More flamenco

Some more recent flamenco drawings.  I'm hoping to work up to something show-worthy for an exhibition of flamenco-themed art at Basic Inquiry in September.

Haywood bandstand at Alexandra Park

The Urbansketchers group met at the Haywood bandstand in Queen Alexandra park in the city's west end.  The neighbourhood has gradually gone from genteel old houses to highrise apartments in the last few decades, and as people lose their connection with the ground, they also lose connections with the neighbourhood's past.  A local group is trying to restore some of that, with evenings of story-telling about the area, and reinvigorating the remaining historical features.  The bandstand is a prominent one.  It was built in 1914 as the social centre of the area, and restored about 30 years ago, but seems neglected these days.  Reading about the park, I saw that there was an old Vancouver law that only "religious and military" music could be played in public on Sundays - just in case anyone thought the conflation of those two things was strictly a foreign custom...

In the first picture, I tried to capture the context of the bandstand among the park's beautiful old trees, and then the park itself nestled among the apartment buildings.  It was a challenge to try to draw attention to a dark brown building in the deep shade.  The second picture I tried to do quickly and spontaneously - this is not such a great idea with complicated perspective.  It looks like the building is in urgent need of another restoration.  Or maybe, as Lea commented, it is just inviting people to climb in?  And, finally, being springtime in Vancouver, the palm trees were blooming, so I had to draw them too.

Granville Island in May

It was the Opus Art outdoor painting challenge at Granville Island today.  I didn't register - lack of time and organizational ability - but with several hundred people participating, I may have been the only person not to sign up.  But I did draw in the area for a while, covering the Granville Island mix - a bright colourful scene, a well-patched alley, and some pretty details.

Vancouver tourist spots

A couple tourist postcards from my own city: Granville Island, and the Hotel Vancouver beside the Vancouver Art Gallery.  I keep vowing not to draw bridges (too many lines crossing each other in all directions) and ornate buildings, especially when I'm trying to do a quick 20-minute sketch.  Apparently I can't resist, but I am learning to simplify.

Dr Sketchy is a dentist

A memorable moment at this month's Dr Sketchy's was the hostess, Shari Contrary, saying "Wow, no one has ever drooled on our stage before."  It's not really that kind of a place, but the model, Justine Sane, had a dental theme going.  (I asked a couple of younger hipper people beside me: "This dental thing - is it a ... thing?"  They agreed that no, no it couldn't possibly be a thing, that would just be too awful.)  Miss Sane first appeared in a shiny black vinyl dress and severely high-heeled boots, wearing a dental hygenist's mask.  It was disturbing enough to make me commit to flossing more regularly in the future.  Then after the break, she appeared as the patient, wearing a bikini made of medical masks, and a horrifying device that I assume is used to keep the patient's mouth wide open during dental procedures.  She was a great life model, not moving at all during a fifteen minute pose.  And, hence, the aforementioned drool.  I'm flossing right this minute as I type...

North Vancouver waterfront

I drew the construction site at the foot of Lonsdale during a recent meetup at Lonsdale Quay.  I like the busy-ness of construction sites, especially with the pier and the piles being driven in at seemingly higgledy-piggledy angles.  But I had a lurking dread as I drew that this was going to be another generic bluish-green-glass-covered condo building.  (I think they sell these buildings in pre-fab kits at the local Ikea.  Or maybe you can get 6 for the price of 5 at Cosco...).  So I was amazed when I looked up the development plan for the area and found a truly inspiring plan to turn this area into a real living breathing public space.  The plan is at  http://www.cnv.org/~/media/9DE9FF27F0E14C1B830C7F7AF29CD8F3.ashx  I love the ideas in it, as well as the very human writing style, and urban sketchers will like the ink-and-watercolour illustrations.  Now the only lurking dread is that this plan is just too good to actually happen, and we'll end up with an empty concrete plaza surrounded by a six-pack of bluish-green glass condos...

Looking in the other direction, one of the industrial parts of the harbour was a colourful scene on a sunny day.  The crayon factory (upper left) is a prominent feature on the North Vancouver waterfront.  They were making yellow crayons that day, which is one of their favourite colours.

March life drawing

I've had a bit of a recent spate of life drawing, at Basic Inquiry and at a new (for me) studio run by Sandrine Pellisier.  Three different media here: charcoal pastel (front) and acrylic paint (back) on mylar for the first, charcoal pastel on paper for the second, and water-soluble pen and watercolour - often a recipe for disaster - on the third and fourth.  Sandrine's studio walls are covered in her beautiful abstracted painting of forests of tree trunks that are covered in intricate pen designs.  This inspired me to include the model's tattoos in the third picture.  The flesh-tones might be a bit off in the last picture, but it was St. Patrick's Day month...