Sunday, June 18, 2023

Bike Ride (almost) to Ile st Helen

 

Nun's Island is connected to the south canal (st Lawrence Seaway) by an ice flow control bridge with a wide bike and pedestrian path. Through the trees I got a view of the bridge arching across to Brossard on the south shore. I omitted several supporting struts to give the bridge the appearance of floating off into the distance. To make the various greys I primarily use mixes of blue (PB60), red (PR175) and yellow (PY43) or greenish-brown (PBr7).

Champlain Bridge to Brossard, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, June 2023 (No. 3474b)

 

Looking along the banks of the Seaway path on the right, I could see what seems to be the Victoria bridge and the Jacques Cartier bridge behind it. The brown blob in the top left is the Molson Brewery, which is set to close up and move to the south shore soon.

View of Victoria and Cartier Bridges, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, June 2023 (No. 3473b)

This is one of the supports for the train bridge which merges with the Victoria bridge, which was casting a green shadow into the flowing water. The water has two layers, and I left little white spots to signify the bubbles floating by. To make the greenish shadow, more of a dark yellow, I mixed perylene green (PBk31) with indo yellow (PY110). It was painted on a sheet from a new 10 x 7" Fabriano block, the same make and brand as the 5 x 7 blocks I have been using for several years now. The bike path was blocked off here, so I had to turn back. It was due to the big car race. I could hear the cars buzzing loudly around the nearby track, good thing I brought earplugs. 

Reflection under the Train Bridge, watercolour 7 x 10" cold press, June 2023 (No. 3618)

On the way back, the last remaining piece of the old Champlain bridge caught my eye. It appears that they are preparing this area to be a pedestrian area, like they did under the new Champlain bridge. I hope they do keep it intact, it is a colossal structure and sure to be a tourist magnet. Orange pylons provide scale. I spent a lot of time adjusting the grey of the concrete to get the exact hue and value.

Old Champlain Bridge Monument? watercolour 8 x 10" rough press, June 2023 (No. 3620)

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