Saturday Painting, Pick a Direction

Today's plan was to pick a direction and go. I had Parc de Dieppe in mind, it is a small peninsula park in the St. Lawrence near old Montreal. Unfortunately I took a wrong turn and ended up at this factory near Verdun on a bike path that goes nowhere. It was at least worth doing a painting.

Factory near Verdun, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, May 2022 (No. 3121a)
 

 

One way to get to old port is to take this path to Nun's island and then find the Champlain ice control bridge, but that would have been a round about way and I went their the last two weekends. Instead I made this quick painting of the curving path and other urban elements.

Bike Route to Nun's Island, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, May 2022 (No. 3122a)

 

This scene is from one of the locks on the Lachine Canal. A small waterfall flows under the bridge where the bike path turns. The green painted bridge in the background is bridge Charlevoix. In the fall this would be a great location because it is surrounded by tall trees.

Locks and Waterfall, Lachine Canal, watercolour 8 x 10" Fabriano Artistico, May 2022 (No. 3023a)

 Along the Canal you still see a few of the old structures that are no longer in use. This was a swiveling train bridge but has long since fell into disrepair. In the background is a new highway overpass but it did not seem to be open yet. As I painted, a commuter VIA train went by and I tried to squeeze it in towards the right middle.

Old and New Bridges, Lachine Canal, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, May 2022 (No. 3123a)

 

Finally I made it to Parc Dieppe, and found this view of the Cirque du Soliel tent. I could hear music and people going OHH and AHH from across the river. On the way back I went through old Montreal and there were throngs of people exiting the tent and heading home. We have tickets to go see them later in the summer.

Cirque tent across River, from Parc de Dieppe, watercolour 8 x 10" Fabriano Artistico, May 2022 (No. 3023b)

 

At the very tip of the park you can get right down to water level. There were a lot of people fishing down there, I just set up my bike-studio at an open spot and made this painting, they didn't bother me at all. In the background is Parc La Ronde the amusement park. I tried to capture the different currents in the river, but missed on some highlights. Definitely worth practicing some more.

View of Cartier Bridge, from Parc de Dieppe, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, May 2022 (No. 3124a)