St. Michel Station, Orange Line Metro

 

At the East terminus of the blue line is St. Michel Station. It was about a 45 minute bike ride mostly along Bellechase which has a great bike path cutting across the entire Plateau. There was a lot of traffic on Boulevard St. Michel, it was noisy and smelled like car exhaust. I set up on the corner with a view of the east entrance, it was mostly backlit, but the sun caught the top of the metro sign and the brick building in the background.

St. Michel Station 1, Blue Line, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, November 2021 (No. 2778)

 

Wanting to get as far away from the boulevard as possible, I walked my bike to the far end of Park Sandro Pertini with a view of the west entrance to the station. Most of the painting shows the shadow-streaked park strewn with leaves which I painted with variations of light and dark chartreuse, red ochre and yellow ochre. The sun was catching the cars and distant buildings, with the station in shadow.

St. Michel Station 2, Blue line, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, November 2021 (No. 2779)

There were nice benches to sit on, one with a view of the side entrance. It was adorned with a half circle overhang and turquoise framing. Just to the left of the doors you can see the glass-brick wall. There was not very much direct light in this scene so I emphasized the top and right side of the structure. To create the shadow streaks on the concrete, I made sure the shadow was a cool neutral indigo, while the sun light parts were a warm neutral red.

St. Michel Station 3, Blue line, watercolour 8 x 10" cold press, November 2021 (No. 2917)

The other entrance on the west side hardly has a straight line in it. I copied the zig-zag pattern and filled the background in with the east side entrance with that bright red brick wall. Painting in shadows is tricky but I am getting better at judging the values. You have to paint a little darker than you think since it dries a few shades lighter.

St. Michel Station 4, Blue line, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, November 2021 (No. 2780)

I walked my bike back to the east entrance and sat in a bench with full sun. The sun was low and had an amber glow. This scene was a real 'artist's choice', I mean, a painting that only an artist could love! I liked the way the stacked glass brick wall reflected the sky, and how the edge of the bench played against the concrete post. The trees and cars were fun to paint too. After this painting I headed home and got there just before the sun went down.

St. Michel Station 5, Blue line, watercolour 4.5 x 7.5" cold press, November 2021 (No. 2781)