Umbrellas on Spadina

12 x 12 oil on canvas

This is one of my favorite spots along Spadina Avenue. There are always interesting people with their umbrellas getting on and off streetcars. In this scene, the CN tower can be seen in the background. 

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.