You inquired as to my working methods...
Would that the universe would provide us with the perfectly paintable scene,
just sitting there, with every variable in place..
Perhaps one or twice during my forty years an artist
have the heavens deposited such perfection at my doorstep..
but for the most part, I rely on my Beaux Arts training,
where with sketchbook in hand and idea in mind
we scoured our urban landscape in search of greener pastures
and that magically elusive PERFECT COMPOSITION
but in truth, combining elements, a figure from here,
a tree from there, a cloud from yonder, a shadow from somewhere
colors of the heart, exuberance from the soul,
personal reference material via old photos gathered to be sure
but none to replace the 15 years spent, sketchbooks in hand
as day by day I led my grade 10 and 11 art classes
along the dusty sidewalks of Plateau Montreal
sketching firsthand the beauty and historicity of my city
The sights, smells and sounds of the city...
often absent in the sterile eye of the camera....
ever present in the fond heart of the composer.
