In the old City there are many restaurants open in the high season. This one was bustling with activity in the late evening when I made the painting under a lamp with strong white light ( I did not have my head lamp with me this time). It took up to an hour to complete this one due to all the detail, and a few conference goers recognized me and we chatted awhile. When doing paintings like these you have to envision the finished product and be patient as the illusion completes. The blank white paper makes it look add, but once the areas fill in, the light highlights, which are just the paper showing, create the impression of artificial light. Most the light came from four large floodlights on the facade, while the restaurant itself had dozens of smaller lights.
Cafe Restaurant at Night, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2023 (No. 3530a)
Done obviously during the day, this painting shows a public square with fountains where kids were playing. It was a daunting painting to tackle, but I was sitting under the only shade that I could find in the area and it seemed a rather nice cool place to stay awhile. Every now and then some cool mist would waft over from the fountains. The painting really needed to be on a bigger piece of paper to catch all the details, and the building all look a little tilted, but I enjoy the memory and you can get the sense of kids playing in a fountain on a hot day in Québec City. There are still about half a dozen paintings left to post, it was more productive than I thought, both scientifically and artistically.
Public Square with Fountains, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2023 (No. 3530b)
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