Plein Air, Green Rover

8x10 oil on canvas panel

Another attempt at plein air painting. This scene was very close to home. I walk by it almost every day when walking my dog Bailey and always remark to myself that it would make a great painting with the touches of red roses and the copper beech tree. Of course the green Rover (1950's?) stole the show. I wanted to get the car right, and so I did a bit or preliminary drawing on the car. I still think I have the nose too short, but I'm sure I will be corrected by the car buffs in the family.

I found myself reaching for the knife more often than I normally do, to get the golden colors to sit on top of the darker background.

Although I prefer moody rainy subjects, I can't plan the weather. I am enjoying a bit of change in the colour palette.

I have a pochade box that has been altered to hold 8x10 and 4x6 and  sits on a camera tripod. I don't normally use a styrofoam tray for a palette, but I forget one and grabbed this at the last moment.

Green Garden Door, Dundas

8x10 oil on board

I have been wanting to get outside and do some plein air work. It is a nice break from doing larger studio paintings and hopefully can help incorporate more spontaneity in brushwork and the overall energy in a painting. Signing up for shows on a regular basis leaves little time for plein air work, but I feel it is important...and it is fun.

I need to get over my shyness which has always been a problem with getting outside, especially in a town or urban scenario.

My first attempt in a long while was done in my town of Dundas. my focus was the ivy covered brick wall with the green garden door. The afternoon light was crisp and cool, which required warmer shadows. I forget my thinner, so it was a learning experience trying to keep my color mixes clean and reserving brushes for either darks or lights.

Late Afternoon Light, King and University

8x8 oil on canvas

Thanks to all the wonderful people who came to my booth during the TOAE in Toronto. It is the communication and feedback that makes shows like this worthwhile and one of the reasons I like to get out and do these venues.

I have been focusing on learning and painting grays, mostly painting rainy muted scenes. I want to add more varieties of light conditions and a few more colours to my palette while incorporating what I have learned about grays.

In late afternoon, as the sun moves behind buildings, the light bounces around,reflected off of the highrise glass. This study is from University and King Streets in Toronto.

Morning Light in Liberty Village

16x20 oil on board

Early morning light illuminates a Toronto Streetcar on King Street West in Liberty Village. The light in this image was very subtle, with no strong colour contrasts. The colour of the light effects all objects in an image and for this reason, I find that a limited palette works best to try to keep the harmony in the painting.  For this picture, I used primarliy Ultramarine blue, terra rosa, transparent oxide red, cadmium red, cad yellow, yellow ochre, titanium white.

Thanks to Ben Roffelsen 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.

TIFF Bell Lightbox in Blue

18x18 oil on panel

When I find out that I have been accepted into a show, its as if everything else in my life goes on hold and my total focus goes toward preparation for the show. It doesn't matter how many paintings I may have in the studio, there are always some that I want to get done. I recently received notice that I am accepted into the Toronto Outdoor Art Show at Nathen Phillips Square in downtown Toronto. This is a great show, and I feel honoured to be a part of it this year.

This painting features King Street with The Bell  Lightbox Building on the left.

Thanks again to Ben Roffelsen for the photo reference. 

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.

Crossing the Bathurst Street Bridge

8x8 oil on canvas

Doing small studies is a big help in deciding what images will work out on a larger scale, but it is no guarantee. Sometimes the smaller images are more spontaneous and looser with more focus on the abstract qualities.Of course, as I always say, there is no way to find out how an image will look larger unless you paint it larger.

I really like the abstract quality of this image. It has  strong verticals and a nice balance of darks and lights. So, guess I'll get the large canvas ready.

Sometimes I want to stop learning and just start painting. Maybe that never happens.

This scene is from the Bathurst Bridge at Front Street.

City Lights on Wellington Street, Toronto

24x24 oil on canvas

This is the same scene as the previous post, but on a larger scale. I used the same color palette as the small study. At this stage, I need to leave it around for a bit and see if it is done. Sometimes its good to leave it before I start adding more details.

Thanks to Ben Roffelsen for the photo reference for this painting.

Night Study

8x8 Oil on board

In this study I used a combination of cobalt blue, transparent oxide red, cad red, yellow ochre and white. I usually use ultramarin blue as a combination color for darks, but I liked the colors resulting from this mix.

Night Rain in Blues

8 x 10 oil on board

I still want to do some night scenes on a smaller scale, experimenting with different night time color palettes before I attempt a larger one. For this scene, I used ultramarine blue, ivory black., cadmium red, yellow ochre, and white. 

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.

City Lights, Yonge Street, Toronto

8 x 10 oil on board

Doing small paintings or studies is an important way to keep work fresh and more spontaneous and is also a great way to examine an image for compostion or colour schemes for larger paintings. I have gotten away from doing them, and I think it shows in my work. And more importantly, they are a lot more fun to do.

With this scene, I was interested in the abstract quality of the shapes and lights rather than a detailed representation. I used the Zorn Palette (black, red, yellow ochre, white but then went in and added the green lights.)
This scene is Yonge Street looking toward Dundas Square on a rainy evening. 

Late Night on Yonge Street

36 x 48 oil on canvas

I've been experimenting painting larger sizes these days and I'm still not sure how much I like it. I definitely like the impact of a larger painting but the downside is that mistakes are huge, they are more expensive to paint, and they take way more room and more time. Unfortaunately, the only way to find out what we like to do is by doing it.

This is another night scene from Yonge Street in Toronto.

Thanks again to John Tavares for the photo reference.

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.

Caught in the Rain

16 x 20 oil on canvas

I take several reference photos and often I find what I like to call "collateral images". Tucked away in the corner of photos are lots of images that I didn't have my view finder set on. Thanks to digital imagery, we can blow up these images and create new ones.

I need LOTS of practice painting people, so I thought I would paint a few of these found images. I have a long way to go in painting people, but I think I was able to capture the irritation felt by this young woman after being caught in the rain.

Not Just Noodles, Yonge Street, Toronto

17x20 oil on board

My previous post was about winter's last hurrah. I guess I was wrong. This morning I walked the dog in minus 2 celcius, battling high winds and a snow squall. An April fool's joke from Mother Nature.

I love the name of this restaurant on Yonge Street. In this image, there is lots of slushy snow about, and the reflectionsfrom the yellow sign are mirrored in the wet areas of the street. A Beck taxi and a garbage truck are out and about. I used mostly black, red, yellow ochre, with touches of viridian and cadmium yellow.

Thank you John Tavares for the use of this photo reference.

Winters Last Hurrah

16 x 20 oil on canvas

This is pretty much the weather we have been having for the last week. Snowy, windy, messy, and cold. I know spring is here...I saw a turkey vulture and a robin today. Turkey vultures don't make their way up here until it is warm. I think this guy is a little early.

This scene is at the corner of University and Queen street showing the typical cab colors and the iconic toronto streetcar.

Spring Rain, Dundas and Spadina, Toronto

14 x 18 oil on canvas

Spring is just around the corner, but with the snow and cold weather we've been having, it doesn't seem possible. This scene is from last year, when we actually had green leaves and a nice soft rain.

This scene is at Spadina and Dundas Streets.

Nocturne reworked

I knew that I couldn't leave the picture alone. The waste bin front centre really bothered me, not because I have anything against a waste bin, but the large round shape didn't work with the compostion. I replaced it with some newspaper boxes and a bike that I like somewhat better...still not sure. I also darkened the buildings in the background. The temperature was wrong in the original and it didn't recede into the background. 
I think its time to get away from it and see what I think later.
Night scenes are a lot more difficult that I thought. The background is worked completely differently with so many darks. There is no receding into the distance with a nice mix of greys and things are blurred even more.