Gastown Grand Prix

A few quick sketches from the Gastown Grand Prix, a couple weeks ago.  "Quick" is the word - this is a full-speed bicycle race around the cobbled streets of Gastown, not the funky little event I was expecting.  The participants are professional cyclists, including Olympic medal winners, they are fast, and there are a lot of them - 60+ in the women's race and 100+ in the men's.  The old brick paving rattles and roars as the herd goes by the huge crowd lining the route.  It was a very exciting place to draw, and probably the biggest challenge since I drew at the horse races a few years ago.  At least here, you get 30 or 40 tries at the blur of riders as they do laps in the race.

And, sitting in the middle of the crowd and the frenzy, this young man was reading a book.  I always like when people just do their thing.

Happy Canada Day!

Here are some recent drawings from this part of the - very diverse - country:

The annual dragon-boat races, with BC Place looking like a crown in the background.

Sturdies Bay on Galiano Island, during a brief stop on the Southern Gulf Islands ferry.

The lobby of the Marine Building, one of the few (only?) art deco buildings in Vancouver, open to the public just one day a year - and a challenge to draw!

Lynn Creek, which I am always amazed to remember is close enough that I can ride and walk there and back on my lunch hour (ok, an extended lunch hour, but I work for myself so who's going to complain?)

Our local cafe, in a restored 1912 building - about as old as they get around here.

And three drawings from the Vancouver UrbanSketchers' meetup at the Vancouver Jazz Festival - the big stage, some food trucks, and the line-up for one of the small stages.  There was lots of red in the crowd on Canada Day, but I was also glad to see people dressed in purple, yellow, orange, green, blue, even black - it's great to live in a country where you can wave the flag if you want to, but it's just fine if you do your own thing too.