Walk in the Bolton Forest

With the heat wave in full effect, I smartly took a walk in the Bolton forest which offered a bit of reprieve from the strong sun and stifling heat. Most of the path is surrounded by greenery, except for this grove of pine trees. The sloping ground was covered in pine needles and there was practically no foliage other than a leaf here and there. Pine trees have short branches poking out from their trunks, like step ladders. I used so much yellow and green on this day it was neat to do a brownish painting.  

Pine grove, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, June 2025

 

To do the first pine grove painting, I had to apply the highlight areas as an under-painting and let it dry before adding the shadows, trees, and textures. In the meantime, I looked down the hill and saw this neat scene of vines criss-crossing some pine trees. I completed this painting in one go. First, I used vanadium yellow (PY184) with green (PG36) and the background, and build up layers of darker green, and the red-brown elements of the ground. Finally, I did the vines and trees with free lines to keep it looking natural. 

Pine trees and vines, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, June 2025

 

Most of the path through Bolton forest looks a lot like this... the path itself is about 2 meters wide and the city has manicured it to prevent overgrowth. Its a gentle path and far enough from the foliage. I was the only one out there on this day, Partly because it was a weekday afternoon, partly because it was stinking hot. 

Path through forest, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, June 2025

 

This tree had a surprising shape, almost grotesque, there was even one branch that had kind of grown through another branch over the decades. Maybe I exaggerated a little here, the shape, but the idea was to covey a sense of surprise and discovery. When deciding to do a painting or not, I generally think about what the idea is supposed to be, nowadays I even think about what I will write in the blog before I start a painting! 

Gnarly Tree, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, June 2025

 

 Painting this creek through the forest, looking down a steep embankment, turns out to be one of the hardest paintings you can do. Its about the fourth or fifty time I've tried it. This time, I started with the river in the bright reddish highlight colour, then surrounded it in earthy tones and built up the green. Once the washes were mostly dry I daubed in the trees and leaf texturing, and detailed the rocks and water flow in the creek. I think it worked out okay this time. I would have gone down to get a better view but I was wearing shorts, and it was a very steep embankment here. Perhaps there is a creek somewhere in Montreal I can go paint, although I am not aware of one on the entire island. 

Creek through forest, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, June 2025