Spring Sun on Spadina

24 x 24 oil on panel

This scene is definitely out of my comfort zone. Too many orange buildings, too much sun and a very busy composition. It started out as a painting for a client who wanted all of the Toronto iconic images: CN Tower, Streetcar, and a sunny day. I painted it about a year ago and didn't like it. It sat, with so many of my "disappointments" at the back of the studio on the floor. I decided to do a repaint. I am trying to work out a colour palette that works with a sunny scene. I approached it like a plein air painting, painting more freehand and loosely over the original painting. I'm still deciding if I like it or not.

Promise Of Spring

12 x 12 oil on panel

I'm not a great photographer, but I love to take photos. And its even better when I capture  scenes that tell a story. In this scene a young woman looks at the window display as she walks past The Hudson's Bay Store windows on Bay Street. The weather was cool and rainy, but the window displayed spring blossoms and warm weather...a promise of spring.

Shopping on Yonge, April Rain

16 x 20 oil on canvas

 I've mentioned before that Yonge Street is a challenge to paint because of the colour scheme, but I keep going back. I like this busy melange of signs, people, and traffic. Also, I must like the challenge.

This painting is a repaint of one that I wasn't happy with. Sometimes I wonder if there is any advantage of doing a repaint since it takes almost more work than starting fresh. Just a slight change in colour temperature requires that the whole scene be changed. I've been leaving transparent oxide red out of my palette. It seems to have too much of an effect on colour temperature and almost appears like "mud" if I'm not careful. I make my greys with a mix of alizarin, ultramarine blue, touch of ivory black, titanium white and cad yellow deep.

Toronto Spring

12 x 20 oil on panel

This scene is from the same neighborhood as the previous post. It is near College Street, south of the University. As I mentioned, there are interesting paint applications and lots of unique architecture in this area.

 

Spring Flowers, Toronto

8 x 8 oil on panel

I'm jumping ahead a bit, anticipating early spring flowers. I thought this scene would be easy to do, but the cascading flowers proved to be fairly difficult. Often, its about what to leave out, not what to put in. Too much detail takes away from the shape of the flowers as they hang down.

I love this area of Toronto south of the University. There are interesting old homes in various states of disrepair, brightly painted and often overgrown. Chestnut trees line some of the streets. I happened to be there last year in early spring with a soft light coming through the clouds. I believe this area is called Grange Park.

Heading Home, 510 Spadina Streetcar

12 x 12 oil on canvas

Young people head home on the 510 Spadina Streetcar on a rainy day. I'm always intrigued by the CN Tower and how it shows up randomly in so many photos.

Early Morning Light, Bronte Harbour

24 x 30 oil on panel

I haven't done the One Of A Kind Spring Show in awhile, so with a few spaces left, I decided to jump in. They always do a contest, and this year's theme is "Water". So of course I thought "Sailboats". I took this photo last year at Bronte Harbour in the early morning light. We own a small sailboat and so I often take pictures of marinas and harbours.I'm not sure if understanding all of the mechanics of a sailboat makes it easier or more difficult to paint. I spend a lot of time trying to get it "right". 

The dark hulled boat second to the left is called "Lady Jane".