Monday, September 8, 2025

A few paintings of the sunset in NDG

As I got out late for painting there was just a little sun left in NDG. This scene is up around the Glen Yard hospital looking west towards the commuter train overpass bridge. As I painted, the commuter train rumbled by and I managed to include it in the painting. To do the sunset effect, I started the painting with a yellow oval, then surrounded it with orange, peach, and filled in the sky with a neutral cyan. While moist I added the coral undertones of the clouds, then the dark purplish clouds. After working on the lower part of the scene, I added the train, then went back and filled in the horizon buildings and dark green trees. Finally, using a small brush I completed the details and touch ups. Its important to make sure the sun area is the only white part in the painting, other than a few highlights on top of the passing train. 

Sunset over train bridge, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2025


Looking the other way, the sunset was casting a coral glow over the Glen Hosiptal. I started with the coral wash, a dilute mix of yellow ochre (PY43) and pyrol orange (PO73), and luckily it dried fast enough to surround with the background sky, although I left a very thin sliver of the paper between the orange and blue washes so that they would not run together. As a watercolour painter, its always the challenge to keep colours from running together, unless you want them to of course. The light purple shadow on the building is actually from the condo tower up on Sherbrooke, you can see it in the first painting just blocking the sun a bit. It was a very short-lived effect, by the time I completed the painting the whole structure was in shadow. 

Coral highlight hospital, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2025 

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