Heading Home, Front and Blue Jays Way

12 x 12 oil on canvas Sold

This painting is a commission piece and is similar to one I did of Queen Street at Osgoode Hall. In this scene, a young man walks down Front Street past Rabba foods on his way home. The owner of the painting is moving from Toronto to New York City and so I wanted to add a Toronto feel and included the Beck Taxi on the right. I am enjoying the blues that I can make with viridian and ultramarine blue and sometimes a dash of cerulean. As a complement, a mix of alizarin and viridian creates interesting darks.

Shopping on Yonge, April Rain

16 x 20 oil on canvas

 I've mentioned before that Yonge Street is a challenge to paint because of the colour scheme, but I keep going back. I like this busy melange of signs, people, and traffic. Also, I must like the challenge.

This painting is a repaint of one that I wasn't happy with. Sometimes I wonder if there is any advantage of doing a repaint since it takes almost more work than starting fresh. Just a slight change in colour temperature requires that the whole scene be changed. I've been leaving transparent oxide red out of my palette. It seems to have too much of an effect on colour temperature and almost appears like "mud" if I'm not careful. I make my greys with a mix of alizarin, ultramarine blue, touch of ivory black, titanium white and cad yellow deep.

8 x 8 oil on canvas

I think it is almost impossible to take a photo of downtown Toronto without finding a beck taxi or streetcar in the picture. (The same goes for New York City and their yellow taxis). The colours can be challenging, but in this picture, the turquiose of the taxi and the highlights of the Sunlife Centre at 150 King Street West harmonized nicely.

This is late afternoon in the financial district of Toronto.

11 x 14 oil on canvas

I'm having some fun doing quick paintings (under three hours) and adding some colour. I often use a limited palette to achieve a dark moody look, but I decided to brighten things up a bit. This scene had a lot of turquoise blue in it so I found a tube of cobalt teal in a paint drawer and added that. Its more difficult maintaining proper values with more colour (for me anyway). I will look at the same scene in black and white to make sure I am not deviating from my value sketch.

This scene is at Queen and Yonge and features the pathway above Queen Street.

Beck Taxi on Yonge

30 x 30 oil on canvas

I really liked the composition on the 6 x 6 painting I did a while back. I decided to try it on a larger scale. One of the difficulties when going larger is the tendency to tighten up and start adding more detail. I worked at leaving it loose and spontaneous, using a lot of squinting and larger brush strokes to maintain the atmosphere rather than focusing on the details.

This scene features a Beck Taxi going south on Yonge Street with Dundas Square in the background.

April Showers, Yonge Street, Toronto

16x20 oil on canvas

I do most of my paintings from photographs so it helps if you enjoy taking photos. I love taking pictures and heading out on a rainy day or during a snow storm and wondering what images will present themselves. Sometimes great scenes just happen, and other times I will stand in a spot for a long time waiting for just the right people or vehicles. The turquiose and orange of this sign was a perfect match for the Beck Taxi. 

This scene is from Yonge Street near Dundas Square.

City Lights and Steam, Toronto

12 x 12 oil on canvas

Steam escapes from sidewalk grates on a cold evening near University in Toronto. The sign on the Beck taxi stands out against the line of streetcars.

Late Night on Yonge Street

36 x 48 oil on canvas

I've been experimenting painting larger sizes these days and I'm still not sure how much I like it. I definitely like the impact of a larger painting but the downside is that mistakes are huge, they are more expensive to paint, and they take way more room and more time. Unfortaunately, the only way to find out what we like to do is by doing it.

This is another night scene from Yonge Street in Toronto.

Thanks again to John Tavares for the photo reference.

Not Just Noodles, Yonge Street, Toronto

17x20 oil on board

My previous post was about winter's last hurrah. I guess I was wrong. This morning I walked the dog in minus 2 celcius, battling high winds and a snow squall. An April fool's joke from Mother Nature.

I love the name of this restaurant on Yonge Street. In this image, there is lots of slushy snow about, and the reflectionsfrom the yellow sign are mirrored in the wet areas of the street. A Beck taxi and a garbage truck are out and about. I used mostly black, red, yellow ochre, with touches of viridian and cadmium yellow.

Thank you John Tavares for the use of this photo reference.

Winters Last Hurrah

16 x 20 oil on canvas

This is pretty much the weather we have been having for the last week. Snowy, windy, messy, and cold. I know spring is here...I saw a turkey vulture and a robin today. Turkey vultures don't make their way up here until it is warm. I think this guy is a little early.

This scene is at the corner of University and Queen street showing the typical cab colors and the iconic toronto streetcar.