March Sun, Late Afternoon on Adelaide Street

24 x 24 oil on panel

The sun after a snow storm can be brilliant, the moisture having cleared the particles from the air. This street is Adelaide at Spadina with the sun sinking in the late afternoon sun.

Heading Back to work, Bay Street

12 x 12 oil on panel

I had a feeling this one would be tough with the opposing colours on either side of the street. The road, middle sidewalk, and right sidewalk were all different colours. I was tempted to add some cooler blue temperature to the pillars on the left, but I didn't want to change their colour too much. I let my" artist" side dominate decisions that should have been made by my "design" side. We can't help it. sometimes we "need" to add that light standard even though we know it messes with the design of a painting.

As Mike Svob says in his book, "Let your artist/design side boss your artist/drawing side around. In other words, try to make decisions that work for the picture/painting. 

I think parts of the painting work really well, others may need some adjusting.

A "suit" heads back to work on Bay Street in the financial district of Toronto.

 

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.

Holiday Shoppers on Yonge

24 x 24 oil on canvas

Its a little early for this theme, but I wanted to try a picture for the One Of A Kind Show competition called "Christmas across Canada" I thought there is nothing more Canadian that trudging through the slush and snow to finish that last minute shopping before the holidays. 

This was not an easy picture to do. The subtleties of colour were difficult to maintain and its important to keep in mind that snow reflects all of the colours around it.

I'm still thinking about this one...I will need to look at it for awhile and see if I am happy with it. 
Thanks to John Tavares for the photo reference.

Rainy Day Shopping on Spadina

24x24 oil on canvas

I've painted this scene a couple of times, but I wanted to visit it again, trying to capture the misty rainy feeling of the day. It should be a "fun" scene to paint with so much going on, but this also makes it difficult to bring the two sides (bright signage, misty background) together. It was more about leaving out details and looking at what made the image interesting.

This painting will be available at the Toronto Outdoor Art Show, Nathan phillips Square, July 5, 6, 7.

Snowy Day Shopping at The Bay, Toronto

18 x 24 oil on board

Generally I don't like scenes that have too many colors. This scene had a variety of colors that I thought would be difficult to work with and still create some harmony in the painting. I did a value study using a mix of transparent oxide red and ultramarine blue in a loose wash and let it dry overnight. I then did the final painting using transparent oxide red, ultramarine blue, cadmium red, yellow ochre, titanium white. 

Sometimes I like the value study and am tempted to leave it as a finished painting.

This scene is of the Hudson's Bay store in downtown Toronto on a snowy day. The lovely white snow that had covered everything had been cleared and piled onto sidewalks and streets leaving reflections and a salty mushy mix to walk in.

Bay Street Drizzle

8x10 oil on board

I have been focused on creating harmony in my paintings and so have been experimenting with limited palettes. The buildings on bay street in Toronto in this early evening commute seemed to be variations of violets and blues. I chose a mix of ultramarine blue and terra rosa (a color I rarely use but really enjoyed in this picture) for the main color scheme and added yellow ochre and cadmium red for highlights. (as well as ivory black and titanium white that I almost  always use.)

This painting is a study for a larger painting. Hopefully I can do the larger one maintaining the looseness. On larger paintings I tend to tighten up which is really annoying.

Spadina Street Rain

24x24 oil on canvas

I wanted to redo the 12x12 study of this scene that I had previously done. I am still leaving the black tube of paint in the drawer, staying with the palette in the previous posting. This scene is on Spadina Street in Toronto's Chinatown.