Under Granville Bridge, Vancouver

Granville Island is a popular Vancouver attraction. From its days as an industrial area, the island was transformed in the 1970s and 1980s into a popular destination for both residents and visitors of the city. A colourful public market offers a plentiful selection of fresh food of all types, while art galleries, pottery studios, a university, waterside restaurants and many different shops give people good reason to stroll the area for hours at a time.

My wife and I stopped for a cappuccino at the Blue Parrot coffee shop under the Granville Bridge, and I couldn't resist taking out my notebook. The view here is looking towards the north shore of False Creek

Trees near Cypress Bowl

I have been really busy at work lately and have not had many opportunities to write. I will resume again shortly.

Here's a drawing I did during a weekend visit to Cypress Mountain, just outside Vancouver. Cypress is the site of the freestyle skiing and snowboarding events in the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. It's also a richly forested area, with some ancient trees said to be as old as 2,000 years.

The ones I chose to draw are much younger, although one was just a bark shell; but I liked where they stood, in a gully between the road on this side and a stone retaining wall on the far side.

A historic building

This tower with its balcony sits atop the tiled roof of St. Paul's Hospital on Burrard Street in downtown Vancouver. This research and teaching hospital was founded in the 1890s by the Sisters of Providence, a Roman Catholic women's religious order, and grew with the city into a comprehensive health centre.

I sat at a coffee shop across the road and looked up at the roof of the multi-storey building and for some reason the little tower appealed to me.

In a city that is largely dominated by modern glass and steel architecture, the hospital stands out as an example of a previous era.

A view of English Bay

Here's one of my sketches of English Bay from Vancouver's West End.

From this densely populated area of apartment buildings and hotels the view looking out to sea is spectacular, especially at sunset. Tankers arrive from far away ports and wait in the Bay to be called in to the harbour for loading. They have become an integral part of the city's view. At twighlight, they turn their navigation lights on and they twinkle out on the water. The building on the right with the dark ring around it is the Empire Landmark Hotel, which sports a rotating restaurant on the top floor.

According to englishbay.com, the area acquired its name from the 1792 meeting between the British sea captain Vancouver and his Spanish counterparts Valdez and Galiano. The same meeting resulted in the naming of the Spanish Banks nearby, an area which is home to three of Vancouver's best beaches.

Outdoor patio

Summertime, and the living is easy.

A drink under an umbrella, some conversation and all the life of the city within walking distance.

This was the scene at a restaurant patio in the Yaletown area of Vancouver, a few weeks ago. My wife and I were waiting for an important phone call and I decided to spend the time doing a little sketching. These were some of the people at the nearby tables.

The shade of a large patio umbrella is always a welcome thing.

I hope you're enjoying your summer !

It's nice to have a day off in the middle of the work week.

The rhythm of the day is different, and being at home, one feels the tension lifting from the shoulders. There's time to linger over coffee and the daily news, to look outside or to see the furniture in a new light. Nothing fancy, just a subtle re-awakening of awareness in the home environment. It's strange how commitments, deadlines, clocks and schedules create a different world in our minds. Pressure builds up without us noticing.

It would be nice, I think, to work one day less each week and split the work down the middle. This wouldn't work for everyone, but it appeals to me. More balance for someone who's often pulled in different directions.

Plants of Florida

One of the best things about Florida is the great variety of plants. I sat on the steps of a shop in Siesta Key in the middle of the afternoon and sketched these. I can't explain the flag. It was just there, near the building.

Located on an island about an hour south of Tampa, Siesta Key is one of the best beaches in Florida and also attracts a lot of eclectic people. Happy hour at Siesta Key Village brings the crowds off the beach, especially for the daiquiris. Folks hang around for the oyster bars and the dancing with live bands at night.

Laid back and casual, Siesta Key is a great place for people who like to hang out.

Kitchen counter

It was midnight. I was tired, but I felt like drawing.

My eye fell on some things on the kitchen counter. Here was my pen...

This is what came through bleary eyes.

Parking lot conifer

I had a few minutes Saturday to practice some sketching. This short conifer was in a parking lot on an island between cars. A little scraggly, it looked like it had been pruned a few times. Only about three feet tall, it looks like it will have a good growing year.

Two popular characters

This is my tribute to artist Hugo Pratt: an interpretation of his most enduring character, Corto Maltese, a somewhat mysterious and laconic sailor with a penchant for helping the underdog. I saw this portrait somewhere on-line and felt compelled to draw this version of it.

For more on Corto Maltese, see this Wikipedia article or read my earlier post on February 9th.

And here is my version of another famous comic book character, Archie Andrews. From his first appearance in 1941, Archie has enjoyed remarkable longevity, demonstrating an enduring appeal that has attracted many generations of teenagers and pre-teens. Credit goes to a group of very talented artists and managers at Archie Comics. Together, they've found a way to keep the characters and the settings in the cartoon series looking modern and hip without diminishing the original uniqueness of the Archie gang and the story lines that link them together. You can get to know all of the characters at the Archie Comics site here.

When I drew this, I suddenly realized that he reminds me of my son and his friends. Archie is perpetually 17. As a reader in childhood, I always imagined him older. Now, as a father, I see the artists have pretty much got the image right. My son and his friends are 18 and the similarities are strong.

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The Princes' Gates

This is known as the Princes' Gates, the main entrance to Exhibition Place in Toronto just west of the downtown core. The monument was inaugurated in 1927 by the Prince of Wales and his brother, Prince George; hence the name. The pillars on either side of the gate represent the Canadian provinces. The figure at the top of the arch is inspired by the "Goddess of Winged Victory," a famous Greek statue displayed in the Louvre museum in Paris.

When I decided to sketch this, it was a cold day. Fortunately, I was in the warm confines of the car.

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In this economy, will we see opportunities when they present themselves?

The news is so dominated by negative information on the economic front that it's hard to avoid getting caught up in the doom and gloom. But somewhere out there, these difficult times are also creating opportunities for people.

Those who've studied these things say people who seize opportunities are people who have learned not to fear the future. They don't interpret what some of us see as bad situations in the same negative tones. Instead, they seem to have the ability to set their minds on seeing how "bad news" can also open a window to something better.

Back in October, I posted a quote from Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor, that still sounds relevant. He said, "When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us."

Even though times are tough, will you be ready to identify and seize your opportunities ?

May we all find a few.

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Hugo Pratt's graphic novels are still cool

I'm a big fan of Italian graphic novelist Hugo Pratt. The creator of the complex and popular Corto Maltese character died in 1995, but his work lives on.

In tribute to Pratt, I shamelessly practiced by free-hand copying these figures with a felt pen after re-reading his "Scorpions of the Desert" story, which is set in Italian-occupied Africa before and during the Second World War.

Pratt spent a lot of time travelling the world and was quite attentive to historic and geographic details.

Above is an Italian officer, in one of the many uniforms of the Fascist forces.

Here's a youthful recruit....

and a dangerous lady...

I had a lot of fun doing these.

Notes:

1. A short biography of Hugo Pratt can be found here, and also in a Wikipedia entry here.

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A seaplane flight

This is a DeHavilland Otter seaplane, used by Harbour Air of Vancouver. The airline operates daily flights from Vancouver's harbour to Victoria and other cities in British Columbia. The company operates 30 seaplanes and is proud to call itself North America's only carbon-neutral airline. The company buys carbon offsets to mitigate the airlines impact on the environment. Offsets are investments in environmental projects and pollution-reducing initiatives. You can learn more here.

I had the pleasure of taking one such flight with some colleagues last week. We flew from Vancouver to Victoria Harbour and this is what it looked like from the inside.

Flying in a seaplane is like turning the clock back to an earlier time in aviation. I loved every minute of it. No door separating the cockpit from the cabin, simple seats, metal interior, no frills and quite a view!

I found a video on YouTube of the view of the cockpit during a typical takeoff. It's here.

The neighbourhood

I had some time to look out the window today and took the opportunity to sketch a part of the street. With several days of rain and thawing temperatures, the snow has made a fast exit.

Armchair travel

I was riding on the Toronto subway the other day and saw a poster for adventure travel. This is a quick sketch I made between stops. Living in a snowy country, it's nice to image these exotic locations and traditional ways of travelling.

The scene reminds me of so many comic strips and graphic novels I used to read as a child. Hugo Pratt's Corto Maltese and the Tintin stories by Herge' come to mind.

Centre Street Bridge

One of the great places to walk in Calgary is Prince's Island Park, which is an urban green space on an island in the Bow River. From the park, one has a great view of downtown Calgary, the river and the Centre Street Bridge. This bridge was originally built in 1906, but was heavily damaged in a flood in 1915. It was re-built and opened a year later. It's one of the main entry points into downtown from the northern part of the city and is famous for the four stone lions that mark its entrances.

Cars travel across the river above and below the main span of the bridge. A walking and biking path also crosses underneath.

I was on the island the other evening and couldn't resist drawing it.

Killing time

A moment in time...

All over the world, people spend hours waiting for connections at airports. Here's what it looked like to me at one of the bars at Toronto Pearson Airport's Terminal One. It reminded me of similar scenes in numerous movies I've seen over the years.

Doing the laundry

The other day I needed to get my sleeping bag washed, so I took it down to our neighbourhood laundromat. Like the cafe in one of Hemingway's short stories, it's a clean, well-lighted place.

While I was waiting for the wash cycle to end, I took out my sketch pad.

Fairmont Chateau Laurier

I hope you're not getting tired of all these sketches. I have a few more from our recent visit to Ottawa. This is a view of the Fairmont Chateau Laurier Hotel with the Parliament bell tower in the background. We're looking north west from the corner of Colonel By Drive and Wellington.

This luxury hotel was built in the tradition of the grand castles of France. It sits across from the Rideau Canal, which during the winter is a wonderful outdoor skating rink that stretches for several kilometres through the heart of Ottawa.

The exterior of the hotel is limestone, while the turrets have a copper roofs. The hotel was commissioned in 1907 by Charles Melville Hays, who ran the the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway of Canada. Hays did not see the hotel completed. He was a passenger on the Titanic's maiden voyage.

To read more about the hotel's history, read this account on its website.