Red coat
Posted: November 17, 2022 Filed under: Uncategorized 18 CommentsThe first snow of the season usually disappears quickly, but what a gift to find that the snow from yesterday’s storm is still on the ground this morning. I rushed out to paint something, anything, with a bit of snow on it. My old parking spots on Avenue Sainte Anne in Pointe Claire Village have disappeared thanks to some new condo buildings, but luckily I found an interesting scene of a parking lot behind some storefronts on Lakeshore Road. It’s a busy place in the morning because the building on the right is a drugstore, so there’s lots of activity in that parking lot in the back.
When it’s a constantly changing scene like this, I lock in the important parts — or rather the moving parts — of the drawing first. That means I draw the cars and the man in the red coat first and then add in buildings, road and trees. While I sat there at least ten different cars pulled in and out, but I had my drawing and I stuck with it.
Colours in winter are soft, so for this I used mostly Cerulean Blue, Cobalt Blue, Quinacridone Rose and Raw Sienna. With those I can get the soft tones of walls and sky as well as the wonderful slushy greys for the road. Sketched on a block of Hahnemuhle The Collection Watercolour paper, CP.
You are amazing!!!! Very inspiring!!!
Gretta, thank you.
A true November sky. Your washes are beautiful!
It WAS a true November sky. The blue was so dark behind the snowy roofs. And a definite dampness in the air!
Just a lovely dance of neutrals, and bits of warm reds. The dry brush on rough paper in the foreground makes perfect snowy bits on pavement.
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Thanks so much Sue Anne. I do love painting those snowy roads!
Love this! You can make a beautiful painting out of any scene!
Wow! Wonderful Shari! I feel like I’m there- ditto what Jane said 👍😁
Soooo Wonderful!…..again:)
Love this one, Shari! Nice light…and of course the red pops. I especially like the way you put some interest in the road.
Excellent capture of the atmosphere today. What an interesting composition. That’s a great jumble of shapes you choose to sketch. The cars are very well done. Lots of practice, right? I loved that car lesson in your Light and Shadows course.
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I just realized one of the reasons I enjoy your paintings so much – you take the quoitidien and make it more than ordinary. Today I started appreciating my bit of suburbia a lot more than I have in the past! Knowing the colors you are using and methodology adds to the enjoyment of a lovely bit of daily life. Thanks!
Love your style. Enjoy the posts.
Many thanks Michael!
This is exactly the sky we had here these last two days. Late fall-early winter always sets a mood to me. I love this painting. Will this be a print?
You are so inspiring! I signed up for another one of your courses, Urban Winter. It has answered some of the questions I had with regards to watercolors such as the amount of paint vs water, what to work on first and letting stuff dry before continuing…just to name a few. Thanks so much. You’re the best!!
Thanks Jason!
Thanks for explaining your process and your colors. Glad there was a little snow left to surprise you in the morning.