Thursday 27 February 2014

Streetcar Neighbourhood

I continue to be fascinated by the interiors of the blocks here in my "streetcar" neighbourhood of the Glebe in Ottawa.  The term streetcar refers to the era in which it was built.  From the 1920's through the second world war years when people may have had cars, but didn't nescessarily use them to get to work daily as they would walk or take the streetcar.  As a result there are few homes with attached garages.  The garages are usually in the back often accessed by narrow shared lanes between the houses.

So as I walk my dog, or the few blocks to skate on the canal or do errands at the shops on Bank Street, I am continually looking into the gaps between the houses. These lanes offer a glimpse to in interior of the blocks and the interesting back sides of the homes which more often than not have been expanded in one or more stages.  Sort of urban anthropology.

4 comments:

  1. Love the sketch! I keep hoping that one day I will be inspired by buildings or landscapes - I seem to be stuck on sketching people (so inconvenient! They move around so much).
    I look at your sketches and think 'why, that's really interesting'. Maybe if I follow your blog long enough some of what you see will sink in to the way I view landscape.

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  2. Thank-you Anne. I'm trying to draw people more often myself.
    I find that when traveling its all new and interesting - the challenge for me is to see my city with fresh eyes.

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  3. Happy to see you are sketching again.

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  4. John, I was really missing your sketches. I'm so happy to see them after your little hiatus. Are you sketching outside yet? It must be pretty cold in Ottawa these days, unless Ottawa has suddenly moved to a warmer locale.

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