In preparing a trip to Quebec’s Gaspé Peninsula a few years ago, a friend advised a very particular route to drive there. While he said that taking the clockwise route was the long way to reach the city of Gaspé, he explained that going the faster counterclockwise route meant all the beautiful vistas would be behind you, at your back, and they’d be missed. We took his advice and made the clockwise journey, and were rewarded with incredible views all the way along.

It makes me wonder though, how much beauty have I missed behind me, at my back? Have we all missed? Probably so much. It’s a challenge to be aware of your entire surroundings all the time, and we don’t often have a friend or guide to tell us the most beautiful routes for all our travels.

And with this next painting, “Downtown Lines, Toronto”, I almost missed another of these moments of beauty because I was moving in the wrong direction.

On a recent trip into Toronto, I was walking east along King Street, doing the typical eyes-forward, mad-dash, city-walking thing trying to rush back to where my car was parked. I was preoccupied with thoughts of getting stuck in city traffic and being late getting home, that only increased in intensity when I missed a crossing light and had to stand on corner of King and Simcoe awaiting the next “walk” light. As I was standing and quietly fuming, I felt a strange heat on the back of my neck. I turned to see the source and this vista opened up behind me.

The setting sun squeezed between the buildings had been the source of the heat and now it bathed my face in light. All I saw was a confluence of incredible lines! The glass skyscrapers with the CN Tower framed between them, almost looking like guardian pillars. The incredible geometric beauty of the Roy Thomson Hall, glowing in shades of blue thanks to the dusk light. The tangle of power lines connecting one side of the scene to the other. The dramatic angles of poles and trees, and a dash of red streetcar arriving just at the right moment. I audibly gasped. I quickly grabbed my phone and took a few photos.

The crossing light then turned green and I continued on my way to my car. However, no longer was I fussing about being late, but was now thinking about how I was going to paint this scene and how fortunate it was that I looked over my shoulder at that particular moment.

I wonder if the people standing on the opposite corner waiting for the light to change saw this breath-taking view too. Were they in-the-know about this incredible composition that awaits you if you walk west on King Street instead of east, like the Gaspé route?

I’ve written a lot about paintings I’ve made where I suddenly looked up or down or somewhere not in the ordinary – where I discovered the beauty by chance. And maybe that’s what makes these discoveries more precious, the element of surprise. Regardless of how they arrive, they are a wonderful gift!

5″ x 7″ ink and watercolour in a 16″-square mat; original painting can be purchased here.