7″X5.5″ Pencil on paper
I had to go to Toronto for a meeting today. It is only about 20 miles (33k) as the crow flies but closer to 70 (110k) by road. The road in question being the QEW or Queen Elizabeth Way which joins Toronto to Buffalo and all points south, and which must be one of the busiest and nastiest on the continent. As my meeting was ending at 4:30 (not a good time to be driving out of Toronto) I decided to drive to Burlington (about half way) and take the “GO train” into Union Station.
I had a bit of a wait at Union coming home but found a seat right opposite the Commuters Lounge. I did a couple of quick studies of my fellow commuters too which I may post some other time.
9″X6″ Watercolour on paper
This is a really old one. I was living in Toronto and had just taken a watercolour course at Three Schools (that dates me right there). I was trying to break away from the very precise pen and ink work I had been doing.
We had a flat roof, accessible from the third floor window. We used it as a sort of balcony and had tubs of plants out there. I enjoyed drawing and painting from up there too. This was Concord Avenue I think, just south of Bloor West and not far from Ossington. I am not sure where exactly the church is, maybe on Ossington as this is looking north-east.
5″X7″ WC Pencil on paper
On a clear day you can see right across Lake Ontario to Toronto. In bygone days it would have been much clearer because, even so early in the year, there is a haze of pollution on the horizon. Of course they didn’t have the CN Tower and the downtown office blocks, so there probably wasn’t much to see! In reality it is about 50 kilometres (30 miles) so I have enlarged things a bit to make it more interesting.
