Sitting in the stands, there were plenty of weeds growing, they were waiting to watch a game! These stands, next to the community soccer pitches have not been used or maintained, which is another after effect of the waning COVID lock down. There is a wide variety of greens here, from muted chartreuse in the background, neutral olive greens in the middle ground, and intense yellow and green versions of chartreuse in the foreground.
To make this painting, I was sitting on the bench looking sideways. There are several ways to set yourself up for painting on location. Some artists have elaborate setups with chairs, easels, umbrellas, containers etc. which provides a whole studio experience on location. For most of my time I painted with a small camping chair and the water containers on the ground. In 2020 I did the metro series using my bike saddle pack to hold the water and gear and standing to do the painting. Finally, I developed the shoulder bag which I could use while walking and paint with everything but my two feet off the ground. To make these methods work you have to hold the palette and the paper with your left (non-dominant) hand which does limit the size of paper, I find up to 8 x 10" is manageable depending on wind. The choice all depends on convenience and comfort, versus flexibility. In the end flexibility wins for me, if you can paint with a bike and standing up, the number of subjects and angles increases tremendously.
Overgrown Bleachers watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, June 2021 (No. 2744)
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