Harvest moon supermoon partial eclipse (sort of)

As I painted, a few old timers walked by with long lens cameras and tripods, asking if I was here to paint the supermoon. I replied, yes when will it be up in the sky? Truth is I had no idea there was a supermoon today, but when they mentioned it, I decided to change the sky from a dusky sunset to a shimmering moon-lit sky, and darkened some of the shadow lines in the painting. So this is sort of what I imagined the moon would look like.The rest of the scene is a condensed view of the Turcot interchange with a train going through. Its a difficult scene to get right, some excellent lines help with composition.  

Harvest moon supermoon partial eclipse, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2024

 

Turning my brush to the people with the cameras, I did a quick sketchy painting of the scene. Bridge, city, sunset, highway, and people with long lens cameras, you don't see that every day. The cloud is pink (PR122, PO73) with some yellow-orange on top (PO62 + PY97).

Mooner watchers, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2024 

 

As the previous painting dried I worked on this one, then went back and detailed the previous one. I've used the alternating approach before, especially when it is humid out. The main reason is due to the effect of wet paint. Here, I paint the sky first with a juicy blend of coral and dark blue, then have to let it dry before painting over the bridge spire and houses in the distance. As a watercolour painter, one develops a good sense of planning the painting out so as to avoid things running together.  Although done quick, I kind of like the energy these paintings bring.

Sunset bridge over Decarie, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2024