Perry Island Beginning of Fall

I couldn't resist riding east to visit Perry Island, a tiny lump of land with trees and a rocky shore. Here I am looking back across the river with a mighty oak tree sprawling across the sky. Unfortunately, the tree is in a lot of distress, many branches were bare and dead, probably a beetle or worm got to it. There were small trees throughout the island, probably planted by some citizens by the look of it. To adjust the foliage towards fall colours, I mixed green-yellow (PG36+PY154) with orange yellow (PY110), or I painted the green directly on the paper and dabbed in the orange yellow. It's that time of year when the leaves start to change colour. I even saw some flashes of red leaves on the bike ride.

Perry Island, Prairie River, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, September 2023 (No. 3561a)

Riding back, this scene on Perry Island caught my attention. The tall trees were cool colours on the bottom but light and warm colours at the top. I started by painting the outlines in yellow at the top and blue at the bottom, then filled in the trees and background as the painting dried. It was so cool and humid that the paint never really dried, but it gave a glowing effect to this forest scene. Van Gogh used to paint the tree trunks in all manner of colours like green, red, purple, white, he was obviously using the trees as a colour motif.

Perry Island,  Trees Light and Shadow version 2, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, September 2023 (No. 3560b)

This was the first version I did of the scene. I painted the entire background first, then attempted to paint the trees over top. Unfortunately I misjudged the drying rate and the layers collapsed giving a dark muddy appearance. In version 2 I took a different approach, that is to paint the trees first, then fill in the background. Being a location painter who paints all seasons means technical adjustments. The  main adjustments are the palette selection, and adapting the technique to air temperature and humidity. 

Perry Island,  Trees Light and Shadow version 1, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, September 2023 (No. 3561b)