"Foremost I try to evoke the experience of a place and what I find exciting as a source of inspiration. Many of my paintings feature the unique polarity between city and countryside, the contrast between the natural space of the landscape and the urban space defined by the architecture."

Saint Cirq de Soleil-2015

Gerald Stein

"I paint what inspires me and try to capture the experience for others to appreciate. Currently my motifs come from medieval French and quattrocento Italian scenes I have encountered while travelling. I was educated at MIT and UC Berkeley before emigrating to Canada. For many years, I was a partner in a successful Toronto architectural practice."
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A Distant View-2016

You are a successful career architect, painter, and writer... What similarities are there in your approach to your creative pursuits?
There is the initial excitement of sketching ideas and trying to express what I find interesting. But I explore this in different ways before committing to a particular approach. In painting this means trying different composition ideas as well as colour schemes in watercolour to gain confidence on the path chosen.

You have spoken about many of your paintings having as their subject: 'the architecture of cities'... Please explain.
Cities are shaped by imagination and collective memory. My experience of how architecture has shaped urban form and landscapes is the subject of many of my paintings.

Beyond the City Wall-2018

Overlooking Firenze-2016

"For me architecture begins with sketching ideas and then refining and developing them in a more precise way. So in a sense it's similar to how I approach painting."

Gerald Stein

Arezzo Passage-2017

You focus on Italian and French cities... Why do they particularly appeal to you?
My interest in Italian and French cities started with studying Renaissance art and architecture in university. Later when I was able to travel I became inspired to sketch and paint various scenes, initially to capture the experience and eventually to also express its beauty. To me there is an emotional response where the built form engages the landscape, climate and light of its place.

How has your architecture background been advantageous to your art?
For me architecture begins with sketching ideas and then refining and developing them in a more precise way. So in a sense it's similar to how I approach painting. Furthermore many of my paintings involve buildings in a cityscape so it helps for me to know how they were constructed.

​What sparked your interest in painting?
I was able to travel for work and vacations to interesting places and I would always bring a notebook and some sketching materials. Initially I was drawing with charcoal, pencil and ink and found it very enjoyable, but soon wanted to use colour as well. That led to pastels where I could quickly add colour without having to mix or use water. I found sketching captures a vitality, energizing the drawing and painting in pastel offered a wide range of expression.

Florentine Courtyard-2020

S Maria della Salute-2018

"There are still smaller towns in Tuscany and Umbria that I would like to explore and sketch."

Dorsoduro Shadows-2017

Urbino View-2016

How did you develop your skills?
I had taken a challenging free-hand drawing course at university that was more art-oriented as opposed to the more
technical drawings required for architectural studios. Afterwards I would occasionally take life-drawing classes to keep up my skills. Although largely self-taught in pastels I have taken pastel workshops with Margaret Evans, Wolf Kahn and Terri Ford among others.

​What thoughts and emotions do you want to evoke in viewers of your work?
Foremost I try to evoke the experience of a place and what I find exciting as a source of inspiration. Many of my paintings feature the unique polarity between city and countryside, the contrast between the natural space of the landscape and the urban space defined by the architecture.
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​​What are some of the main challenges you encounter when painting these cities and how do you overcome them?
Painting in larger cities can be daunting. I try to paint earlier in the morning when there are fewer people around and children are in school. If I'm sketching in a notebook I can usually find a bench or ledge to work from. Painting in smaller towns is much easier. I can set up an easel or spend longer working on sketches. People will approach and say a few words but I've never had any difficulties.
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Pools of Light in a Venetian Canal-2018

Saint Cirq Stroll-2015

"I feel mostly joy in working on something that I love. At the same time it's always challenging, constantly aware of how the painting is developing and knowing what to do next. I feel the painting may never be finished but if I have expressed what I have intended then it is time to stop."

"I am proud that my paintings have been well received by the public and fellow artists."

Share with us some insight into your process.
I have a few processes that I use. For plain-air pastels I apply the pastels directly on a sanded surface, usually a 9x12 inch surface. For plain-air sketching I use a 9x6 inch pad and apply watercolour over a pencil sketch. In both cases I'll try to do a complete composition without too much editing. When working in the studio I will use the on-site sketches plus photo references to make thumbnail sketches and larger watercolour studies to work out the composition, value studies and colour palette. These in turn form the basis of larger studio pastel paintings where I freely draw and paint with pastels building up the layers often using watercouler as an underpainting. I find there is an interplay between the underpainting, the absorption of pastel by the paper and the surface reflection of pastel that is fascinating.

What do you feel when you are painting?
I feel mostly joy in working on something that I love. At the same time it's always challenging, constantly aware of how the painting is developing and knowing what to do next. I feel the painting may never be finished but if I have expressed what I intended then it is time to stop.
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Sunrise on the Giudecca Canal-2020

City Shadows-2015

"Painting in smaller towns is much easier. I can set up an easel or spend longer working on sketches. People will approach and say a few words but I've never had any difficulties."

"To me there is an emotional response where the built form engages the landscape, climate and light of its place."

What can we look forward to from you in 2021?
Hopefully later in 2021 travel will become possible again. There are still smaller towns in Tuscany and Umbria that I would like to explore and sketch.

​What are you proudest of in regards to your painting career?
I am proud that my paintings have been well received by the public and fellow artists. It is reassuring that the thoughts and feeling I have put into paintings have been recognized.

Which Renaissance painters particularly inspire you and why?
There are many but certainly Raphael, Leonardo and Piero della Francesca stand out for their paintings, architectural ideas and innovations in perspective. There is a boldness in their sketches and paintings that has remained fresh to this day. In pastel I think the work of Degas and Monet showed the potential for the pastel medium to be inspiring. I have also found the work of less well-known nineteenth century French artists such as Leon Augustin L’Hermitte and Henri-Jean Guillaume Martin interesting and helpful in my development.


Website: www.geraldsteinfineart.com