Queens Ave Apt

Queens Ave Apt, ink and watercolour, 3.5 x 5  inches, ©2016

More beautiful old building on Queens Ave in downtown London, that I walk past on a regular basis. Red Brick apartment building on the corner of Queens Ave and Wellington Street, across from London Life.

Bankers Row

Bankers Row, ink and watercolour, 3.5 x 6.5  inches, ©2016

These two building are part of the Ridout Street Complex National Historic Site of Canada. They are located on Ridout Street in downtown London and were built mid-19th-century. (The designation refers to the three buildings at 435, 441-447, and 451 Ridout Street North)

Warm Sunday!

Sketchbook ~ downtown view from west London

Warm and sunny yesterday. Yesterday, Sunday, March 27 felt like spring, this was first time this year to sit outside and sketch, down by the forks of the Thames, where I walk all the time. I recently bought a new sketchbook with tan coloured pages and my plan was to use it as my "urban sketching book" or for people sketching, in an effort to draw more people. So, there are people biking, walking, running on the bike path, along with all the architecture.

Miniature show at Art Exchange



SS20 Richmond Tavern, London

I have been working on some miniatures for the 7th Annual Juried Miniature Show at the Art Exchange. An opening reception will be held on Friday, February 3, at 7:30pm.  I have finished a couple small streetscapes, this one will not be entered. Its very challenging to draw buildings this small, 3" x 4", figurative work is much easier (and much  more fun) to create in this size.

Richmond Street

SS16, Richmond Street, London

This 3 storey streetscape with the traditional business section at street level and apartments (presumably) over is in the heart of downtown London between Dundas Street and Queens Ave. The design is simple. There is elaborate detailing around the all the windows and roofline. Drawn from photo reference.

Back to London Streetscapes



Covant Market Place, London

Back to the streets of downtown London. Seems a little boring in camparison to Italy.... but I do really like the downtown here in London, Ontario. First one "Covant Market Place, London" completed on location last Sunday. Second one "Richmond Street, London" drawn from photographs, Woke up at 5am on Wednesday morning, so I thought might as well make constructive use of this time, so this is what I did.

Richmond Street

This is Richmond Street north of King Street. Szeminykei Kirwin Mackenzie Law Firm on left is a little modern, but makes an interesting contrast to the historic Richmond Tavern. This is what I have found out about this local watering hole ... the original building was constructed in 1852 and at the time was called the Revere House. 10 years later, the building was doubled in size and became known as the Richmond Hotel. This establishment has been continuously operating for over 150 years.

SS01 Talbot Street, London

SS01, Talbot Street, London, ON

Another streetscape of beautiful, downtown London. The distinctive Victorian architecture of the Talbot Inn, was incorporated into the new London Sports and Entertainment Centre (JLC) shown in this ink and graphite drawing, size 4" x 12". As long time fan and supporter of the London Knights, I have spent allot of time in this building, including the historic season when the Knights broke a CHL record, going 31 games in a row without a loss (29-0-2). Having said that, I was also witness to the record breaking season of 1995-96 at the old Ice House, south of the 401, when the Knights set a record for winning only three games all season (3-60-3).
"This building was originally constructed as the Hope Hotel in the 1840s by William Balkwill. It burnt down in January 1865 and was reopened in September 1865 as the City Hotel. It was renamed the Belvedere in 1871 and later the Talbot Inn. The building was demolished in 2001 and its facade was recreated on the John Labatt Centre which opened on the site in 2002." More info:  Talbot Inn.

Image size: 4" x 12"
Matted with 2" border all around, outside diminsion: 8" x 16"
Price is $65.00

On Location

Finally warm enough to be outside to do some drawing. Before work on thursday morning, met Susan at Victoria Park, where there are many large, old victorian era homes. Victorian era refers to a time period and not to a style. Queen Victoria, born in 1819, ruled Great Britain, the most powerful nation on earth at the time, from 1837 to 1901. Victorian architecture, in its broadest sense, is any building or style that was produced during her reign. The feature that attrached me, was the large colums with the ionic capitals. There are so many more wonderful examples of victorian era architecture in this area.

London Streetscape

London Streetscape No. 1 (ink and graphite, 5.5" x 13")

After taking some photos at the London Arts Council of paintings from Art Rental and Sales Gallery, I was admiring the architecture on Dundas Street from Clarence to Richmond. I noticed this plague at the top of the building "Duffield Block 1876" A simple search tells me "In 1871, Joseph Spettigue built Spettigue Hall (later the Duffield Block) which contained an elegant 663-seat concert hall on the second floor. Designed in the Second Empire Style, the structure was 197 feet long, 63 feet high, and cost $12,000 to construct." (See Duffield Block for more information).

I took some reference photos and this is the streetscape drawing I did.

Sketches by the River

Went sketching by the Thames River, by Blackfriars Bridge last evening with my friend Kym. With thunderstorms looming in the distance, I was convinced we would get rained on... but we were lucky and didn't get wet.

We were sitting out in the middle of the river on a rocky patch with our chairs. Before we knew it, the water started to raise and we were soon surrounded by water, came up at least 4 inches in less than an hour. There was abviously heavy rain to the north of the city! This first one shown here was not complete when we had to move.

We moved up to the top of the break wall, facing downtown and did some more sketching. It was a lovely evening to be sitting outside drawing.

Run for a Cure

Every year I participate in the CIBC Run for a Cure. I was out for a run this morning. It reminded me of this drawing and all that inspired it.

I typically run on the bike path in downtown London. Not only is running great exercise, but I find it to be a very positive meditative time. It’s a time to clear your mind and think positive thoughts. The beauty of the citys bike path is... you start off running by the tall buildings of downtown and soon find yourself surrounded by... nothing but trees and nature, The hustle and bustle of the city seems far away rather than just a few steps behind you. This drawing was completed last year.



I Run (Graphite, 4.5” x 12”)