Impressions of a Smoky Day, part 1

Heading out today for a walk instead of a ride due to the world's worst air quality, I was not expecting to make so many paintings. It was a new challenge to paint everyday urban scenes through a thick fog and strong amber light filtering through from the sun. Blue was neutralized and greens took on an eerie glow due to mixing of coloured sunlight. Capturing the effect of smoke involved subtle adjustments to the chroma and value scaling of the tree line and field of grass. In the grass, the first thing I painted on the walk, you can see my strategy...greyish blue on the distance, dark yellow grey in the mid ground and higher chroma green in the foreground. Of course I included the famous table in the trees.

Hazy Day in a Field, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, June 2023 (No. 3479a)

You can probably guess which burger joint this is, I'll give you a hint, it starts with an A and ends with a W. In the background there is the funny green-glass building, and the two big apartments on Sherbrooke on the horizon. The main reason I wanted to do this scene was to use the benzi orange (PO36) that I recently added back to my palette, it was used obviously for the awning and trim on the restaurant.

Burger Joint Orange, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, June 2023 (No. 3480a)

 

The sky had an orange tint that faded to greyish blue in places. Overlapping the trees and providing some colour in the foreground helped to complete the illusion of depth. This scene is at the new walking path that goes from NDG to the new hospital area, following along the base of the escarpment. What I have been calling the escarpment is actually the embankment of a lake that was once here. 

Highway Smoky Day, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, June 2023 (No. 3479b)