The building was built in 1896 to House the Crosby Brothers Dry Good store. If you are interested in reading the entire history of the building (including the mystery behind the missing Turret) visit the link at urbsite by Robert Smythe here: http://urbsite.blogspot.ca/2012/10/the-haunted-hotel-somerset-ritz.html
Visit link above to urbsite article by Robert Smythe
There were lots of NEW faces to the Ottawa urban sketching group - we LOVE that! And plenty of wonderful familiar faces.
The evening light on Somerset House
The evening light was just starting to hit the western facade and the sketchers located themselves along Bank and started sketching.
5 sketchers sketching from the Second Cup location
Bank and Somerset is an incredibly busy intersection in the evening! (All the more reason to be sad about this lovely building sitting empty since 2007) Because of the busyness of the pedestrian and vehicular traffic, sketchers looked for alcoves and walls to tuck into to sketch.
Three more sketchers in front of the former "Hartmans"
Sketch by artist/urban sketcher Trish Woolaver
My first sketch of the night.
Unfinished detail sketch by artist Laurie Foster
The sketchers moved over to Gabriel Pizza to share their sketches and talk about some future sketching venues. A great night was had by all!
"When Carleton Architecture Prof. Johan Voordouw learned about the city’s plan to repurpose on-street parking spots into outdoor patios, parklets and vending stalls, he called up city councillors to see how he could get his students involved."
The "Water Garden" parklet at 43 Beechwood, Vanier was designed by fourth-year architecture students Tori Hamatani, Trevor Whitten, Mitchell Gray and Simon Petepiece (below).
The guidelines for the mini parks,called "parklets," were that they needed to be able to fit in a parking space, include live plants and be open to the public.
Because of the requirement to have live plants, these students had the roof inverted so that it could collect rainwater that will be stored in a cistern and used to water the plants!!
Sketchbook page by Cindi Moynahan-Foreman
(P.S. The park cost $15,000 to build and will cost $5,000 for maintenance as the park will be torn down each fall and reconstructed each spring)
The "Water Garden" parklet gets beautiful light in the evening!
Eleven locations applied to take part in this pilot program, which runs from April to October.
Four Parklets – public spaces that will contain everything from seating and greenery to games tables and music:
The Water Garden at 49 Beechwood – A meeting point,
a community gathering space or simply a shelter from the elements, The
Water Garden will feature a central column and a canopy designed to
channel rainwater to pots of plants, herbs and flowers. The Quartier
Vanier Business Improvement Area submitted this design by students from
the Azrieli School of Architecture and Urbanism at Carleton University.
Percy Station at 605 Somerset Street West – Percy
Station will offer rotating programming that includes a coffee house,
micro shows, live music, poetry readings and theatre sessions. The
design features a seating area that can be configured in a variety of
ways. Strip lighting will help animate the structure’s form and
illuminate it at night for safety.
The Nük on the north side of Second Avenue, east of Bank Street
– Nük will feature a seating area and games table, creating a space for
people to stay connected through community events. The design features a
built-in table and an L-shaped bench that faces Bank Street. It will
incorporate vegetation and soft ambient lighting. The Glebe Community
Association submitted this design by students from the Azrieli School of
Architecture and Urbanism at Carleton University.
A parklet on the south side of Third Avenue, west of Bank Street –
The neighbourhood, and in particular local merchants and restaurants,
will welcome the added seating and greenery this space will offer for
relaxing and socializing. Visitors will feel connected to the vibrancy
of Bank Street, where narrower sidewalks make it impossible to
accommodate patios. The Glebe Community Association submitted this
project by a designer who is a resident in the community.
Seven patios – private spaces reserved for patrons of cafés or restaurants that do not have an existing patio:
The WORKS at 326 Richmond Road
The Ministry of Coffee at 1013 Wellington Street West
Corner Bar and Grill at 344 Richmond Road
Blue Cactus Bar and Grill at 2 Byward Street
The Cupcake Lounge at 6 Byward Street
Asian Alley at 8 Byward Street
Zak’s Diner at 14-16 Byward Street
Do You Like the Idea of Streetside Spots?
Tell the City of Ottawa what you think!
Complete this short questionnaire by August 20, 2016 for your input to be included in the evaluation.
UPDATE: "Sakura Hanami" Sketch Day Now scheduled for Saturday May 21, 2016 Between 10:00 am and 2 pm
Thanks to our Ottawa urban sketcher friends who have sent messages that the Lincoln Fields are ready for sketching, we have now scheduled to meet at Lincoln Field Saturday May 21, 2016 between 10 am and 2 pm.
This timing allows plenty of time to sketch and also participate in the Memorial Bike Run for our friend and fellow Ottawa urban sketcher Mathieu Trudel (known to friends as Mawt Trood.)
There are two colorful spring events in May that would be great fun to sketch and paint in Ottawa!
Canadian Tulip Festival
There is the Canadian Tulip Festival (http://tulipfestival.ca/) held in Ottawa and Gatineau, 12-23 May/Mai 2016 (Visit the website for more details)
The Tulip Festival is a perfect place to sketch spring colours in Ottawa
"Cherry Blossoms" at Lincoln Fields
And there are the "Cherry Blossoms" at Lincoln Fields.
After watching the 2010 video below, we thought it would be great idea to organize a sketching event when the blossoms are at their peak again in Ottawa.
Sakura is the Japanese name for flowering cherry trees and their flowers – often referred to as cherry blossoms and, in modern-day Japan, hanami mostly consists of having an outdoor party beneath the sakura during daytime or at night.
According to The Canada - Japan Society of Ottawa (CJSO), "While cherry trees do not do well in Ottawa, the colourful red, white and pink blossoms of crab apple trees provide a good alternative to cherry blossom viewing. Crab apple trees are usually in full bloom by mid-May"
We were concerned that the Lincoln Fields trees were in fact crab apple trees and NOT cherry blossoms so we contacted Ottawa tree expert Owen Clarkin. Although Owen was unfamiliar with the Lincoln Fields trees that I was asking about, he replied,
"..... there are plenty of Crabapples and Cherries
to be found flowering in springtime in Ottawa."
Regardless of what kind of trees these are at Lincoln Fields, it would be fun to take some time to sketch them. We are predicting that (like the High Park Toronto cherry blossom trees) the Lincoln Fields trees will be in full bloom for Sunday May 8, 2016. (If you live near Lincoln Fields and you can track for us please help us in the comment section below.)
DETAILS:
What: Sketch the Cherry Blossoms at Lincoln Fields.
Where: Lincoln Fields
When: Delayed - Date To be announced
How To Get There:The BEST way to get there is by bus or bike. A bike path runs directly through the orchard
Above: Routes going to OC Transpo Lincoln Fields (Stop ID: 3014)
Below: Ottawa Bike Route Map - Lincoln Field: There are many bike paths that will take you to this spot. You can view the Official Cycling Map for Ottawa-Gatineau and the Outaouais Region online, download the [ PDF – 18.555 MB ]
Ottawa urban sketchers meet and line-up to enter Southam Hall
Principal Guest Conductor, Alain Trudel, briefly addressed the audience and explained how he runs his rehearsals and he also talked about the musical piece that was being rehearsed.
Conductor Trudel was incredibly generous with information on how he became a conductor and the rehearsal process. His humour and passion for the music were contagious.
The members of the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra are amazing and when you sketch them while they play, you really witness their passion, precision and devotion to their instrument.
Sketch of Conductor Trudel by artist Joanne L.
The music piece that the orchestra practiced was Berlioz - Symphonie fantastique (which I later learned online was featured in the films The Shining, The Witches, and Sleeping with the Enemy)
The complete Symphonie fantastique is 53 minutes long and you can listen to it in its entirety (by the Chicago Symphony) on youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2Kky5BC9Uk
First movement: "Rêveries – Passions" (Reveries – Passions)
The Ottawa urban sketchers would like to express our heartfelt thanks to the NAC staff. From our earliest inquiries through the box office manager Mary O’Shea to the amazing ushers who were so helpful when we were getting seated (referring to us as the "Ottawa sketchers" and assisting us with our wheelchair accessibility needs.)
The house lights were kept on during the rehearsal and the artists in attendance used a wide variety of materials to sketch the orchestra. Time really flew. The open rehearsal was scheduled from 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM and when it ended we all could not believe that an hour and a half had passed and that the rehearsal was actually finished!
Sketchers sharing their sketches at the end of the "show and tell" session
This sketching event was incredibly fun and one that we hope we can repeat in the future.
More Ottawa Sketching Events?
We try to organize sketching events in Ottawa at least once per month.
Winters are challenging but now that the weather is finally warming,
there will be an increasing number of opportunities to gather and sketch being offered.
If you would like to join us, be sure to join our facebook group and/or look for the #urbansketchers hashtag on twitter (also #USkYOW) and/or sign up to follow this blog by email (add your email in the space provided on the right)
Ottawa is overdue for another WW Sketchcrawl so artist Laurie Foster is organizing a SketchCrawl in Westboro Saturday April 23, 2016. So mark your calendar!
World Wide SketchCrawl?
The idea for a world wide sketchcrawl originated with Enrico Casarosa of San Francisco in late 2004 . Enrico is an Italian storyboard artist and director who works at Pixar Animation Studios.
Since 2004, SketchCrawl has become a worldwide phenomenon participated by artists around the world armed with sketchpads, pencils, watercolor and other sketching materials.
So - put your pen to paper on April 23 for as long as you can (be it 20 minutes or 5 hours) drawing, sketching, journaling about your day and what you see around you. For one day, slow down, look around you, see ... and draw or write. Record your day. No specific level of skill is expected ! Anyone is welcome.
10:00
We will start by meeting over coffee at Starbucks at 421 Richmond Rd
12:00
The stop for lunch will be decided in the morning (when numbers of sketchers is known)
You can choose to meet at lunch or keep sketching
3:00
Final check-in is back where we started the day to make it convenient to grab your bike or car
at the Clocktower on 418 Richmond Rd.
Parking: There is 1hr
free parking along Richmond Road & 3hrs on neighbouring side
streets. Find a spot in one of the 2 paid parking lots, located at
Westboro Station on Byroing
Cycle:over 70 bike post-and-rings located along Richmond Road. Find your route:You can view the Official Cycling Map for Ottawa-Gatineau and the Outaouais Region online, download the [ PDF – 18.555 MB ]
On Sunday April 17th, the Ottawa urban sketchers group went Sketching at the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum. We chose Sunday because on Saturday there were lots of activities scheduled and we wanted to miss the crowds. Not a chance! The weather was beautiful and the farm was packed! That added to the fun!
Note the urban sketcher at the bottom left sketching the entrance gate
There was a great turn out, many sketchers showing up to sketch inside the farm while many others seized the beautiful day to bicycle and sketch the perimeter around the outside of the farm.
We would like to thank the Canadian Agriculture and Food Museum for being so welcoming and accommodating towards the artists on this busy and beautiful Sunday. We hope to visit again!
Sketching in the small animal barn
Sketches by artist Trish W.
Artist Sophie L. sketch of the building
More sketches of the buildings by artist Colin White
Artist Colin W. sketches on the facebook page
Artist Suvitha R. sketch of the hay bale decoration at the farm.
Quite a few of us were super excited to sketch the two new Clydsedales(Paul and Padrig, who arrived on St. Patrick's Day) and below, artist Jaymie Dylan makes the first sketch.
Artist Jaymie D. sketching the new Clydesdale
Sketches by artist Jaymie D.
Sketching in the small animal barn
Sketches of the newborns by artist Diane D.
Artist Leisl G. sketching in the small animal barn
We NEVER mind if artists can't stay the full day like artist Leisl Gallagher. We understand. And even though she did not stay long - she still managed to do a LOT of great sketches in a short amount of time.
Sketching the cattle paddock
Artist Cindi F. sketch inside the dairy barn
Artist Diane D.sketching the horse paddock
Sketch by artist Gillian RT
Artists Gillian and Matt sketching the Clydesdales from the comfy bench at the farm
More Ottawa Sketching Events.
Now that the weather is warming, stay tuned for plenty more sketching events.
If you would like to join us, be sure to join our facebook group and/or look for the #urbansketchers hashtag on twitter (also #USkYOW) and/or sign up to follow this blog by email (add your email in the space provided on the right)
