106 Street on a foggy day

A view down 106 Street from MacEwan-- the corner is straddled by a downtown car dealership... almost 2 full city blocks worth of new and used cars.

A MacEwan student is snoring (loudly) on the couch behind me in this lounge while I spend my lunch break drawing...

First Baptist Church

There's construction on a major downtown corner... temporarily allowing a straight-on view of First Baptist Church.

The last time I worshiped here was 4 or 5 years ago... the sanctuary has the most beautiful and inspired tapestry I've ever seen -- a huge triptych rich with spiritual symbolism and movement. Contemplating it brought me to tears that Sunday... culminating in "the body of Christ, broken for you..." located at the pulpit. It's a nice building too.

the towers of Grant MacEwan University

I'm significantly underdressed for an outdoor sketch on this snow-covered day, so I trek to one of the buildings at MacEwan...

For security reasons, these institutions have fully glazed exit stairs, which is in itself an interesting governing factor as far as building design goes, but today it's what gives me opportunity to take in some views from the indoors that would otherwise not exist. The grand, glazed stairwell at the southeast corner of the nursing building, from where this sketch was drawn, might very well be the most privileged exit stair in all of Edmonton, with some pretty nice vistas down two main streets.

I'll be getting lots of use out of this stair this winter.

that dreaded day...

At home sick again... some views from our window...

That dreaded day that everyone knew would eventually come finally arrived quietly last night, as we awoke this morning to discover the snow had covered the city.

For a new blogger who relies on urban sketches, it's the beginning of a desperate search for new subject matter, and a mastery of depicting snow... something I need to work on...

From the Archives #001: deja vu! no.1

Kids were sick, and we were feeling under the weather, so no postworthy sketches from today.

So, I decided to dig out some old sketchbooks from the basement, to see if there might be some interesting past ones to post. So here's "From the Archives #001". 

To my utter surprise, I discovered a sketch I have no recollection ever doing... and it was a bizarre, surreal moment when I saw it, as it's EXACTLY the same as my post from October 12 this year. Seven and a half years separate the sketch on the left from the right. Same view, same composition, same angle, same car parked in the same spot, same mechanical equipment on the roof, same angle on the damaged bollards, same somewhat awkward distortion on the perspective towards the left of the building... Actually, less detail on the new one (ok, it was lunch and I had to get back to work)... the only difference is that I had not become a regular at that restaurant, and hence the view held no meaning.

There's one more within the same month with a similar story... again, no memory on my part... I will post next time I have the chance.

Weird...

more grain elevators

Sometimes, observations in other places allow us to see our own "back yards" with a new and fresh set of eyes... some sketching at the Calgary CN railyards a few months ago got me interested in what the railyard areas are like in my own city, and I have been eyeing the areas parallel to the Yellowhead ever since.

Sure enough, it's a gold mine...

To start things off, a sketch of part of a concrete grain elevator structure, connected directly to the railway... the global economy's nuts and bolts...

Laneway and MacEwan College

The totemic concrete towers of MacEwan College, as seen from a nearby lane...
I used to be disappointed that, as far as I know, they are mostly hollow, housing only occasional washrooms and janitor closets below. But I'm more and more appreciative of their sensitive presence from an urban design standpoint, presenting the institution, marking the street grid, and creating interesting public spaces and nodes.

Avenue of Nations

Over ten years ago, I spent a few months in complete limbo, and used the occasion to explore, through sketching, the diverse and intimate ethnic neighbourhood streetscapes of Toronto...  I ended up with several hundred postcard sized vignettes that spring. A sketch of this part of 107 Avenue in Edmonton, now nicknamed Avenue of Nations, brings back some of those memories of my more youthful past...

Two Avenue views

 Couldn't decide which to post today, so here's both.


Jasper Avenue at lunch time...

... and a re-visit to the road construction site on 118 Avenue. 

urban monsters

There's road construction on my route home... I jumped at the opportunity and hopped off the bus blocks before my stop, to capture this piece of machinery.

I have no idea what I drew, except that I speculate it dispenses asphalt concrete from the moveable, split bucket on one end. A road roller is parked behind. It's a good thing I left home with my dark felts, because a lot of the vehicle was covered in tar... obviously the colours still weren't dark enough.

...  waiting (again) for my bus...

cousins...

 The final few floors of the EPCOR tower are being worked on... From the rather large floor plate that was being replicated a few months ago, it seemed the building would look squat and bulky, but as it reaches higher, it is making a lot more sense, with some subtle gestures that can now be appreciated.

The old CN Tower sits close by... a building I'd like to visit some time, as it seems of such Modernist vintage!

Another quick loose sketch on my way home...

Audreys Books on election day

There's no relationship between the subject of the sketch and the fact it's the municipal election today, except that as I drew I was urged to vote by a canvasser on behalf of the incumbent, and we had a brief conversation.

Audreys is in a great looking old brick building on a corner that likely experiences enormous redevelopment pressure. Hopefully, both building and store are here to stay...

all pink...

Not much sketching today... just a play date with my daughter, who is in her pink abstract expressionism phase.

The High Level Bridge

Arguably Edmonton's most prominent and familiar urban landmark, the (almost) century old High Level Bridge is one dignified and muscular artifact! But a casual observation from the underside gives us a peak of even more layers and intricacies that make me marvel at what engineers and steelworkers did 100 years ago. It's a beautiful structure...

Thankfully, my daughter was preoccupied with her bottle of chocolate milk, allowing me the time to do this on another fine autumn day...








Our backyard columnar aspens... again.

Compared to the post a week ago, their colours are much subtler, with less leaves...

Now that I think of it, these trees strike me this season especially because last year, it became cold so suddenly that the trees had no time to prepare, shedding their leaves while still green.

Railtown Park

It's sunny but breezy, with a biting north wind.

It's a struggle now to find a reasonable place to sit out in the sun yet out of the wind. As I sat down to sketch, my hat blew away and rolled in the gust... a young woman picked it up... we exchanged smiles; a sort of mutual acknowledgment that the long bitter winter is near, and that we are all in it together.

This linear park used to be a railway line a decade ago, and is one of those places where there's a layer of history that can be read on an urban scale... kind of rare in a young city like Edmonton.