River Scenes around Québec City

For this painting I was standing up on the citadel embankments in Québec City looking down on the walking path and river in the background. A prominent tree tied together the composition. There were a lot of tourists around, one group even made a video of me doing the painting! On the left I depicted some of the old fashioned houses that line the street. I was impressed with how well kept up the old building were in Québec City, the facades, windows and roofs all looked like new even if they were hundreds of years old.

River Vista with Tree, watercolour 8 x 10" cold press, August 2023 (No. 3626)

 

Sailboats were out on the river, the people were enjoying the good weather and steady breeze. With a partly cloudy forecast, the lighting conditions were shifting from light to shadow periodically. This painting captures more of a light effect, with strong foreground elements to provide a sense of perspective.

Sailboats in River light, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2023 (No. 3531a)

 

This is the same scene looking out over the river but it depicts a more shadowed scene where the sails are lighter than the surrounding water. The water was a bluish-brown with orange highlights, and a few sparkles from the water ripples. I captured more of the background elements in this version, and made sure to make a nice sapphire-blue horizon line to signify the vast distances. 

Sailboats in River shadow, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August 2023 (No. 3531b)