What did you expect to see when you read the blog title? If you guessed three ducks in a lock then you were right. This is one of several boat locks along the canal that periodically rises and falls to let boaters across. Today there were three ducks swimming in the lock, maybe they were waiting for a ride or something I don't know. By the time I got into this painting the lock quickly lowered and the scene was reduced to a black cavern and I had to complete the water and ducks from memory. I made an artistic choice to omit the fence from the front of the lock, instead I just placed the fence base and some shadow to give a sense of a fence. I didn't want to overlap onto the ducks which were the focal point of the picture. To do this painting I made a fairly detailed outline with grey paint first, then filled in the details part by part. To get that neutral red colour of the bricks, I mixed pyrol red (PR254) with black (PBk6) and diluted with water. The rich yellow concrete was a mix of earth colours (PBr7, PY43) and a touch of orange (PO36). You can boost the chroma of earth colours by adding synthetic yellow or orange to simulate sun beaming down on the concrete or brick.
Three ducks in a lock, watercolour 8 x 10" cold press, September 2023 (No. 3631)
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