It Was a Dark and Stormy Night...No. 1 Spadina Crescent

36 x 36 oil on canvas

I never knew where the expression "Dark and Stormy Night" originated until I looked it up and found it to have been written in 1830 by Edward Bulwar Lytton, an English novelist. I couldn't get the expression out of my head while I was painting. It was known as a melodramtic style of writing and has since become a cliche.

I did a similar painting to this a while back and wanted to do it on a larger scale. The Gothic Revival building in the background is part of the University of Toronto, built in 1875. It is situated at no 1 Spadina Crescent.

To establish a dark moody feeling, I used a palette of Viridian, Cadmium red, Ivory Black, yellow ochre, cadmium yellow, and Titanium white.

Chinatown Snow

12 x 12 oil on board

It was a wonderfully snowy day in Toronto when I decided to take  pictures. It was also cold and windy. After snow plows and salters had been around a few times, it was all a soupy mess of melted snow, salt, and dirt. No matter, I found some great scenes. Even on a day like this, the city is a hub of activity with people braving the weather to food shop or find some boxing day specials.

I loved how Chinatown still had umbrellas up and all kinds of food to buy. A cold but visual feast.

This scene is on Spadina near Dundas.