Wetlands

A few weeks ago we were taking a walk in the Technoparc Oiseaux in Montreal. The late November end-of-day colours were so striking that it made me gasp. It took me a few weeks to get around to painting it, but I had to see if I could capture the contrast between the warm and the cool tones in the scene. I went back this week and now the wetlands are a solid block of ice, so I’m happy we got to see this before it froze. Painted on a sheet of Arches Rough paper, 22″ x 16″.

Familiar corner

One of the things I love best about urban sketching is getting to tell the stories of the people or places I sketch. There’s not much of that happening these days, and I miss it. But today I have a story from my own neighbourhood. I have sketched the west side of the Pioneer Bar building in Pointe-Claire Village many, many times. You can see it on the right side of the sketches here and here and here. And there are probably many more sketches of it in my archives.

My story today is that when I arrived to sketch at my usual spot, the Pioneer was gone. It’s been scheduled for demolition for years, but there was an ongoing controversy because heritage groups for the city of Pointe-Claire were against the construction of condos and commercial properties being built in its place, and fought (and lost) to prevent its demolition. I have to admit the building was a bit of an eyesore, which you will see when you click on the link to the newspaper article, but I will miss the yellow stucco side wall, the big propane tanks and black metal fire escapes that provided me with so much opportunity for brush calligraphy. Au revoir Le Pionnier!

Bottles on grey

On my sketchbook shelf I just found a book I’ve never tried. It’s a Stillman & Birn Nova Series Trio — one third grey paper, one third black paper and one third tan paper — in a square 8″ x 8″ format. It’s a great book for practicing gouache, so I started sketching in it today and my aim is to fill it up completely. I’m not usually very consistent with my sketchbooks. I tend to draw in many at once, unless I’m travelling and only bring along one or two. But I think this paper is perfect for gouache, so I’m going to make an effort to go through it from front to back and use it both indoors and out. I’ll let you know if I’m successful.

Early winter

In December the snow comes and goes, and it’s usually not until January that we have a solid base that lasts until the spring. Last week we were out on a walk in my favourite wooded area near the house. In the early morning the sun was low and the shadows long. I snapped a quick photo and painted it later in the day from home. The snow is gone now, the woods are back to shades of brown, but I am patient. It will be back soon. Painted on a pad of Arches CP paper, using lots of Burnt Sienna, Alizarin Crimson, and my favourite blues for snow: Ultramarine, Cobalt and Cerulean.

Pears two ways

Pears two ways sounds a bit like a dessert you might order in a fancy restaurant. But mine aren’t poached or served in a pie. These were purchased at the store yesterday, set up in my studio today, and painted both in watercolour and in gouache. I was even thinking of trying them in coloured pencil or transparent inks, but I ran out of time.

Low tide, high winds

In July, when I spent a wonderful week in Charlevoix, I sketched the beach at La Malbaie at low tide, on a crazy windy day. It’s not easy to sketch when you’re trying to hang on to your hat and keep your easel from tipping over! But I managed to get it done, AND we filmed the process. I’ve finally gotten around to posting the video on my YouTube channel, and there are more demos from that trip that I’ll post in next little while. Here’s the link.

St. Laurent near Pine

It’s so rare these days that I go into downtown Montreal, but I had an appointment in town this morning so I built in extra time for sketching. As exciting as it was to be downtown to sketch, I couldn’t help but feel saddened as I strolled down lower Blvd. St. Laurent. This is normally a bustling area full of shops, bars and restaurants, but today it was a patchwork of boarded-up stores and restaurants gone bust due to the pandemic. I’ve been sheltered from it during these past nine months because I live in the suburbs, but today I got a glimpse into what I’m sure is happening in many cities. This is not the December we are used to. No twinkling lights, no glittery window displays, and definitely no strolling shoppers weighted down with gift bags. It was a shockingly sad sight.

White orchids for a grey day

I painted these white orchids for my aunt Marilyn who died yesterday in New York of Covid-19. We can’t get across the border to be with her family during this time because of the current restrictions, but I’m thinking about her today. She was a teacher, a mother, a grandmother, a great-grandmother, and she taught me how to bake the best chocolate chip cookies. She will be missed.

Étang aux hérons

I’m so appreciative when friends tell me about a location where they think I might find subjects to paint. Last Saturday, before our snowfall, we took Alice on a scouting mission to find Technoparc Oiseaux.

This wetland and forest area is wedged between the airport and an industrial park. It’s divided into different sections, each one with its own maps and trails (only one allows dog walking), and is apparently the #1 birding site on the island of Montreal. The trails are a bit hard to find since this is an area maintained by volunteers and not part of an municipal or provincial parkland, but once you find the place, the views are worth the search. We only explored one section — mostly because I had a hard time keeping the Labrador Retriever out of the water — but I can tell I will find lots to paint in all seasons in these wetlands, so thank you my friends, for pointing me in the right direction.

Window view

I’m a little disappointed. I thought today would be the day that I had a dog, a cat, AND a prancing reindeer all in my sketch. How often does that happen? But the cat walked off before I could sketch it. If you look closely you can see an pencil mark where I started to draw its ear in the bottom right of the sketch. After lots of practice, I can manage to draw a dog without much reference, but the silhouettes of moving cats are still a mystery to me. As for the prancing reindeer, it’s on my neighbour’s front steps, just behind the dog walker.