Atwater Market at Night

 

On the way back from visiting Cilei in Verdun I rode through the famous Atwater Market as the sun went down. This painting shows the foot bridge crossing the Lachine Canal with down town Montreal in the background. The blue sky was just visible on the horizon behind a cloudy, overcast sky. The bridge had lights along it, and there was a strong amber street lamp behind me. By the time I finished this painting it was nearly dark, you could see the lights turning on in the apartment building windows.

Atwater Market Bridge at Dusk, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2021 (No. 2800)

 

When I painted Pizza Welat at night last year I discovered the combination of indothrene blue (PB60) and pyrol orange (PO73) which creates the most incredible lilacs and mauves. By varying the proportions you can create all manner of dusk and twilight sky colours. In this painting I used the combo to create the glow of sunset, which faded into a deep grape-juice colour the higher into the sky. To get the inky blue I added a touch of perylene maroon (PR179). The rest of the painting was a mixture of transparent iron oxide (PR101) an incredible earth colour I recently picked up by Schmincke, it is capable of making complex mixes without the mud of the raw umber I had been using. The illuminated window with interior lighting was something I pulled off earlier this year if you look in the background of the second painting of the Cote St. Cathrine metro blog.

Atwater Market Clock Tower at Twilight, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2021 (No. 2801)

 

 This scene really had it all, a fantastic sky, dark almost black trees, an intense blue awning from the market, some artificially lit market booths, and that eerie under-lit facade of the main building. I had a good LED streetlamp to stand under which allowed me to judge the colours and values. There are hundreds of hanging lamps around Atwater, you see a few of them to the right. I didn't think I could paint them effectively but it worked. Maybe I can go back some time and try to paint here again.

Atwater Market at Nightfall, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2021 (No. 2802)

 

Across the street is a little park sitting area right beside the highway with these trees that look like the cyprus treest from Van Gogh's paintings of southern France. I almost rode past this scene, but then I thought, if he was still alive he would paint this scene! It was the hardest of the evening as the light was poor, and there wasn't much form to work with. It turned out okay after all, the eerie glow and dramatic texturing is evident.

Trees Under Lamp, near Atwater Market, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2021 (No. 2803)