Friday, August 26, 2016

First Snow, Queens Quay

4x4 oil on paper
This is another study using an undercoat of Transparent red oxide and alizarin. I was all set to start the 12 x 12, but I hadn't worked out my colour palette. I'm finding that doing a small study goes a long way in working out composition and colours. I decided to make my darks with a mix of alizarin, viridian, and ultramarine blue and the highlights were mixed from this with some additions of cad yellow, cerulean, and cad red light.
My reference photo was taken by Ben Roffelsen. I love his moody photos. I think Ben was one of the first to do "moody" before it became so popular. Check out his instagram feed:

This painting features the 509 and 510 streetcars on Queens Quay during an early snow storm.

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Rain in Toronto's Chinatown

12 x 12 oil on canvas
When doing the image on a 12 x 12 canvas, I decided to go with the transparent red oxide undercoat. It was a difficult decision, but I wanted to go with a warmer palette. Thanks for your comments and opinions on my previous post, Barbara, Asit (AK) and Gayle.

Thursday, August 18, 2016

Toronto Chinatown

4 x 4 oil on paper

I haven't posted a painting in over a month. It has been a difficult summer with the heat. I believe it is our hottest summer on record, here in Southern Ontario. My studio is in the attic and when the temperature outside is above 27 degrees celcius (81 F), even with an air conditioner, it is impossible to work. I spent some time doing plein air and catching up on some art reading and research. 
When I decided to do this image of Toronto's Chinatown on Spadina with the lights under the umbrella and awning contrasting with the grey of the rain, I thought it would be worth trying a few studies with different undercoats to see which one I prefer. I don't always use an undercoat, but thought a different approach might have better results. The 4 x4 squares were coated with a wash of transparent oxide red and the other with Indian yellow. I then painted the same image on both.

I'm not sure which one I prefer. Any thoughts or opinons are welcome!