Canopy
Posted: April 19, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized 7 CommentsSt. Joseph’s Oratory is a Montreal landmark and you can see the silhouette of its green dome from every direction when you approach the city. It’s how we Montrealers orient ourselves. From where I sat today (on a bench of the campus at Vanier College) I could see it in the distance, perfectly framed by the canopy of trees. It was a little bit difficult to paint since I was staring into the sun, but I had to capture the early spring view because it will only be a matter of weeks before the trees fill in and obscure it.
I sighed when I saw this. It is an especially sweet composition for those of us who know the Oratory because it is so huge. But here it is nestled into an opening like a jewel in a special box. I really enjoy these vertical compositions. It really feels like I’m in the trees.
What a beautiful description Alison. Like jewel in a special box. It’s so true, we are used to a looming presence from the oratory but in the distance it is just a pale silhouette.
Gorgeous light and line.
Thanks Valerie!
You are a master with colour and composition, Shari!
You need to be careful, Shari… the standard that you are setting for yourself is dangerously high! People like me will start to expect this incredible quality every day. I love everything about this… the composition, the cemetery, the light, the colours, the detail… all great! This is definitely my personal favourite of all your paintings!
It looks more detailed than usual… was it larger and did you take longer with it?
Wow, that is quite a comment…
Good observation about the size. This is the first time I use both halves of the larger moleskine so the dimensions are about 5 inches wide by 16 inches high. It didn’t take any longer to do than usually (about an hour) because there’s not much detail in the upper part. I finished a few branches when I got home because I had to rush off to class. And because I was sitting outside on campus lots of people stopped to talk to me, which was a nice change from the car bubble.