Technically part of Verdun, Nun's Island is a collection of roads, condos and bike paths built upon what used to be a farm long ago. I wasn't sure what to expect today, the weather was about 5 Celsius with a bitter wind, and the sky was true blue with a bright sun. I used two different phthalo blue paints- the yellow shade (PB15:3) for the horizon and the red shade (PB15:0) for the top. The St. Lawrence River was done with indo blue (PB50) and tints of phthalo green yellow shade (PG36) and magenta (PV55). These colour combinations have been useful this year, and I am learning how to control the phthalo paints a bit better, they are strong and quickly stain the paper. Applying the sumac buds was a lot of fun, it was perylene maroon (PR175) with tints of benzi orange (PO36) and ferrari red (PR254). Part of the reason I am writing all this down is so I can remember. Oh yeah, I tried a new combo for the trees on the horizon, it was raw sienna (PBr7) with phthalo blue red shade, and tints of isoindo yellow (PY110). It gave the perfect neutral green that reflects the last part of autumn.
Trees and Sumac, Nun's Island, 4 x 6" cold press, watercolour, October 31st 2020
Having rode my bike all the way down to Nun's Island I opened my folder and found only one piece of paper! Oops. Luckily I had put another folder with two larger pieces in my bike pack, so I used half of one sheet to do this painting. There were these incredible fronds of grass with near white wispy tops, like wheat, you can just make them out where the water meets the grass at the bottom of the painting.I planned to have them ore prominent, but the green paint was bleeding and spoiled some of the effect. In fact, nothing was drying fast partly because I was sitting in the shade. You can see the tree trunks bled into the background water. Despite the technical difficulties this painting really does capture the moment, and the colours on Nun's Island.
Trees and Wispy Grass, Nun's Island, 6 x 8.5" cold press, watercolour, October 31st 2020
Finally I found a location where I could look down the shore line with the sun behind me. It was a small peninsula park called Maynard-Ferguson. There were quite a few people there enjoying the sun, so I kept my mask on as I painted, not to mention gloves because the wind was a little too much for bare hands. This painting was a battle, my brush kept dropping due to gloves and wind, and the paper was blowing up and down a bit. I love the colour of the distant horizon, the water, and how the directional brush strokes move the composition along neatly. There were several more locations on Nun's Island I would like to visit in the future.
Shore Line, Nun's Island, 8 x 10" cold press, watercolour, October 31st 2020
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