Toronto Cabbies

6x6 Oil on Board

Toronto cabs have such great colors. I think a person could do a whole series with these wonderful colors. Hmmm. Downtown scenes are great in that the tall buildings provide a distinct light source.

Sunshine and Coffee

6" x 6"

Oil on Board

Yes, we do have sun sometimes! After our walk, Bailey (my dog) and I stopped for coffee and two plain "timbits" for him. The sun was shining brightly. This Tim Hortons is in Dundas Ontario.

These Boots are Made for Walkin 2

8" x 10"
Oil on Foam Board
This is version no. 2 of this picture (see posting July 16 ) with the magenta ground. I can't believe our (me only?) urge to copy. I had to actually move the painting No.1 to another room so that I wouldn't refer to it. I have to admit to actually going there once. Its really pathetic. ha. I went with much stronger color than normal. My comfort zone is using cadmium red, diox violet, earth brown, cobalt blue, cadmium yellow deep, black, white. As I mentioned before, painting on this foam board allows me to loosen up. I'm not sure why. My husband says that I will need to be hypnotized to believe that canvas is foam board, and then I won't have the urge to tighten up.

Red Coat and Strappy Sandals, Toronto

6" x 6"
Oil on Board

Walking in downtown Toronto on a rainy evening.
Red is so challenging. What color are the shadows? Its a strong color, but how does one make it stand out and look lighter without using white or yellow and diluting the wonderful red. So many complications in a picture.

Minden Tims

6" x 6"
Oil on Canvas

While visiting my daughter in Minden Ontario this past weekend, I noticed this great floating Tims sign. I am fascinated with unique quirky signage and all things Tims. This sign was floating on a board in a marshy area on the edge of a lake. In an area surrounded by lakes, marsh, and the Canadian shield, I thought this quite creative. Minden Ontario is north of Toronto in "cottage country". It is called the "near north" because it isn't really north, I guess. It is north enough to have bears, wolves, moose, deer etc. and plenty of cold weather and snow in winter.

Crossing Dundas Street, Toronto Ontario

6" x 6"

Oil on Board
People crossing Dundas Street during the afternoon commute in Toronto Ontario.

I would like to thank Laurel Daniel for giving me the Bella Sinclair award for "friendship, sisterhood, caring and sharing. I will take this opportunity to pass it on to others who have been encouraging in their comments or who I respect for their contributions in making the "web world" a better place.
MaryAnne Carey, Tammy Hext, Carol Schiff Studio, Kathy Weber, Carol Marine (I don't know Carol on a "comment" basis, but in following her blog, I believe her to be one of the hardest working, positive, encouraging artists out there. The Yoda of art bloggers.) and (following Laurel Daniels lead) my sister Paula. My sister has always supported me and encouraged me to keep working and keep trying. She is a firm believer in the adage: if you believe in yourself and follow your heart, good things will happen. Thank you Paula!

These Boots are made for walkin in the Rain

10" x 8"
Oil on Foam Board

This painting had the ground in diox violet and Trans earth brown. I often like to work on this background color.
This young woman was walking down a very reflected Queen Street in Toronto.

These boots are made for walkin in the rain

Get your facts first and then you can distort them as much as you please-Mark Twain

I think these words by mark Twain can apply to writing or painting. Picasso for example. His early work shows that he knew the facts...later on he chose to distort them.

I cut a couple of 8 x 10 pieces of the "foam board" to experiment with painting the same scene on two different grounds. Results to follow.

Featured on Emptyeasel

I am positively thrilled to say that I am the featured artist on the website called EmptyEasel. This is a great website with well written and interesting articles. People have contacted me to say that they now notice elements of my paintings that they didn't see before they were pointed out in the Emptyeasel article.

Waiting to Cross Younge, Toronto

10" x 8"
Oil on Canvas Board

Often I look at an image and wonder if it will" work". Even though I think it has too many negatives, I do it anyway. I liked the paper covered windows, and the starkness of the scene, even though I knew it would be difficult to portray.
I'm always amazed to see buildings for lease right down town Toronto on Yonge Street.
These young ladies enjoy a drink while waiting for the light to change at Yonge and Gould Streets.

"Pretty in Pink"

6" x 6"
Oil on board

And now for something completely different! I decided to do a picture from James Parkers Window to the world art. I had a lot of fun, decided to "let go" and see what happens.

At One with Tims

6" x 6"
Oil on board
At the first light of day, one sole customer visits Tims.

Drizzly Yonge Street Commute, Toronto

10" x 8"
Oil on canvas

Traffic heads down Yonge Street in Toronto on a rainy day. The big tv screen above the Hard Rock Cafe is visible to the left. Toronto has very distinctive taxis, painted teal and orange.

Bay and Dundas, Toronto Ontario

8" x 10"
Oil on Canvas

Traffic at the corner of Dundas and Bay streets, passing the Canadian Tire Store. (I posted a looser version of this earlier, but wasn't satisfied with the result.)