Shortly after immigrating to Canada, Risan gravitated towards the visual culture of Toronto’s streets and began to adhere found objects and media clippings to impastoed canvases resembling brick, cement, or stucco structures. Between 2008 and 2009, his palette was altered by the stimuli of the city as he considered the variations in light and tonality of the seasons, particularly of winter, and depicted its exteriors with close attention to the interplays between natural and manmade elements.