Pick a direction and paint

 

After finishing the day's task of submitting another manuscript, that's seven now with one accepted, I picked a direction and rode there to make some paintings. This scene is looking from the other side of the tracks at some people waiting to board the commuter train. The funny thing was that everyone was looking at their phone. Eventually two people were chatting and seemed to notice that I was painting the scene. 

Waiting for Boarding, watercolour 8 x 10" cold press, July 2024 (No. 3821b)

Just down the path a little, still behind the hospital, I saw these cool shadows on the hill and ramp that leads up to the overflow parking. During the pandemic that was set up to be a vaccination site. The first layer of this painting was pale pastel, the second layer was the darker shadow elements, each adjusted for hue and value. It was a Monet-like treatment of the artwork. 

Shadows on Path and Ramp, watercolour 8 x 10" cold press, July 2024 (No. 3822)

I've painted this scene often, this time I created an almost abstract composition that takes a second to figure out. The hill is a knife's edge ridge with a dirt path and steep banks on both sides. Wild flowers, pink, yellow and white were growing all over. In the background is that turn in highway 720 that goes into the downtown core of Montreal. The noise from the cars was echoing up the embankment, but as usual I had earplugs in.

Wild Flowers and Noisy Cars, watercolour 8 x 10" cold press, July 2024

This access road takes you from the upper part of NDG to the lower part of st Henri in one long steep downhill. You have to tap the brakes because there is a busy road at the end. Hopefully the painting gives you a plunging feeling of gravity! I lined up the angles with the brush handle and kept the angle on the road very low relative to the horizon line to give the illusion of looking down a hill. A small figure at the bottom gives a sense of scale, and the manhole cover (complete with yellow line painted on top) gives the foreground scale.

Looking down, watercolour 8 x 10" cold press, July 2024