a scene of the Vendome metro main entrance, at least the top part of it. The idea was to get in some details like the reflections, textures, and concrete tones. The concrete was done with a mix of raw sienna (PBr7), green umber (PBr7) and indo blue (PB60) tinted with orange (PO62) and magenta (PV55) here and there. When dry, I dragged a dry-brush with carbon black over top, and added some dots to make the concrete look sweaty. After painting all 68 Stations of the Montreal Metro, I taught myself how to get these colours down. By the way, in the last blog I was wondering if the graffiti person KONG was still active.... some time this weekend, he and the notorious SLUK defaced the MOLSON sign on the brewery that I painted late last year. Here is the CBC news story. When I say that I painted it... thats with watercolours by the way, I am not the graffiti person!

Vendome front door, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, January 2026  (No. 4997b)

Downtown, Lachine canal, Peel basin

Three of my favorite places to paint in Montreal: Downtown, Lachine canal, and the Peel basin! In the scene above, there was a protest in Phillips Square across from the old Bay mall, on st Catherine street. People were waving Iranian flags with the lion and crown in the center and chanting things in Farsi and English. A flock of pigeons flew overhead, a flying group of pigeons is called a 'flight of pigeons' by the way, while a police cruiser was parked by the curb. 

Flight of pigeons downtown, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, January 2026 (No. 4996b)

An old factory warehouse on the Lachine canal has been 'decorated' extensively by the graffiti writers including KONG, one of the original writers from the 1990's who may still be active. As usual I placed my initials and year in place of the graffiti... that is called 'biting' by the way, when you copy a graffiti artist's style. To paint something like that, the writer has to hang from the edge of the building with some kind of harness, and probably used a roller instead of a spray paint can for most of the work. The canal was starting to melt.

Lachine canal Kong, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, January 2026 (No. 4997a)

Its unusual for the ice to thaw in the middle of winter like this. With mild temperatures ahead it may start showing water again. The central element is where they hold the summer festivals like the Reggae festival, it used to be a shipping and receiving pier, while the background shows part of the Farine Five Roses building, actually the new Canada Maltage factory. To make that pale blue-green ice colour I use perylene green (PBk31) diluted and tinted with various cool paints like blue (PB15), green (PG7) and magenta (PR122, PV55). I  picked up more paper, a few tubes and brushes, at Avenue des Arts today in Westmount, Pierre was there, he runs the shop and also organizes a network of independent art companies around Canada. 

Peel Basin winter thaw, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, January 2026 (No. 4998a)