Friday, December 28, 2012

591 Montreal. Plateau Snow Scene

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Here's a scene from a really pretty street on Plateau Mont-Royal. (Avenue
Laval) I love how the railings and tree branches break up the light. Winter is great!

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

590 Montreal Winter Scene. Towards the Old Port

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This is the view from Rue Sherbrooke beside Avenue du Parc LaFontaine on Christmas Eve. That's the Montreal Clock Tower, Pont Jacques Cartier and the Quays. There's a skating rink under the clock tower too.

Monday, December 24, 2012

589 Montreal Winter, Plateau Mont Royal

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Sorry about the glare. This is another scene from the Plateau. It was a nice overcast day with the sky full and waiting to dump another load of snow. I think the municipal mascot should be the snow plow. They sure know how to move the stuff here. I love this painting,even if I say so myself. It is even better in real life than the photo. The sky is a pale yellow and the snow muted violet. I love the way the trees and power lines break up the painting like stained glass. And there is that church bell tower. It is so cool when they ring through out the neighborhood. It is almost Christmas morning as I write this.

Saturday, December 22, 2012

587 Montreal Rue Saint-Denis

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This is a scene from Rue Saint-Denis in the Latin Quarter. That church in the background is part of UQAM. I gather the students are from there. I just love the big round purple balls in the trees. Down further there are aqua colored balls. It has such a romantic atmosphere.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

585 McGill University Winter Scene

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This is the view of the main entrance of McGill University. It it dusk on an overcast day and the vapor over the roof tops is just so cool. 

Monday, December 17, 2012

584 Scene Near Le Plateau Montreal

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This is a scene from my walk today in the Plateau area in Montreal. This is a side street off Rue Prince-Arthur. In Montreal there is often a beautiful church towering over the rooftops. This painting is sold but there is a similar scene still available here.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

583 Montreal Snow Berries

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These are snow berries I found in the neighborhood where I'm staying in Montreal. I have been brooding terribly over my lack of oil paints. I mailed them to where I'm staying in Montreal because West Jet won't allow you to travel with oil paints. The Post Office says I can have them after one pm tomorrow. So I decided to do this botanical tonight. It snowed today.

Monday, December 3, 2012

580 Montreal Rue Crescent

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Montreal's Rue Crescent is so pretty and colourful every day. The shops are so beautiful and decorated expertly. Especially during the holiday season.

Sunday, December 2, 2012

579 D'hiver de Montréal Scène de la rue Crescent

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Another Montreal wintery day scene. This is Crescent Street Facing Mount Royal. The church is Erskine And American Church built in 1894. One of many beautiful churches in Montreal. 

578 Willow Sprigs

These are studies of some willow sprigs from my cousin's garden. I love the variations in the colour and texture of the leaves.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

577 Snow Berries and Birch Leaves

I stole a few moments today to do this study of autumn leaves and snow berries I found on a walk. 

576 Chili Peppers

These are some chili peppers my cousin dried this summer. Locally grown and sold door to door by a neighbor. They are almost black red and they all curl in interesting ways. I enjoyed the shadows as much as the pappers.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

575 Dried Flowers Study

I'm a house guest for a few days this week and didn't want to push my welcome by making a mess painting in my cousin's home. So I took out my water colours and painted flowers from the dried bouquet on her dining room table. 

Monday, November 26, 2012

Friday, November 23, 2012

572 Autumn Forest, Mount Doug

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It was back to Mount Doug today. A lovely day, raining lightly, not too cold.   The moss was such a bright green, the maple leaves orange red and burnt sienna, and the snow berries on their bare slim branches seemed to dance in the air. I felt enchanted today surrounded by all this beauty.

Emily Carr painter here as well. In 1942 She claimed to have had a vision that inspired her to paint at Mount Doug Park.  She said she felt the forest had something to tell her. This is where she painted her last works which were both mystical and enchanting.

Here's a photo of my setup in situ.





571 Chinese Empress Leaves

This is a sprig from the Chinese Empress tree on the lawn of the Parliament Building. It was a great find. On the lawn amongst thousands of other leaves. It spent the night in the crisper of my fridge. It's a good way to keep them from drying up quickly.

Here's a photo of the sprig.


Wednesday, November 21, 2012

570 Red Maple Leaf

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I found this amazing red leaf today and just had to paint it. I looked it up and think it is a silver maple leaf. The sugar maple. I think it's the real Canadian Maple leaf that the Canadian Flag is about. I found it on the lawn of the Parliament Building. So that might be further evidence supporting this theory. But I'm not an expert so I titled it what I knew for sure to be true. It's red. Wonderful orange red with wonderful cadmium and crimson veins, with splashes of yellow and drops of oxide green and cerulean blue and ivory black and paynes grey (sp?) and quinacridone orange and yellow ochre.......Stop  Painting this wonderful leaf was just so much fun.  Here's a photo of my set up. I think I captured it well. Should I have painted the scotch tape in?

Monday, November 19, 2012

568 Montreal Downtown Winter

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Here's a typical downtown scene after a big snow dump. All the snow in the world doesn't bring Montreal to a halt. They just bring out the ploughs. 

Sunday, November 18, 2012

567 Golden Maple Leaf

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Here's another Beauty.  Autumn leaves make a gorgeous bouquet. The keep better in the fridge than on the table. I began this one night ant finished it the following day. The leaves had curled so the shadows might be off.  I like it anyway.

566 Snow Berries

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It was fun painting these.  Snow berries are just so pretty. When I was a kid I liked popping them under my shoe. 

Saturday, November 17, 2012

565 Montreal Skyline

This is the view from my sister's balcony in Hochelaga. What a wonderful view. It might be Notre Dame Basilica. What ever church it is it's gorgeous on the skyline.

Friday, November 16, 2012

564 Chestnut Leaf

Here's a watercolour study I did of a chestnut leaf. The next block is lined with chestnut trees and chestnuts and leaves are covering the sidewalks.  There are so many beautiful colours and shapes in leaves. I'm like a kid in a candy shop when it comes to leaves. There's a pile of them on my table waiting to be painted. (I find it strange there are no insects on them as there would be in the summer....are they hibernating?)

563 Charlottetown Winter Morning

Most Canadians like to go someplace warm during the winter but not me. I want to go where inspiration takes me.
Snow is all about shadows and reflections.
sold-Canada (Labrador)

Thursday, November 15, 2012

562 Matin d'Hiver Montreal

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Here's a cold winter morning in Montreal. Parking is a nightmare in winter. People get desperate. That's not my car parked in front of the hydrant.
I love the warm shadows and cool skies.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

561 Charlottetown Winter Evening

sold-Canada (Labrador)





Here's a snowy winter night scene from Charlottetown. I believe these folks were just leaving late mass at the Basilica. Not cold, nor snow, nor rain, not even hurricane keeps Islanders inside.
I really like this little painting. 

Monday, November 12, 2012

560 Avenue du Musée

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I just love painting snow, slush, wet pavement, and twilight. There is a wonderful play of light with these elements that is dynamic and exciting like a favourite song. I love the way branches are lit by street lights against the night shadows.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

559 Montréal Hiver

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I just finished this painting. Sorry about the glare. I love winter paintings. Painting the shadows on the snow is a fun challenge. The typical after the snowfall Montreal scene where people and cars make their way down the middle of the street and clamber over neck high snowbanks. So glad to have a warm cosy place to be tonight.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

558 Leaf Study

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Here's another leaf study I did today. What kind of leaf is it? I picked it up yesterday having fallen under it's warm orange spell. Sigh. I like the tear in it's tip. 

557 Maple Leaf Study

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Today it is sunny but cold outside. It is around zero C (30 deg F). Not that bad really but I felt like staying in my cozy little space all day with the heat on.  I just love sketching. I happen to have a big pile of autumn leaves on my table. Here is one big maple. I found it yesterday on my way home from errands. It was really yellow then and flat. Overnight it curled up and started turning hues of raw and burnt sienna. It's still beautiful!

Thursday, November 8, 2012

556 Charlottetown Winter

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This painting is from my winter spent on Prince Edward Island.  Charlotte is such a charming and quaint city. So cozy with the tight little streets lined with crooked wooden century homes and snow piles. 

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

555 Maple Leaf Study

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This is a watercolour study I did today. I haven't done watercolours in a few years so I'm rather rusty. Watercolours are so relaxing to do compared with oils. When I paint with oils my muse is highly charged and energized.  But with watercolours my muse is serene and delicate. Are they actually separate muses? There's a muse for every mood.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

554 Sweet Dream

This is an alla prima painting I did at a life painting session with the Sketch Club. The model was particularly graceful.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

553 Rue Jeanne-Mance

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This is another image from the neighbourhood where I grew up.  Montreal is especially lovely in the autumn with all the maple trees in colour. Parking is way difficult and they now have bicycle lanes running all over the place. Good thing there's lots of posts to chain your bike to.



Saturday, November 3, 2012

552 Av du Parc

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This is a scene near my mother's home in Montreal. Why is rain so beautiful? I really enjoyed painting this. I used a larger painting I did a few years ago as a reference. (Usually it works the other way)

Friday, November 2, 2012

551 Autumn Forest

It was an an amazingly beautiful day at Goldstream Park. The autumn colours are so inspiring! The salmon are swimming upstream to spawn. Thousands of them. It's an amazing spectacle. The smell of rotting fish is in the air as well. It's a seagull and eagle buffet. The forest is amazing too. Old growth towering overhead and branches blackened and covered with moss twisting at strange angles.  At first I thought these branches are so clumsy and considered painting them with more graceful curves. But once I really gave them my attention I realized they had a grace of their own. I painted them just as I saw them. 

Thursday, November 1, 2012

550 Charlottetown



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Winter in Charlottetown is so pretty, and snowy. You can cross-country ski around the downtown area after a snowfall. The earth is so red that if you're new to PEI it might look like somethings been run over on the road on a slushy day. Those  towering steeples are from St Dunstan's Basilica.

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

549 Rue St Viateur

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I was really pleased with the results of this painting. I really had to force myself to keep it this loose. I like the way the sky opening mimics the bottom street and the way the reflection mimics the man in black. The design makes this an exciting work. 

Monday, October 29, 2012

548 Wind Power PEI Scene

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This scene is from Prince Edward Island. Where I spent some time in my cottage at Bothwell. Rose hips, wind and abandoned farms.

Saturday, October 27, 2012

547 Goldstream Park, Forest Scene

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Inspired by yesterday's paint out in Goldstream. Tom Thompson's spirit was in those woods. It was cold and raining but I was so inspired I stayed all day. Came home soaking wet but kept painting. Today it is pouring and cold. Colours are singing brightly against the cool tray sky.  I LOVE autumn!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

546 Blue Bridge

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Here it is again. I used the last painting as my reference. I just love the older architecture around  Victoria.

1538 lacing Up