Train bridge and the colours of autumn

On a breezy and cool autumn day I was one of the few cyclists out on the canal path, most of the hotshot 'spandex' riders must have packed it in for the year. Of course, I ride and paint all year around or at least try to, this part of the path is usually inaccessible by bike in the winter due to snow and ice. The train bridge was done with a layer of neutral violet, then over-painted wet-in-wet with earth colours (PBr7, PR101) and some bright red-orange wash to make the rust pop (PO73). The autumn colours in the background are variations on yellow and orange, close to full chroma with brown and olive accents.Pulling the whole composition together is the classic black iron fencing that runs along most of the canal. 

Bike path under train bridge, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, October 2024

 

Looking the other direction, the train bridge forks out and heads east to the downtown, it goes over st Patrick street. The sun was trying to get through the greyish-violet sky which created an eerie glow and made the neutral yellow look really interesting. Purple and yellow are thought to be complementary, although there is no scientific reason for it other than if you mix the two colours you get a grey. I made the colour with indo blue (PB60), violet (PV55) and yellow ochre (PY43). The rings around the sun are orange (PO62), yellow (PY97), then the grey-violet mix, all done wet-in-wet. When demi-dry, you drop in the yellowish brush strokes which blossom into glowing-clouds. It takes a bit of practice to get the moisture levels right and have it blend together in the soft, feathery example in the painting.

Sun through clouds over train bridge, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, October 2024

 

The geese tend to hang out under the train bridge, in fact, this one stood there posing for the whole time I painted which is rare. When painting a scene like this it is important to amp up the chroma and contrast because the visual system is adjusted in the gloomy, overcast weather. Not to mention, the idea is to covey the excitement of the scenery. In the first painting of the blog, you see the colours were artificially amped up to create the glow. Here, I felt that the goose on the log was carrying the composition enough. Of course, I love to paint the train bridge, hopefully they never paint over the rust. 

Goose under bridge, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, October 2024