City Fruiterie at dusk

On the way back dusk had arrived, and the city fruiterie grocer was still open with bright interior lights. Some of the windows in the apartment building behind were also illuminated with a soft orange. Since I was unprepared and had no head light it was difficult to judge the colours especially dark green, and the yellow signs. I went mostly based on value, as if making a black and white painting, then adjusting the colours mostly from a sense of intuition. It turned out pretty good now that I look at the painting. There is a great spot to set the bike up to do this painting, a little extra bit of sidewalk in the perfect spot. When painting a night scene like this, it will look terrible until the last of the elements are filled in. Once complete, the white highlights in the interior of the store will really pop, and the subtle light and shadow effects take on more significance. For more cool night paintings like this, check out night burger, night mechanics, sunflowers and dépanneur at night, and a favorite of mine dépanneur Yoyo at night. I also wrote a page on this blog on tips for painting at night. 

City Fruiterie at dusk, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2024