Saturday painting trip, five bridges and other scenes

 From the vantage point of the south canal you can see five bridges crossing the St. Lawrence, well, four and half actually. In the front is the old green Champlain bridge that they are tearing down span by span, and just behind it is the new Champlain bridge with its suspension wires and tall pillars. Looking into the distance you see the Victoria bridge with its dark brown spans, and seen just underneath it is the small Concorde bridge with its turquoise paint. Of course the furthest bridge is the Cartier bridge. In the foreground you see some of the construction equipment tucked behind the shrubs, and the bike path that goes along the south canal. The idea of painting many bridges in one scene is not new, Hokusai did a famous print called Seven Bridges where he cleverly hid seven bridges in a landscape.

Five Bridges, watercolour 8 x 10" Strathmore aquarius ii, May 2022 (No. 3016)

 

This scene shows a train bridge that merges onto the Victoria bridge, as seen from the south canal bike path. It was getting pretty hot and humid by now, the sky was an eerie blue grey. Despite the rust this bridge looked functional although no trains went by. When painting these industrial scenes it is good to keep the brush work and colours very solid and a little scruffy looking. Under the bridge in the background is the main part of Victoria bridge.

Two Bridges, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, May 2022 (No. 3116)

 

Soon I found myself on Ile Notre Dame which is connected to Ile St. Helen. It is part of Parc Jean Drapeau where the car racing track is located. In the summer when it is not used for car racing the local cyclists make good use of it as you can see in the painting. I made sure to sketch out the cyclists early on so that the colours of their lycra could really pop out. In the distance you can see downtown Montreal and even Mont Royal.

Cyclists Around the Bend, watercolour 8 x 10" Strathmore aquarius ii, May 2022 (No. 3017)

On the way back I stopped for some shade, water and little snack in a long narrow park called Sir George-Étienne Cartier Square. I have ridden through this park many times because it connect Ville St. Henri to the canal bike path which you can see a bit in the middle ground. In the background are more factory-turned-condos and the iconic rusty turquoise water silo. To paint the tulip bed with the interesting wood sculpture I used a series of small interlocking brush strokes. When painting flowers and foliage it is best to use light and airy brush strokes to convey the delicate subject matter. In contrast, the industrial elements are done with rough and more direct brush strokes.

Tulip Bed Cartier Square, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, May 2022 (No. 3117)