Pink house pastel sky, crack in ice

Down in st Henri there are good views of the old Maltage factory with its iconic pink house on top. Its so iconic, that tourist brochures now feature it in their promotional materials. I caught a moment when the sun was going down, it created a pastel sky of cool blue, salmon tints, and lemony yellows. The rest of the scene was black, brown and grey post-industrial scenery, with the tops of some buildings in the foreground. 

Pink house pastel sky, watercolour 7.5 x 11" cold press, December 2025

 

As the water in the Lachine canal continues to freeze solid, there are still large cracks and thin patches of ice showing through. In this scene, a crack had let water up which changed the colour and transparency of the ice. The setting sun casted a yellowish glow from right to left, with cool violet shadows throughout. In the background are old industrial buildings where the st Armanad paper company used to be, and the iconic teal and rust-coloured water-tower. I've painted here before, its basically the first view you get when arriving at the Lachine canal from st Henri. I tuned up my bike today and it ran smoother than ever, had to add a special low viscosity oil on the chain for winter. 

Crack in canal ice, watercolour 7.5 x 11" cold press, December 2025