There was a brief respite from the rain today so I rode down to Lachine to get more good views of the river, then it promptly rained as I arrived. Luckily it was just light rain for ten or fifteen minutes, which is what counts as a 'rain storm' these days with the arid conditions. I stood under a big tree and painted the rainy river scene using a mix of dark blue (PB60), dark magenta (PV55), and raw sienna (PBr7). A few streaks of dilute blue sapphire (PB15) was added to the sky, and a pale orange wash added to the water to signify the clearing sky on the right.
Rain on river, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, August 2025
A few moments later and the sun was on the river creating an illuminated glow on the tree line across the river, which belongs to the seaway on the left, and the south shore in the background on the right. It was a rather simple painting, so I embellished the colours in the water with impressionist-style brush strokes. Overall, it created a nice sparkle effect and conveys the dramatic difference with the gloomy first painting.
Sun on river, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, August 2025
Seaweed washes up on the shore here, when fresh its a bright green-yellow, then it turns brown the longer it stays in the sun. Kind of like Kermit the frog getting a sun tan. To compose the beach scene I used a strong triangle on the bottom, and only showed water in the upper portion of the painting without a horizon line. This makes the viewer look down and examine the rocks and weeds. Closer to the shore the waves get a caramel tone from the river bed.
Weedy beach, watercolour 6 x 7.5" hot press, August 2025
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