Plateau Evening Scenes

On my way to pick up the vegetables, our new pickup point is in the Plateau neighborhood, I stopped to make a few paintings. This scene is looking north on the narrow Rivard street with the sun below the horizon. The cars and buildings were catching the last highlights from a pale orange sunset. A prominent flowering bush occupied the left of the composition, while the central and right portions were cars and classic Plateau architecture. 

 Sundown on Rivard Street, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, June 2022 (No. 3129)

 

As the sun was down, the lighting started to change at the front of the Dépanneur. The neon red Ouvert and ATM signs were casing reflected red light on the overhand and support beam. In the interior an yello-orange glow illuminated the contents of the shop. A car in the foreground reflected the elements off its roof. It took longer than usual to work up this painting, and midway a strong flood light came on in the shop which obscured the subtle light and shadow effect but I was able to finish. This time of day is very difficult to paint because everything is so subtle.

Dépanneur Lily, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, June 2022 (No. 3130)

By the time I was riding home the sky had turned to indigo and the artificial lights were becoming more prominent. This was a daunting scene, I stared at it for quite some time before giving it a go. The main focal point was the sign in the upper right and its effect on the brick facade. I lost count of how many light sources were in the painting, at least seven or eight it seemed. As with the last painting, it took a longer than usual time to complete this one, when painting night paintings it is important to cover the whole surface excepting the light points to create the illusion of luminosity. The whitest white is no more than the paper showing through, so you have to conjure up the light, contrast, and reflected colours to complete the effects. It was busy that night, Mont Royal street was pedestrian only.

Restaurant Fameux, watercolour 8 x 10" Fabriano Artistico, June 2022