Umbrellas on King Street, Toronto

12 x 12 oil on canvas

Pedestrians cross in front of a Streetcar, while others wait to board on this rainy day at the corner of King and Bay Streets in Toronto Ontario.

This painting will be available at the One Of A Kind Show in Toronto in November.

St. Lawrence Market

12 x 12 Oil on canvas

 I thought I would revisit this scene using a different colour palette. This scene is from Front Street in front of the St. Lawrence Market. The gorgeous flower arrangements dominate the scene and a Beck Taxi waits out front. The Gooderham Building, also known as the Flatiron building is visible in the background.

Verticals on Bay Street, Toronto

12 x 12 oil on board

There is no rhyme or reason for the way the light falls in the city. With so many glass buildings creating reflections on other buildings, light and shadow pop up anywhere. This scene was around five o'clock, just in time for rush hour. A beam of light contrasts with the verticals of the tall buildings as it cuts across Bay Street in the financial district of Toronto. The old City Hall clock tower is visible at the end of the street.

Royal Alexandra Theatre, King Street

8x10 oil on board

People often ask me to do streetcar scenes, so I often include them in paintings. Although I do point out that it is almost impossible to take pictures on some Toronto streets without finding a Streetcar or Beck Taxi lurking somewhere in the photograph. I do enjoy the colours, the bright reds adding a nice touch to a grey day or night scene.

 This scene features the Royal Alexandra Theatre on King Street West.

Thanks to Ben Roffelsen for the photo reference.

Umbrellas on Dundas Street, Toronto

12 x 12 oil on board

Back to a rainy day scene with this picture of colourful umbrellas on Dundas and University in Toronto. I'm adding a few more colours for this rainy scene, but still keeping it very muted and atmospheric.

For this scene I used a very popular palette of Ultramarine blue, alizarin, yellow ochre, cadmium yellow dark and light, cadmium red, titanium white.

Pedestrians wait to cross the street or head to the subway station at Dundas and University in Toronto during a down pour.

Queen and Spadina, Afternoon Sun

12 x 12 oil on board

I'm trying to work out some "sunny day" colours that are somewhat true to the scene as well as maintaining harmony. From the pevious post, I decided to do a 12 x 12 rather than going larger. 

This scene features a Toronto Streetcar, the colours glowing in the afternoon sun against the shadows created by buildings. This scene is from Queen and Spadina.