In the news

After a cool and rainy start to spring here in Montréal, we had several spells of much warmer weather from late May into June. Too warm, in fact, as we’ve already broken several heat records. On June 1 “a 131 year old temperature record fell, with a high of 34.8C (95F), surpassing the 1892 record”. Then our traditional mid-summer humidity kicked in, earlier than usual, triggering several heat waves with RealFeel or Humidex temperatures above 38C (100F).

Although I could do without the humidity kicking up the heat, this warmer weather has meant that I’ve been able to get back to my favourite form of watercolour painting; en plein-air, or outdoors, off the back of my bicycle. 

There’s a tangible sense of artistic freedom in setting off from home on two wheels, under my own power, with all the art supplies I’ll need packed into my saddlebags.

As a bonus, my trail-ready bike allows me access to secluded natural areas where the only sounds are birdsong and rushing water. I particularly enjoy riding the older and almost abandoned trails within local waterfront nature parks and reserves, so my plein-air paintings are often scenes of the creeks, lakes, and streams in the Montréal Island area.

Painting en plein air isn’t something that I can do in cooler weather, because my right hand and arm are affected by CRPS rare disease – which makes this limb extremely sensitive to cold temperatures – so it’s something that I’ve been looking forward to since early last autumn. Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is also responsible for my ‘mild cognitive impairment’, and for the severe and constant chronic pain in my right hand and arm.

That’s why my motto is Art Despite Pain, because I’m painting in spite of this nasty rare condition and the multiple autoimmune and neuro-inflammatory issues that it causes – and because I’m using watercolour painting as a form of movement-therapy for my affected limb, combined with aerobic or cardio exercise as part of my pain-management plan. And one of the reasons for which I began learning to paint a few years ago was research showing that art skills-learning could be used as a form of brain-plasticity training, that might help prevent further cognitive decline over time.

Painting off the back of my bike isn’t only fun, it’s a way to combine different aspects of my disease-management plan and to share the beauty of our natural world.