Movie Night at the Westdale Theatre, Hamilton

12 x 12 oil on canvas

This movie theatre with its original Marquee is one of the few theatres of it's era still showing movies. This Westdale theatre is in Hamilton Ontario.

Kensington Market

12 x 12 oil on canvas

This is another image from Toronto's  Kensington Market. When walking through the streets at the Market, its hard to imagine that such a funky eclectic mix of stores, restaurants, fruit and vegetable stands, graffiti,  and vintage shops exists so close to downtown Toronto.

Luckily, In 2006, Kensington Market was officially recognized as a National Historic Site of Canada for its dynamic character and eclectic variety of architectural styles.

Rainy Saturday at Tiff

9 x 12 oil on panel

I had a great day taking reference photos about two weeks ago. It rained all day and into the evening. Plus, the Toronto International Film Festival was on and there were lines of people with umbrellas waiting to get into different venues. This group of people was waiting to get into the Princess of Wales Theatre on King Street.

Toronto Chinatown

4 x 4 oil on paper

I haven't posted a painting in over a month. It has been a difficult summer with the heat. I believe it is our hottest summer on record, here in Southern Ontario. My studio is in the attic and when the temperature outside is above 27 degrees celcius (81 F), even with an air conditioner, it is impossible to work. I spent some time doing plein air and catching up on some art reading and research. 

When I decided to do this image of Toronto's Chinatown on Spadina with the lights under the umbrella and awning contrasting with the grey of the rain, I thought it would be worth trying a few studies with different undercoats to see which one I prefer. I don't always use an undercoat, but thought a different approach might have better results. The 4 x4 squares were coated with a wash of transparent oxide red and the other with Indian yellow. I then painted the same image on both.

I'm not sure which one I prefer. Any thoughts or opinons are welcome!

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. 

Crossing at King and Simcoe

8 x 10 oil on panel

Our weather has been all over the place, from spring like conditions with rain to the snow storm we had yesterday. I have been wanting to add some warmer colours back into my palette. I have been using a predominately cool palette, but some scenes call for warmer colours. I have added transparent oxide red and terra rosa into the mix. I thought this scene was a good way to start with the warmer building colours and a spring rain.

This small study is at King and Simcoe in Toronto's Entertainment District. The Elephant and Castle Pub is on the left.

Umbrellas on King Street

12 x 12 oil on canvas

I take hundreds of photos on rainy and snowy days. Sometimes a really fun image shows up, and that was the case with this photo. Umbrellas are mostly black and boring so this scene provided a nice change. I often change things in my paintings and rarely paint the photo as is, but in this instance very little change was needed.

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.

Bay Street Blues

14 x 14 oil on canvas paper

I've mentioned this before, but doing studies on paper allows me to get the information down quickly and helps me stay "loose" and less contrived. I think it has something to do with the fact that its only "paper" and therefore just a study. That said, I always like the way they turn out and wish I would have been so spontaneous on a canvas or board. I'll get there..sometime.... .

I'm looking forward to trying this on a larger scale.

Rain at Bay and Richmond, Toronto

8x10 oil on panel

Another study. This scene features the corner of Bay and Richmond in Toronto's financial district.

Boldbrush painting competition, Fav 15%

12 x 12 oil on canvas

I'm pleased that my painting, "Heading Home 510 Spadina Streetcar", was selected as part of the FAV15% (jury's favorite 15% of the entries) in the March 2015 BoldBrush Painting competition. Still hoping to get into the top winning category...just have to keep trying!!


 

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?

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.

Acrylics or oils? What is your preference?

Moonlight Cat 16 x 20 Acrylic on canvas

Every now and then I need an acrylic fix. I spent several years painting realistically using acrylic paints.When I decided I needed a change and wanted to paint more spontaneously and "looser" I decided to switch back to oils. It has been quite a journey. I love oils and how they can be blended and smooshed around. But sometimes I feel I stop focusing on strong values and composition, and for some reason I return to acrylics to change my focus. I don't know why I find it easier to maintain values with acrylics. They seem to allow themselves to a more graphic deisgn sense and its easier to keep the dark values dark.

When I painted this cat on a piano (several years ago), I painted the notes to the Moonlight Sonata on the music sheet. And I enjoyed it!

What do you prefer? Oil or acrylic?

8x10 acrylic on board

Yonge Street, Evening Rain

24 x 24 oil on canvas

I usually work from photographs. I love to take pictures and I love interesting weather (some people call it "bad" weather). When I take pictures downtown in the pouring rain or a snow storm, I'm not really concerned with the photographic quality. I mainly need reference and atmosphere. So I take a LOT of photos. When I get home and look through the photos, sometimes an image will really excite me. Like this one. It had a lot of great things going on. Old dark buildings in the foreground, blue misty buildings in the background. Some great reflections.

I am planning to do another series of larger paintings, and I may choose this image to do in a 36 x 36. I don't know if I have conquered enough fear to go to a 48 x 48.....but soon I hope. The last one I attempted got wiped...and I can tell you, that is a lot of paint to wipe!

This scene is Yonge Street looking south with the Hudson's Bay store on the right.

T.G.I.F., University and King

8x10 oil on board

When I took this photo, there was some snow still left, with piles of snow on the streetcorners. It was very rainy as downtown workers head home on a Friday. This scene is at the corner of University and King.

Under the Gardiner,Toronto

30x48 oil on canvas

Toronto's Gardiner Expressway runs along the lake and divides the city of Toronto from Lake Ontario. Not a great idea, but when it was built no one was concerned about the industrial lands along Lake Ontario. Now of course, with condos along the water and much of the industry gone, everyone wants the Gardiner gone.

I liked the way the concrete pillars receded into the distance on this messy day. Without a lot of interest in the concrete highway of the foreground, I got out my palette knife to create texture and some interest.

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.