Glorious Fall Painting in Headingley

Tuesday was a really warm and pleasant day. My first thought was to paint in Assiniboine Park; someplace close by. As I drove through the park, I just didn't see anything that really grabbed me. This is probably due to the familiarity of the park. New or less frequently seen locations really help to inspire. I got back out on Roblin and headed out to Headingley and right through the town until I hit the gravel road. There is some low wetland there but a fairly new posted NO TRESPASSING sign turned me off of stopping there so I headed back to the first intersection into Headlingley. Here, there was a small area to pull off onto and it was right beside a walking/cycling path that took you down past the old railway bridge.

I had intended to do a small pastel but decided to start slowly and do a watercolor sketch of the old bridge. Only once cyclist passed while I was working on this sketch; nice quiet location to paint. After finishing this sketch, I walked back to the car and hauled my rolling backpack out that contained my pastel painting gear. I set myself up in the shade beside the walking path and decided on a nice pair of trees right at the intersection with a stop sign.

I did the initial drawing with charcoal. I don't normally use charcoal but the trunks were quite dark so I decided it wouldn't be something I would have to work hard to cover. I really liked the composition of this little pastel. I've "zoomed" in close to take in only these two trees and there's the nice curve of the road on the left hand side. I also like the contrast of the fairly dark oak tree on the left with the brilliant gold tree.

This was a satisfying and very relaxing outing; probably due to the lack of traffic in the area and the absolutely gorgeous day. One thing I am finding increasingly frustrating is that unless you go to a park, it is hard to find a place to pull off and paint. It's not a good idea to park yourself on private property or on the side of the road so it really limits your options as to what you do. This makes it difficult to paint all those really scenes that I see as I drive down highways and roads.

Watercolor sketch of old rail bridge at Headingley

Pastel sketch of Headingley intersection