Considering the gloomy forecast for the next week I took the opportunity today to make a painting down at the peninsula park near Lachine. I was hoping to catch the trees blooming but it was probably a week too early for that. Signs of spring included leaf buds, greenish grass, and some cyclists on the path. To paint the river I used pure indo blue (PB60) which looks bright violet-blue, but after it dries it looks more of a grey-blue especially on the rough press paper I was using. Certain papers absorb the paint more than other papers, which causes an extra dull (low intensity) finish after the paint dries. Being able to understand and predict the drying shifts of watercolour paint is an advanced skill. Both the colour intensity, and the hue can change. That means the colour you see while painting is not exactly what you get. Handprint.com by MacEvoy had extensive data on drying shifts which helped me understand the concept, then I practiced it a lot to be able to predict what the finished product would look like after drying. The funny thing is that I tried many variations of colour mixtures to capture the right colour of the st Lawrence river on a sunny day, and in the end it was just indo blue (PB60). Indo blue is the colour of brand new blue jeans, better known as navy blue.
Signs of Spring with Mercier Bridge, watercolour 8 x 10" rough press, April 2023 (No. 3596)
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