It’s early September, the last days of summer are upon us. I went out last Sunday, prospecting for a new painting, and ended up choosing this scene along the Vaartdijk, looking back towards Brugge. I had already done one along this canal about ten years ago, different location, different view. In this scene you can just see the tower of the Gentpoorte rising in the distance, a little to the left of center.

I set up with my chair, paintbox and tripod, situated upon a dijk, rising to the left of the bicycle path. It was about four feet wide. I knew: any wrong move would land me in the water, swimming around with the little duckies. (Didn’t happen, but could have been refreshing if it did.)

I spent about three hours sketching in the scene using silverpoint, until I began inking it in with my black pen nibs. After a few lines, both pens dried out(!). Yes, it was a 30 degree centigrade day out there, but still, maybe time to buy some new ones? So I closed up shop and replaced them the following day. I completed my B/W drawing at home, anticipating going out as soon as possible to render the scene in oil en plein air.

The weather on Tuesday was clear enough and warm enough to give it a shot. As I worked, the shadows lengthened, making the reflections in the water more and more and more interesting. By five pm, as I packed up, I knew how I wanted to handle the water but also knew that it would have to wait until its painted surface had dried enough to do what I felt was still needed.

I ended up using five pigments plus white for this one: ultramarine blue, raw umber, yellow ochre, cadmium yellow light, plus cadmium orange. I used bristle brushes to block in my underpainting and sables to render the details. I made the wished for changes to the water yesterday, which means that I can post this today, chalking up yet one more for this summer season in Bruges. I love singing its praises.

If you are interested in hanging this on your wall, please contact me.