04/12/2026
Brian Harvey Street Scene Oil Demonstration
Gary started the evening with a couple of announcements. Next week is Round Robin and we still need one more participant. Also, our membership fees will be due by the end of the month, but we will be postponing the deadline for one more week in May 😎.
I want to thank Toni Lynas for taking incredible notes for me while I’ve been on vacation.
Notes from Oil Demonstration by Brian Harvey - April 9, 2026:
Our demonstrator this Thursday was Brian Harvey. He is from Toronto, studied at The Art Centre at Central Technical School, Toronto School of Art, and received a BFA from OCAD in 2016. He has been painting with oils for a couple of decades now. He has featured solo exhibitions in both Ottawa and Toronto. To learn more about Brian Harvey you can visit his website at: https://www.brianharvey.ca/
Brian started by saying that he was glad to be back and that his last demo for us was sometime prior to COVID. He does teach art at Toronto School of Art near Bathurst and Queen.
Brian then displays his desktop reference photo to us of a store at a street corner, with the focal point being a red brick building. Brian told us that he mostly takes reference photos using his Iphone and that his photos are mostly of common city scapes that are often overlooked. When selecting his photo, he is also drawn to the light and shadows and the composition and shapes. Brian said that he often sketches out the composition of his painting before he begins, but today he was starting on a blank masonite canvas-board 10 x 11 inches that had been primed with medium grey coloured gesso.
Some of the colours used today were: Titanium white; Hansa yellow; yellow ochre; alizarin crimson; ultramarine blue; thaelo turquoise; thaelo green; (apologies as I was unable to capture and list all of the colours used).
The paints Brian uses are K**a oil paints, made in Montreal (https://www.kamapigment.com). His paint brushes are Rosemary brushes from Rosemary & Co (https://Rosemaryandco.com) and he is mainly using a number 8, 6, 4, and rigor brush tonight. Brian was also using a solvent free fluid by Gamblin.
Brian started with a four-portioned grid on his desk top reference to get an idea where to begin with his painting. He then painted the grid on his canvas board and positioned the corner of the building on the vertical middle line of the grid. At this point, Brian said he was thinking of value and big forms and how the shapes interlock. He started by roughing in the lines of the building and big landmarks such as the road. He blocked in big general shapes and dark values using burnt umber. He said he often uses burnt umber for the under painting because it dries quicker and it's cheaper. He blocked in the building with a thin coat of burnt umber. Next, he added the street / road using a blue grey colour to the lower half of the board. He said that if you are using solvent, you don't want to use too much or your painting will be too slick. However, he does prefer his painting to dry slowly because he likes to paint wet on wet. He now painted a blue sky. Brian responded to a question and said that he mostly paints from his studio. He sometimes paints from plein air when time permits. He does like to get out when he can and he likes learning from real life. Brian now blockedvin a darker brown for the windows and doors to the building. He then removed some paint using a rag at the front and side of the building. Brian commented that he likes that he can wipe out oil paints -- he finds it freeing to sculpt the painting to what he wants.
He has wiped / erased the two long lines at the front of the road to create the vertical crosswalk lines. He then added a darker colour for the traffic pole, windows and shadows on the side of the building. The sidewalk and curb were created by wiping away the paint. He was thinking about the darker shapes and adding more paint. He sometimes paints right over something he has just painted, as he did for the traffic pole. He said that he would address it later and that he was currently trying to get the composition correct. He added an off-white colour to the sidewalk at the front of the building and then a bright orange to the building entrance. Next he painted a very dark value to the base of the land to the left of the building, which appears to be trees/ or background.
Brian then begun to add details to the road by adding some white highlights. He replied to a member's question and said he doesn't really paint with knives too much. Sometimes he uses knives at the end of a painting to add thick painting details, but he mostly likes to paint using brushes.
Brian now added some pale blue highlights/reflection on the glass windows, and red to the side of the building. A member asked how long do his paintings take to dry and Brian said that he uses a retouch spray varnish after he has left his paintings to dry for approximately two weeks.
Next, Brian addedva dark value to the overhang edge of the entrance canopy/roofline. Followed by a bright yellow block for the traffic light. He made the yellow paint thicker to do this and it is basically applied using one / two strokes wet on wet.
Brian told us that the photo is taken at Leslie and Dundas, and it's a variety store that he doesn't think is open anymore. He felt that the building would soon be gone and replaced with something more modern and he likes to capture the old nostalgic city architecture before it's gone. He now added some white at the top front of the store entrance and highlights under the eves of the store overhanging roof. He then repainted the traffic light pole. He also added some details to the yellow traffic signal light. Brian commented ,”You should give some thought to how you layout your paints. “ He likes to organize his palette by laying out his paints from lights to dark.
After break time Brian cleaned up some of his mixed paints on his palette. He hasn't really continued to paint during the break as he was mostly speaking with our members and answering questions.
He began by adding some more blue to the sky. Then he added a bright red to the side of the building and by doing so, he has captured the highlights / sunlight, which also shows up the shadow in a much deeper hue. He added some more blue to the door and window at the entrance. Next he painted the base of the bricks to the front entrance in a bright orange colour. Then he added v a shade to the street curb. He then shaded the top of the building roof line. Brian added a highlight under the side window. He has painted overtop the traffic pole again, but then correctedcthe pole by adding some darker paint. He then deepened the colour at the top most part of the roof. Next Brian added shading to the entrance door and window, and also to the frames of the window.
Brian stopped to answer a question regarding his paint brushes. He said that he gets his brushes from RosemaryandCo.uk and that the same brushes are also sold at Articulations Art Supply in the Junction. He said that the prices are reasonable and he finds them to be cheaper than alot of other brushes. You can also find the brushes at Jackson's Art Supplies online from the UK. He told us that he mostly paints on birchwood panels and that he buys his panels from Day and Night Woodworking located at 1024 Dupont Street in Toronto (dayandnightwoodworking.com). His oil paints are purchased from K**a Paints in Montreal.
Brian mixed some white paint for the crosswalk and added the two horizontal lines. He comments that the paint is not really dry enough yet, and that he will adjust the lines a little later. He says what he mostly learned from plein air painting is that you sometimes have to try to do wet on wet because your time is limited. He said that when he is painting wet on wet, he picks-up the underlying paint colour on his brush, and has to remember to turn his brush around or wipe off the brush.
The big white horizontal crosswalk lines have now been blocked in, and Brian added shading to the crosswalk lines. Next Brian addressed the background trees and street, and said that he wanted to leave that area vague. He started by smudging the area, and then added grey to the trees and structures in the background.
In response to a member's question, Brian said,” The most difficult aspect to learn for oil painting is the wet on wet technique. There is no easy way to teach it and that a painter needs to do a lot of painting to learn the technique.” He also suggested using different brushes to get the feel of the technique.
Brian responded to a further question regarding the wood panels he paints on and said that his birchwood panels are cradled birch boards and they do not warp. He said if your board doesn't have a backing, it may cause warping and that a cradled backing may help. Brian also told us that he paints on canvas but not often. When he does paint on canvas, he prefers to stretch the canvas over his wood panel. He says that he first gives the wood a coat of GAC 100 as a primer to seal the board, but it's not totally necessary.
Next Brian added highlights in the background trees / street view. He then painted bright red to the side window frame at the top of the window and lower side window. He added some more white highlights on the traffic pole. Next, he adds white to block in the street name signs.
Brian then responded to a question and suggested Alkyd oil by Winsor Newton to help speed up the drying process. He said that he mostly uses a "white" coloured Alkyd oil because white is often mixed into a lot of colours. There is also an Alkyd Walnut oil from M. Graham that works well.
Our session was ending and Brian comments that his painting is a little more unresolved that he liked but to us it looks wonderful.
He then touches up the white crosswalk lines in one long smooth straight stroke.
Brian responded to a question and said that the most popular painting subjects he has sold are of autumn scenes, particularly with puddles -- for some reason people like puddles, and also back street alleys. Brian said he revisits his neighbourhood often to get references and create his paintings.
This oil demonstration with Brian Harvey was very relaxed and informative with the members asking lots of questions, and in return Brian kindly sharing his tips and techniques with us.
Brian created a warm and stunning street front painting, but I can't help feeling that the greatest message Brian said,”Beauty exists all around us, right in our own backyards, and you don't have to go far to find it. Take a second look at what you might have passed by as mundane or taken for granted on a daily basis -- there is art there.
Thank you Brian for sharing your techniques and tips with us. It was such a pleasure to have you as a demonstrator.
