Food Festival Peel Basin night

Down at the Peel Basin they are holding an annual Food Festival, where food carts occupy the main pier, and throngs of people go to enjoy the food and music. In the background you see the Farine Five Roses sign on the Maltage Factory. I used an interpretive style to emphasize colour, contrast and shapes.  

Food Fest Farine Five Roses, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, June 2026

Here is the scene from the bike path where it loops around, you see how this pier used to be where boats would load and unload cargo. I was painting under a yellow-orange light which makes colour hard to judge, blue and green will look greyish when you paint, so I adjusted a little. 

Food Fest Pier, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, June 2026

Last view of the Food Fest, looking at the crowd under those yellow-orange lights, with a purplish sky in the background. Once again I used interpretive brush strokes to emphasize colour and texture of the crowd rather than detail. 

Purple and orange food fest, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, June 2026

Looking west on st Catherine I got this view of all the night lights, cars, and multitudes of pedestrians. Its a hectic place to paint! I started with the lower portion doing colours and shapes, then worked upwards, and finished with the sky and additional dark shadows. As usual night sky is best painted with dark blue (PB60) mixed with pyrol orange (PO73). If you are a watercolour painter, its a combination worth trying out. Leaving a small dot in the sky made a star. There was just one or two stars visible. 

Downtown night lights, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, June 2026