Riding my bike along Maissoneuve bike path and down Peel, I found my way out to st Helen's island where they have the amusement park. It was built, the island that is, for Expo 67 using the excavated earth from Decarie highway. Since the connector-path along the south seaway was finally open, I could keep riding to where the Champlain bridge is at, and over the ice control bridge back to Montreal. In this scene, my favorite on the day, you see a remnant structure of the old Champlain bridge, with the new Champlain bridge sweeping across the background.
Old Champlain bridge remnant, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026
On the center left is the Island Bridge, connecting st Helen to Notre dame islands, with a view of Montreal condos in the background. So I am standing over in Notre dame island near the race track, which is used for bikes this time of year.
Island Bridge city-scape, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026
The Villeneuve race track is used for car racing once a year, but people on fast, expensive bikes wearing spandex use it for the rest of the summer. I made this painting looking west, with part of the Island bridge visible at the top. I used just a few brush strokes for the cyclists, leaving some white spots open when I put the wash down for the track.
Fast bikes track, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026
The river that runs between ile Notre Dame and the south shore is called the Monks channel... it has chunks of rock all along its banks, with fast flowing water. When the sun shines, the water takes on a pleasant turquoise colour that I always enjoy.
Turquoise river, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026
This was a challenging scene to paint, it shows part of the Victoria bridge, and that's the Montreal shore on the other side of the st Lawrence river. I was standing under the bridge next to the bike path looking up, and cars were visible through the steel grating. It made quite a noise too, so I painted fast and moved on to the next spot.
Cars overhead, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2026
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