#30×30 2026: Day One : The Warmup Sketches

So: this is a confession that’s not exactly a secret by now if you’re a regular reader.

I start early every year – this year it was 7th of May because; A: anxiety. and B: I want to have enough bandwidth to be up on VIVIFY commenting :)

It was still cold, the trees were completely bare, and really, I had no business going out on the street. I froze my fingers off! But, I feel truly unprepared this year (because I am!!!!!) and I couldn’t hold back any longer.

This is Maison Smith; up on top of Mount Royal. Which of course I’ve painted before. (I wonder if there’s anything historic in Montreal I haven’t sketched :) And it’s under restoration AGAIN – so this time there were white plastic sheets all around the building.

It’s a good thing I went out too, because this was the first set of sketches that I actually kept – believe me there were half a dozen absolute fails before this one. So bad they ended up in the trash.

It’s my favorite thing; when I’m having a bad day – to tear up a painting right on the spot and let the pieces fly from the top of the mountain.

(No, not really. I put them in the recycle).

May 08: At the Gare Central.

Please don’t feel anything in particular about this starting early thing – I still don’t take more than thirty days, and it’s not like I’m trying to beat you by doing thirty before you :) The number is purely arbitrary. It really doesn’t matter if you make thirty. Some of you will make a hundred! Some years I’ve ‘won’ the marathon in two weeks (which is only cheating yourself actually, as you get less painting time if you sprint), and some years, I barely painted fifteen total, and called it done. [ The year I foolishly did it in oil :) ]

Of course you know, even if you only make one painting – that’s one you might not otherwise have made, so it’s a win right?

So yes! I’ve been doing Urban Sketching! Back to my roots!

In order to feel confident painting, I have to do this kind of thing. Go back to square one and just work until I feel the familiarity in my fingers.

Château Ramezay: The old homestead of the Mayor of Montreal – still standing directly across from our city hall. Also painted on a blustery leafless day.

09 May: Pretty crazy how much a difference three days can make. The trees are exploding and so are my allergies :) This is the coffee kiosk in Carré Saint-Louis, a lovely park just north of Rue Sherbooke on St. Denis.

11 May – Finally some good light to paint!

12 May – More wandering in the Plateau – Again, I’m exaggerating the trees, but I often do that to isolate the house that I’m interested in. I really like some of the fun brushwork in this one.

22 May: So you do all this warm-up, prep work – getting out, doing your scales, and then, WHAT? This was the best I could do that day. A few others were complete duds.

It’s humbling, doing watercolor :)

At least this one is something you could honestly call direct! Here is the freedom I’m striving for – now I just have to pair it with decent drawing and instinctive grasp of color and value :)