Boisé Steinberg with Track

Boisé Steinberg is a forest out in the middle of a packed industrial and urban area in the borough of Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. The good news is that the city of Montreal and Quebec reached a deal with Hydro Quebec to preserve 40% of the area, and conservationists are hopeful that the rest of it can be preserved. The locals spoke out and protested years ago because this is the only remaining forest in the borough and paving it over would be an irreversible mistake. To reach the forest, I rode up from Notre Dame street along the gravel path next to the disused train track. Having a hybrid bike with Teflon-enforced tires helped a lot because it was a rough ride with a lot of sharp rocks. I've painted this scene before, but got a little lost in all the greens. This time I pulled out a highlight in the middle, since it was partly cloudy most of the scene was in shadow but a crack of light came through onto the tracks momentarily. The rest of the scene is done with neutral chartreuse created with healthy doses of orange-yellow (PY110), green (PG36), yellow (PY154) and dark green (PBk31). Varying those four pigments will give you the full range of greens. The tracks of course are done with red ochre (PR101) a rust pigment, and carbon black (PBk6). I quite like this painting, and hope to be able to return to this location for years to come and paint the forest.

Boisé Steinberg with Track, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, July 2024 (No. 3809)