Making the most of a pleasant evening, this scene juxtaposes the cloud-covered moon with the old Expo 67 dome illuminated in magenta and violet. Ile st Helen was an inky green-black sprinkled with lamps and orange lights. The dark green is mostly shadow green (PBk31), lamp black (PBk6) and perylene maroon (PR179). The dome is magenta (PR122) with blue sapphire (PB15).
Expo 67 dome and moon, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, July 2025
The moon appeared to be right next to the circus tent. As I painted, the show finished and hundreds of people poured out of the tent. Some of them came over and talked to me. To do the flood-light effect at the top, I outlined the light bulbs with the sky colour, leaving a narrow gap, then put in clear water to create a backwash. If well controlled, it gives that glare-effect seen at night. The moon glow did not blend the way I hoped but it still looks neat. The palette was a right mess by now and I could hardly see anything.
Circus tent with moon, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, July 2025
This scene was irresistible, on the way back I saw the full moon over and to the left of the Farine Five Roses sign, illuminated in red light. Remarkably, I finally managed to get all the letters in the sign, and on a very small area using the number 2 brush. Getting the red to pop was tricky because the palette was such a mess, I had to carefully work up a mix of pyrol red and pyrol orange. After, when I rode further, the scene was even better, but with most key colours used up, it was time to head home.
Moon and Farine Five Roses, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, July 2025
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