It’s been a bit of a shock this week to discover on both Monday and Tuesday that my house sketches are now historical documents!
This is one of the houses in the process of being demolished.
And this is what it used to be. I really enjoyed doing this sketch and was hoping to have another go. I did notice that the property was a little run down when I sketched it. But little did I suspect it was about to be demolished. The tree had gone but the house was still standing.
The real shocker was this house. The tree is the only thing on the lot now!
I really wanted to go back and sketch this house properly, as at that time, I was focused more on the tree. But sadly, that’s not an option anymore. I was too upset yesterday to bring myself to sketch the empty property. 🙂
Anyway, these dramatic events are an excellent motivator for me to make sure I sketch all the old cottages in my local area while they are still standing!
14 Comments
It’s a shame to lose these charming houses, and moreso a large tree! No wonder you were upset — good thing you’d wasted no time capturing your new neighborhood in the sketchbook. You’ll have to let us know when you’ve sketched their replacements!!
Thanks David! I’m not sure I will want to sketch tier replacements – most likely ugly “McMansions”
How very sad. I suspect this as been bought to be razed, subdivided and new cookie cutter house built lacking charm and quality.
Hi Mary – Yes totally! The charm of the old cottages is gone!
Your pictures are a treasure. I’ll bet the town or someone in the local historical society would like to know you made those sketches.
Thanks Suzy!
I know that feeling, Liz! This past year I painted a pretty grassy lot that I could see from my studio window. My studio is ion the second story of a very old building. I didn’t know that the lot would be demolished and made into a parking lot! I felt sad, also, but I’m glad that I have a record of that little green space that lived for awhile behind the downtown square.
Hi Maria – yes that’s exactly my feeling and experience. Glad you sketched what was!
Hi Liz, yes I know this feeling so well. I loved sketching the iconic Manly SeaLife Aquarium building next to the wharf on multiple occasions for several SKN assignments and in my own EveryDay Living Sketchbook. As it went out of business and became more derelict its state of decay was another focus for me. Finally I got to sketch its demolition in the last couple of months. Our feeling shows how attached we become to the physical elements of our environment that we have carefully and lovingly observed. And also how glad we can be to have recorded the life of our community.
I am so grateful to you Liz for encouraging me to engage with my world through sketching and for providing the guidance, knowledge and examples of how to record my observations. I’ve loved Travel Sketching and the extra information you conveyed. Hope you have some time now to rest from your adventures!
Thanks Ginie – I loved the Aquarium building too and have lovely memories of it from my childhood. So glad you enjoyed Travel Sketching! I’ll take a little rest once Chantal is back 🙂
I am always so sad when I see beautiful things demolished. However, it is even more meaningful now that you did go out and do those sketches in your neighborhood, and have a poignant marker of the ongoing cycle of life happening around all the time!
I really like this phrase: ‘a poignant marker of the ongoing cycle of life happening around all the time.’ It reinforces for me the meaningfulness of my daily sketching practice.
Thanks Jamie – that’s how I feel too! Thanks for your beautiful comment – very poetic!
I agree Liz, Jamie’s comment was very poetic and I actually wrote it in my sketchbook.
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