Being a four season painter can mean braving the cold, wind and rain in search of the perfect landscape. Naturally then, I walked out to the Decarie expressway which is known for its great views. Okay I am being a little sarcastic but most people know the Decarie by driving through it, which is just walls of concrete, including a concrete road and plenty of underpasses. The underpass depicted here is near Duquette street, it is not a bridge overpass but a type of landscaped overpass connected to the Our Lady Grace property. That explains the forest apparently floating over the 6 lanes of chaos underneath! I am standing behind a 6 meter steel fence and guard rail, most of which I omitted except for some smudges at the bottom right .
Decarie Underpass Rainy Day 5 x 7" cold press, watercolour, March 2021 (No. 2584a)
I followed a walking path along the Decarie Blvd (the upper section) until reaching a vantage point with view of overpasses, the new bridge on St. Jacques, and the St. Lawrence river in the distance. The first overpass you see is Chemin de la Côte-Saint-Antoine. There is actually a community compost/garden area in between me and this view which I omitted for clarity. When faced with overwhelming amounts of detail its a good idea to omit things, and to use a big brush. I did the whole painting with my biggest brush. It was also a physical gruel, the wind and light rain was whipping up from the river straight into my face. I managed to hold a piece of cardboard over the painting to keep the rain off it. In the end you would hardly know it was rainy from the painting. it seems to sparkle with light.
Decarie Overpass River View 5 x 7" cold press, watercolour, March 2021 (No.2585)
Desperately seeking out some colour, I stopped at NDG park which was devoid of people. I stood next to a large tree to get a bit of protection from the elements. The strap on my shoulder bag started to tear away from all the whipping wind which made things tricky. In the painting you see the two giant pots in the foreground one chartreuse (PY175 + PG36), the other a vermillion hue (PR254, PR179, PV19), in fact there were about dozen of these each about 1 meter tall or so I guess they plant them in the spring. The main building of the park was recently redone, as were the interlocking bricks so it was all very shiny. It occurred to me as I wandered about NDG that there was not a whole lot out there for pedestrians, like if one had to find shelter from rain or go to the bathroom say, there aren't many options. At least I found some colourful things to paint here, I'd like to return when the leaves are out and see what they do with the pots.
NDG park pots 5 x 7" cold press, watercolour, March 2021 (No. 2586a)
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