Dépanneur NDG night neon

Just near the Vendome station there is Dépanneur NDG, which has this gaudy neon-red sign that illuminates the lower part of the facade and staircase. Violet and blue neon adorned the entrance way, casting an eerie glow. The window above looks into a cafe, with reflections from the green traffic light across the street. I worked a lot on reflections and transparencies this year to make windows look more realistic. In the background, you see an earthy dark blue and brown scene with some windows lit up and a car reflecting the street lamp. The main trick to this painting is getting the initial lines correct, there needs to be vertical lines going parallel, and horizontal lines on a one point perspective. The last touch was to use a small number 2 brush to lightly dab in high chroma red-orange (PO73) and cyan (PB15) onto the neon, careful to leave small bits of white showing through to convey a neon effect. There is not a whole lot of room for error in a painting like this, its a scene that I have wanted to paint for a long time and glad I finally did. 

Dépanneur NDG night neon, watercolour 8 x 10" cold press, November 2025