London, Ontario, Rainbow Fall Reflections

I spent 10 years doing 'hard time' in London Ontario-I was not in jail but attending University from 1994-2004. The fall colours in London were captured in this watercolour, done in the woods surrounding the University campus on the banks of a tributary of the Thames River runs. I walked past the scene several times and almost did not attempt to paint it....this scene was as intimidating as the Notre Dame cathedral painting.

This was a challenging painting. The lighting is bad in the woods because the sun does not come down, so the colours need to applied a shade brighter than you think. The blended colours in the water are done all at the same time to prevent hard edges, and after it dries lines are over-layed to give the illusion of ripples. The reflection of the log at the top was 'lifted'-meaning that you use a clean brush to remove paint, leaving a the desired shape. Without direct sunlight the paint dries very slowly, so the artist needs to be patient. 

London Rainbow Fall Reflections, watercolour 5 x 8" cold press 2004 (No. 0685)