"Saint Sulpice, Montreal" pastel & ink 18 x 12

Back in March, we had a whirlwind weekend in Montreal to listen to our daughter speak at a linguistics conference at McGill University.  The city is lovely, and sparkling, and accessible, and we stayed at the beautiful hotel Le Saint Sulpice under the shadow of Notre Dame Cathedral, courtesy of a friend. The narrow cobbled streets are filled with beautiful buildings, each with interesting moldings, details, doors, windows... sumptuous.  Here is a view of the street where we stayed.  You can see it in progress in this post.  

"Cross Street - Clarendon" watercolor & ink 9 x 12

 

 A few weeks ago, I was painting in Boston with a friend. We parked ourselves at the intersection of Newbury and Clarendon.  It was  a gorgeous, sunny day at the end of April, and the streets were packed.  I love drawing the city, adding pedestrians who catch my eye.  The result shows sidewalks more busy than they actually were in any given moment, but you can feel the motion, the busyness; in this case with faces turned toward the sun after a long, not necessarily harsh, but certainly gray, winter.  

You can see my sketches and the beginning of color into the painting in a former blog post (link here).  Usually, I do the drawing outside, and sometimes begin adding color, but more often, I add the color from my head.  I remember the angle of the sun, and add the colors and value that work in the scene. I'm happy with the outcome, and looking forward to my next urban painting day.  

Meanwhile, you can see this painting, and two others of mine, on Memorial Day Weekend at the North River Arts Festival in Marshfield, MA.  The juried art and sculpture show is fantastic each year, and this year will be no exception.  I coordinate the jury day, so get a preview of the accepted work.  Hoping to see you on the street, Sat or Sun.  Come say "Hi".  I'll be painting outside both days, 10 - 5pm.