Winter Sundown on the St. Lawrence

This scene is of the St. Lawrence with Kahnawake on the opposite shore. The sky was a powerful grey with peach pastels coming through. The white snow contrasted nicely against the shimmering, almost metallic colours of the river. A few bergs were drifting silently, traveling from right to left. There was a large tree tilting over on a diagonal, I painted it a few time before, but decided to leave it out when I saw how beautiful this painting was just with the river and snow. To complete the story, I just added a few brushstrokes on the left of the scene to suggest a tree, and to anchor the composition. 

St. Lawrence River, a Few Bergs, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, December 2021 (No. 2954b)

 

As the sun descended the sky became a salmon-grey blend, with hints of blue. The water created a sumptuous reflection. A few chunks of snowy-white ice floated past. Just one sapling cut the horizontal, barely touching the sky. To capture the neutral pastels I relied on yellow ochre (PY43), with blends of iso blue (PB60) and burnt ochre (PR102). Some pyrol orange (PO73) and benzi yellow (PY154) provided some high chroma punch. A pair of mallard ducks floated by on the current, I wondered where they were headed to.

St. Lawrence River, Snowy Sundown (with a pair of ducks) watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, December 2021 (No. 2956)