Lac du Coeur, various conditions

North of Montreal there are many small mountains and fresh water lakes created by glaciers tens of thousands of years ago. Giant boulders lie in the midst of a flat forest as if dropped from the sky. This scene shows Lac du Coeur, a typical lake that can be found in Quebec or Ontario. The weather finally improved and I got to do this painting on a nice evening before sunset. Studying the hillsides I came to appreciate the variations on yellow, chartreuse and green... each tree had its own colour and texture. This painting was all about the subtleties, such as the pale yellow and purple clouds, the blue to cyan sky transition, the tree variations, and a complex yet smooth reflection in the water.

Lac du Coeur nice evening, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August  2024

 

It was raining on arrival, but I found a spot under the front balcony and made a painting of the wharf and rainy lake. The mountains were shrouded in mist, almost disappearing into the distance. The greens were made with perylene green (PBk31), even though it has a black pigment code (Bk) it appears to be a dark green. The water appeared to be a lilac shade, fading to grey in the distance.

Rain on the Lake, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August  2024

 

Taking advantage of the relative lack of mosquitos this time of year, I made a quick painting of the lake at night.  It was so dark out that I used the headlamp to illuminate my gear which made the night vision difficult. The sky was still a little cloudy, but stars were visible through the gloom. Apparently there was a major meteor shower on the weekend but we could not see any evidence of it. The painting used a lot of indo blue (PB60), perylene green (PBk36), and carbon black (PBk6). There is no formula for a painting like this, you just go for it and hope for the best. The paint was very gooey which required a deft touch on the brush to avoid a mess! 

Lake at night, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, August  2024