The Decarie expressway is a short bike ride from where we live. For this scene, I was standing on the St. Antoine overpass which has a very wide sidewalk and little traffic, on the right is Botrel. Of course, the Decarie traffic was roaring by below, but I had my earplugs firmly in place to mute the noise. Painting cars is hard enough, but when they are moving in the evening they are even harder!
Sunset on Decarie version 1, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, July 2022 (No. 3171a)
Here is a second try at the same scene, with more room for the underpass and less of the trees. I was mostly trying to figure out the best way to paint the cars. At night the red tail lights and white headlights really stand out, but they are impossible to paint. The surrounding elements have to be very dark to make the headlights appear to be illuminated.
Sunset on Decarie version 2, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, July 2022 (No. 3171b)
From the exact same spot I turned to face south and saw this incredible neapolitan ice cream sky! Using a big brush I just painted this scene without too much thought. It was all about that sky, the variations of green, the lilac St. Lawrence river, and the cream coloured St. Jacques Bridge.
View South to St. Jacques Bridge and River, Pink Sky watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, July 2022 (No. 3172)
It was finally dark and I found a place to set up close to the St. Jacques Bridge, which is fully illuminated at night. This scene was very intimidating but I went for it anyways. A buildup of the shapes and the darker areas allowed the bridge to appear to be lit up. The twisted underpass highways were a red-orange hue from the street lights. On the horizon, Montreal was an inky black against an indigo sky with small dots of yellow-orange light. The cars still need a little practice but they do the trick here and help tell the story.
St. Jacques bridge with Underpass at Night, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, July 2022 (No. 3173)
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