On a warm and breezy day I rode across the canal to Park Angrignon and painted a few scenes. I wasn't the only one who had the idea to visit the park, there were plenty of people walking and having picnics, and quite a few Canada geese and seagulls. To make this painting I stood on the path and tried not to move much, just quickly sketching the outline of the birds in paint. Then I carefully filled in the green grass around the shapes, and daubed in some grey, brown and black details. One bird in the middle looks more like a goose-gull hybrid in the painting, but nobody seems to notice!
Geese and Gulls, watercolour 8 x 10" cold press, September 2023 (No. 3617a)
Metro Angrignon is a dense jumble of arches, walkways and the iconic orange rimmed plexiglass vaults. It can be confusing since this is the green line metro, not the orange line, but most locals know this anyways. I stood in the shade and painted the complex scene in front of me. There were a lot of subtle variations in grey and blue. The vaulted section was casting a brownish glow with arched shadows on the pillars and ground. It was no doubt what the architect intended. I first painted this
station in 2020, as the first installment of the metro series.
Metro Angrignon Arches, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, September 2023 (No. 3550a)
Here is another one of the geese, seen from far away and partly swimming in the pond. Unfortunately just when I started painting they all headed up the embankment so I tried to paint the swimming ones from memory. When painting animals you have to get the outline done as fast as possible before they move. Most artists would say, take a photo! But when I go out painting I do not bring my camera and most often not a smart phone either. Its more about paint, paper, brushes, and water. If I try an effect enough times, eventually I can good at it without taking shortcuts.
Geese in pond, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, September 2023 (No. 3550a)
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