Sundown on the River

After work I made a quick ride down to Lachine and made a few painting at sundown. This painting is looking in a westerly direction, the background trees are part of Lachine, and the foreground is the peninsula near the marina. To start the painting I applied some delicate peach washes with a dilute mix of benzi red-orange (PO36) and benzi orange (PO72). At that point it looked quite pale and bland but I knew that it would really pop out when the painting was finished. Next I overlapped some blue (PB60) mixed with a touch of the orange mixture, and luckily it all dried well enough. While still slightly moist I applied the distant trees so they would look a bit fuzzy. The progression of greens into the distance was made by adjusting the ratios of greens (PG36 and PG7) dark green (PBk31), yellow (PY154) and blue (PB60). It takes practice to get the colour and value transition right; as the trees go to the distance they are lighter and more blue, and today, the furthest tree line was a pale orange.
 

Peachy Reflections, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, July 2023 (No. 3493b)

 

For the second painting the sun was nearly down causing the trees to have a strip of orange glow on their tops, with darker greens in the shadow section. A prominent puddle from the recent rain reflected the tree trunks. I started with a slightly neutral yellow-orange blob at the top and blended it to a dark middle green. As it dried I applied additional texturing to simulate the leaves. The river was blue with a slight blend of orange to neutralize. To paint the sky, it was important to end up with a fuzzy, almost smooth appearance without and hard edges or backwashes in the clouds. Since the clouds were variations of grey, blue and orange, I had to change the paint on my brush several times while keeping the moisture levels constant. Those kind of techniques just have to be practiced over and over until its basic instinct. Bad phrasing, that was a infamous movie title.

Puddles in the Parking lot Near the River, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, July 2023 (No. 3494)