Island Bridge Island Bridge

 With some fantastic albeit cool weather today I was able to do a good long bike ride. This scene is in Ville St. Henri at a popular restaurant appropriately named the Green Restaurant after its striking blue-green roof. I must have arrived in the midst of some chaos, there were a lot of people milling about and an ambulance parked nearby. To make the green roof I used phthalo green blue shade (PG7) with a touch of phthalo blue red sapphire (PB15). The ambulance was dark yellow, and the spire in the background was perylene green (PBk31) with some red brown (PR101/PBr7).

Green Restaurant, Ville St. Henri, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, April  2022 (No. 3099)

 

Continuing east and then veering south I made my way to the old port, and found this typical scene of a busy patio cafe with the old port in the background. The main interest was the landscape, so the people were done in a very fast and representative style. In the distance you can see part of the Jacques Cartier bridge. The dome is the Bonsecour Market. I used the new Strathmore paper for the second time, it continues to amaze me, the paper held up quite well.

 Cafe Time, Old Port watercolour 8 x 10" strathmore aquarius II, April  2022 (No. 3015)

 

I managed to find a great spot to set up adjacent to the Cartier bridge, looking south across the river. To get the complex curves and angles correct I held the brush up to the scene and then transferred the angle to the paper. Holding you brush up to a scene really makes me look like an artist. The only audience here was a steady flow of traffic going past, although I omitted the cars from the painting.

 Jacques Cartier Bridge Close-up, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, April  2022 (No. 3095b)

 

High atop the bridge I stopped at the little viewing nook and made a quick painting. The bridge closest is connecting Ile St. Helen to the port, it is called Concorde Bridge. The bridge in the distance is Victoria bridge that crosses from the Montreal island to the south shore. To capture the scale of it all, my palette, hands, brush, and painting were included in the foreground. I omitted the safety fence which is about 3 meters high, so it looks like I am floating over the river! To get the distinctive colour of the St. Lawrence River I used combinations of phthalo blue, greenish umber (PBr7), indo blue (PB60), and perylene green (PBk31). 

View West from Jacques Cartier Bridge, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, April  2022 (No. 3100)

 

I stopped for a little snack and some cold instant coffee in Parc Jean Drapeau, St. Helen's Island. The bridge in the scene connects to Notre Dame island which has the casino, and the racetrack where I painted the bikes under an overpass a few weeks ago. The PJD was actually there, so I did not have to put my initials on it this time! By now I was pretty tired so I headed back over Concorde Bridge to the port and made my way along the canal path and back home, completing a giant circle from island to bridge to island to bridge, and back to island.

PJD at PJD with Tree, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, April  2022 (No. 3098b)