Saturday Paint Trip, Under the Bridges

On the south side of Nun's Island there is bicycle and pedestrian access to the ice control bridge, called an estacade in french. The path is has been renovated lately so it was like riding on silk, a rare experience in Montreal. In the painting I am standing under the bridge at its beginning, looking towards the west up St. Lawrence river. It was nice to cool off after a hot morning ride down from NDG.

Under the Estacade (ice control bridge) watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, May 2022 (No. 3112)

 

The other side of the ice control bridge connects to the south river canal. It is a narrow lane for ships, although seemingly not in use. The wall of the canal has a wide road on it that is open for cyclists. Under the new Champlain bridge I found some more shade and this great view of the bridge curvature and Montreal across the river. It was a daunting painting, the effects were so subtle that I had one chance to get it right, no fussing. It looks like a space-aged painting from another planet!

Under the New Champlain Bridge, watercolour 8 x 10" Strathmore aquarius ii, May 2022 (No. 3017)

 

In this ambitious design I included three and a half bridges. From back to front are the Cartier bridge,  Victoria bridge, new Champlain bridge and a segment of the old Champlain bridge. If the painting extended a little bit on either side you would see nothing more of the old bridge, they are systematically dismantling it leaving just some remnants of the foundations. Oh, and you can just make out the EXPO67 dome if you look carefully

Three and a Half Bridges, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, May 2022 (No. 3111b)

 

By now I was feeling the heat, a full summer's day in the middle of May? To give you a feel of what the path is like, this painting shows the row of dry looking scrub trees, a wide gravel path, and the monolithic Champlain bridge looming in the background. This path goes in either direction for many kilometers but I decided to get home instead before it rained. It never rained, but my legs sure were tired, so maybe in the future I can ride a bit further on this path and make more cool paintings of bridges.

South river canal path, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, May 2022 (No. 3108b)