Saturday, September 29, 2012

Gooderham Building, Toronto

24 x 30 oil on board
The Gooderham building in Toronto (also referred to as the Flat Iron Building) is very difficult to portray. It is a beautiful elegant building, but it is tall and narrow. Even in good photos, the building always looks like it is falling over. I tried to maintain the strength of the flare at the bottom of the building, so that it is anchored to the ground, but I know I may have to work on the top and maybe accentuate the bottome more. Atmosphere was just as important for me as was the portrayal of the building. Capturing it on a hazy rainy day helped a lot. And of course, I love the rain.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Village Idiot Pub, Dundas St. West, Toronto

12 x 12 Oil on board
I love the name of this place and liked the way the corner looked on this dark and rainy day. It is located across from the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Friday, September 7, 2012

Chinatown Rain, Dundas St. West, Toronto

24 x 30 Oil on board
I knew this scene would be challenging. There are too many colors (for me) The composition has the Streetcar heading out of the picture, and deciding on the proper light source temperature was almost impossible. I finally realized that with all the warm colors of the buildings, the light source had to be somewhat cool. I originally had the pedestrian in the foreground with a dark coat, but as soon as I changed it to white it seemed to bring the weak composition together.
This painting will be available at theToronto One Of A Kind Show in November.