The great thing about sketching in Astoria Park is that you have a choice of bridges to sketch. Yesterday I posted my painting of the Triborough Bridge. Today you can see my version of Hells Gate Bridge. It was completed in 1916 and spans a stretch of the East River known as Hell Gate. Today the bridge is owned by and used primarily by Amtrak.
In the early 1990's the bridge was recoated for the first time in over 80 years. The color selected for the was know as Hell Gate Red and the coating system required 4 coats... one of the red color, 2 of epoxy and a clear topcoat to preserve the red color of the bridge. Unfortunately the bridge began to change color even before the repainting was finished. Each time they tried, the new paint faded again. You can see sections of the red paint as it looks today...with many areas not covered. I think that is part of its charm to tell you the truth. lol
That's fascinating about the red paint! In art supplies, red is often the most fugitive color, so maybe that's not surprising! The contractor needs to check the lightfast chart! LOL!
ReplyDeleteThey didn't have much success with the paint color. lol
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