Sunset with firetruck

As the sun descended below the shopping mall, a firetruck came around and parked right in the middle of the scene, as if posing. It was in silhouette but still illuminated from the blood red sunset. To paint sunset with firetruck I had to work fast because neither would be around for very long, and a photo would never work in these circumstances. Not that I ever work from photo, just to say that a watercolour kit on location was the only way to capture this scene for posterity. When painting a blood red sunset there are two choices. One is to do it like Monet in his famous Impressions of a Sunrise where the whole sky is a middle grey value, and the sun painted with his best red-orange in a lighter value. The other option is to amp up the chroma with pigments like pyrol orange (PO73) and orange (PO62) and show the sun darker than its surroundings. Here, I include a kind of corona around the sun which was not actually there, but it gives the illusion of staring at something that you shouldn't be staring at. In the original painting the sunset is a shimmering red-orange while the computer scan turns it into more of a tomato red but you get the idea. To paint the firetruck I established a loose outline to get the perspective right, and left as much white highlight area to work with as possible. From there I worked up the colours with perylene maroon (PR179), yellowish greys (PY43 + PBk6), and the greenish windshield (PG7). Completing the effect is the earth-toned asphalt, and a dark shadow under the truck. It was kind of exciting, as I walked home holding the painting as it dried, taking a look at it, there is a lot of drama here. Not bad for a dull looking parking lot somewhere in Montreal. 

Sunset with firetruck, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, July 2024