Ride to st Helen's Island part 2

 On the island there were plenty of people and activities going on, for example there was a techno dance party not far from this location blasting loud techno music. I painted to the 'thump, thump, thump' of the music which may have inspired some intense contrasts such as the orange flowering tree against the blue wall of the booth, and the impression of the Cartier bridge soaring in the background. The sun was on the descent and casting longer and longer shadows from left to right. Painting shadows is always trick because you have to get it correct the first try, otherwise its messy to blot out the mistake or paint it over. Luckily everything went to plan in this painting. I could easily handle the water and railing effect after painting similar scenes up and down the Lachine canal over the past few years. Quite a few people stopped and look and commented on this one, one fellow took a moment, then looked at me and said 'good'. So I guess I did good!

Blue Booth and Cartier Bridge, watercolour 8 x 10" cold press, July 2023 (No. 3630)

Here is another view from the island, looking back towards Dieppe park in the middle of the river, and Montreal downtown in the background, the Cirque du Soleil tent is sketched in behind the tree near top right. Everything was backlit which created a grey silhouette of the city, and sparkling highlights in the fast flowing water. To paint the water I mostly used my trusty 2 inch hogs hair round, held sideways and dragged across the paper from left to right while gently rocking the bush up and down. It was a complicated maneuver that allowed me to paint textured squiggles and effectively capture the fast flowing water. I pioneered that technique when I rode down along the Seaway path last year and made a painting looking back on Heron Island. On last year's trip I forgot to bring my usual brushes and did the whole trip with the hog's hair round brush which lead to the discovery of how to paint fast flowing textured water. 

View of park Dieppe and City, watercolour 8 x 10" cold press, July 2023