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.

Gooderham, Flatiron Building in Rain

24 x 24 oil on panel

The Gooderham Building, also known as the Flatiron Building, is a very interesting and historical building.It is also extremely difficult to paint. It stands out in front of the new high rises, an imposing red brick building in front of the soft blues of the reflected glass.

I thought I would give it a try again...I think I need to blur the receding sides a bit more to accentuate the "triangular" shape of the building.

Gooderham Building in Snow

24 x 24 oil on board

I really enjoy how snow changes a scene. Everything seems softer and quieter. I say that I like to convey a mood or atmoshere rather than just painting a picture of a building. Snow is the perfect way to achieve this.

The Gooderham Building is Toronto's Flat Iron Building, nestled at the intersection of Front and Wellington. The photo reference had cars in the foreground, but I left them out to change the feeling when looking at the picture.

I thought this picture would be fun to paint. Actually, it was unbelieveably difficult with so many nuances of hue. I'm not sure if its finished, but I need to leave it for a bit and stare at it from time to time to see what it needs.

Left Over Paint

10 x 10 oil on canvas

I had a lot of left over paint from working most of the day and decided to work on this scene. I took the photo on Front Street in front of Biff's Bistro. I must admit, I can't think of a suitable title. My brain is not working at all in that direction. Any suggestions?

Rain at the Go Station, Toronto

12 x12 oil on canvas

I decided to use a palette knife a bit more in this painting, looking for that really wet feeling. It definitely takes some practise to learn to use it well, but I enjoyed it with this one. I used a soft brush to smooth out the areas I didn't like. I also used some higher chroma paint colors than I normally do in a rainy scene.

Saturday shoppers head to the Go Station on Front Street on a rainy day in Toronto.

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.

Crossing the Bathurst Street Bridge

24 x 24 oil on canvas

I'm finding working out color temperature in  night scenes is quite difficult. In a sunny scene, one can default to warm light and cool shadow and have the picture work. Even if the photo reference tells me an object is warm, I need to work with the picture and use my own judgment. I had to use the black and white photo reference most of the time after I had of my color mixes. I decided to get out the knife to add interest.
 It was a much more difficult picture to do than I originally thought.
Thanks to Ben Roffelsen for the photo reference.

Newspaper Boxes on Front Street

8 x 10 oil on board

This area of Front Street next to St. Lawrence Market has such beautiful lush planters. I liked the mix of colour and reflections of this row of newspaper boxes next to the greenery. Normally I rarely use alizarin crimson because I don't like the "pink" that results from making the darks from a mix of Ultramarine blue and alizarin. In this scene, with the one pink newspaper box, it really seemed to work. I did tone down the dark mix with a touch of transparent oxide red.

There are no planters on Front Street yet. Normally in our area, we don't plant gardens until May 24 to avoid risk of frost. I took this photo last year during a warm misty rain.

Busy Saturday at St. Lawrence Market, Toronto

16 x 20 oil on board

I like these busy scenes, with lots of people and activity. St. Lawrence Market in Toronto is an amazing place. There are vendors outside and inside providing lots of variety. And as their website states, " Be inspired by locally-produced products and dabble in new foods and traditions from across Toronto’s vibrant cultural tapestry. Or simply come for the people watching!"

On this Saturday, there was a soft rain falling, making it a perfect day for people watching and capturing all those reflections that I love.

St. Lawrence Market Rain

12 x 12 oil on board

St. Lawrence Market is a wonderful place to shop in downtown Toronto. I was there on a busy rainy Saturday. Beautiful planters dominated the scene, and Beck taxis showed up in every photo I took. I was tempted to leave out the taxi in this scene, but it just didn't seem right. This scene shows Front Street with the market in the foreground, and the Flat Iron Building in the back ground.