Happy 400th Birthday, Québec.

This July marks four centuries since Samuel de Champlain and his crew of 28 men stepped ashore from their little boats on the bit of land that was later to become Québec city.

Here is a croquis of Québec rooftops. I did this sketch while sitting in a dry bathtub, the only place in our hotel room with a good view. The hollow rattle of a horse's hooves on cobblestones floated up from the street below.

I started by laying broad watercolor washes with a ¾ inch white nylon flat over a light pencil drawing. The last step was to add the brown lines with a Waterman fountain pen. The copper roof was weathered to a gray-brown color under the cornice alongside the clock. I tried to suggest that effect by dragging my finger over a passage of wet pen lines.

Bonne Fête, Québec!
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See also the GJ posts on bronze weathering and the watercolor-with-fountain-pen technique