The city recently completed a new entrance for the trains, its the tall glass structure with the sloping roof. The train was going by every 5 or 6 minutes due to it being rush hour and luckily I had the earplugs with me. Well its not luck I always bring them. To paint the glass tint, PG7 is the way to go, its a great phthalo green blue shade, a paint I have been using for over 30 years. In fact I have been painting for about 35 years now, 1989 onwards, but at first I had chromium viridian (PG18) a similar shade of green but more subtle.
New train station, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, September 2024
Painting the commuter train required several passes, I finally got the pattern more or less right. Completing the scene are a few figures painted over top, by the number of backpacks they must have been students. Today was the second day of classes at the University. I made the metallic greys with dilute black (PBk6) and blue (PB15). Watercolour painters sometimes give advice to avoid black paint but I find it indispensable although it can be overused in a painting. Without black you have to mix bright colours like magenta and green which mess them up on the palette. There are also convenience greys, which are mixes you can buy in a tube, but may as well use carbon black its a great pigment.
Waiting for commuter train, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, September 2024
The barrier came down and I had to wait, but why waste time? I set up and made a painting of the complex train barrier and cop car in the background, the cop was just getting out and watching every time the train went by, nice gig. Foregrounding an object like this is a trick Hiroshige used a lot in his 19th century prints. The most famous was the one he did of a horse's ass with dung on the ground. Those Japanese illustrators had a good sense of humor.
Train barrier and cop car, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, September 2024
On the way back I made this painting of the auto shop across the street, back lit. It had been awhile since I painted a picture of the auto shop so here it is. In the painting, the old red walls were recreated, even though now its a pale cadaverous grey. The cars are done real simple, black outline, blue wash leaving white highlight at top, green/black window, random colour for car paint, and the cherry red tail lights.
Auto shop back lit, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, September 2024
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