Winter in Montreal : Sketching from the Car

[By Marc Taro Holmes in Montreal, Quebec, Canada]

  [Random street view in Westmount, watercolor, approx 12×16″, about 45 mins]

Went out painting the other day with Shari. We practiced our Great White North version of plein air painting – sketching from the car.

It’s not the ideal circumstance by any means 🙂 A little cramped for space. I had a small bottle of water in the gearshift drink holder, and my clipped on palette-and-board combo leaning on the passenger side dash. It was worse for Shari behind the steering wheel. You have to alternate the heat from blowing on your feet to clearing the window. And your views are chosen for you, depending on where you can find snowplowed parking space.

But, this is what you do in winter to get a chance for good conversation and urban sketching. Have to keep the brush in play, even in the grey months.

There are beautiful days when it’s blue sky and the snow looks crisp and clean. But a lot of the time, the dominant colors in Montreal are warm grey. Overcast sky, wet sandstone, leafless trees and greeny-black pines. Lucky for me, I love these colors!

[Westmount City Hall, watercolor, approx 12×16″]