Bus over canal and bridge chaos

I tried this scene before of the city bus on the bridge from the other angle but did not quite capture the effect I was after. This time, I composed the scene on the vertical format, and eliminated any kind of foreground to give a feeling of plunging into the canal. Just a thin layer of metal with concrete seems to hold up the city bus. Actually, I like the way the bus and bridge and canal are all melded together. It was a very difficult painting to pull off, it helped that I bought a new Holbien #4 the other day which gives sharp lines. This bridge connects Lasalle/Upper Lachine to Ville st Pierre.

Bus over canal cloudy day, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August  2024

 

Looking to the right, and there was a view of where the bridge meets the ground, and part of the small park in the foreground. A tree anchors the composition, and I put my initials in place of the graffiti that was there in real life. I stared at this scene for quite some time trying to figure out how to paint it, then I just figured, you got to paint it the way it is. With the new Holbein brush I outlined most of the key details with black paint, then went about filling it in piece by piece. For a small painting it packs a lot of visual interest and really conveys the chaos of the bridge at rush hour.

Bridge chaos, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August  2024