With the cold and damp weather it was a challenge to paint today, I actually did four simultaneous paintings standing on the same spot. The spot was a giant open concrete platform, about an acre, where the Circus sets up their tents in the summer. Looking back towards the city, I got a good view of the skyline. The iconic dome of the Bonsecours market is off to the right, while a row of orange-yellow trees adorn the foreground. The sun was just about down, which created a peachy glow through the colouds. Step one was to do the background, then I let it sit on the ground drying while I worked on the other ones. Step two was to drop in the details, and use lifting techniques to pull the highlights on the dome and metal roof of the market. Despite the challenging conditions, I quickly adapted and used the moist surface to my advantage.
Montreal Skyline late Fall, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, November 2023 (No. 3538b)
I applied a warm peachy background, let dry as I worked on another painting, then applied the blue and dark purple of the sky, leaving the tower as peach. Then I let dry again, and painted over the bridge, which thankfully held this time around. It was my second try of this scene, the first time the bridge just melted into the background! The rest of the painting was dabbed on with earthy orange, green and brown. It was bitterly cold out here but I held up okay, and the paint only froze over slightly. The last painting was of the ferris wheel, but it was too moist and the image disintegrated. I will try it again if I get the chance and the conditions are better. When painting in the winter there is a limit on what you can do on location. I like these two painting a lot, they really capture the mood and have a vibrant style to them. You can see I forgot to initial this one, I was pretty happy to be done and back on my bike, but I will go initial it before I forget.
Clock Tower and Bridge v2, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, November 2023 (No. 3526b)
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