A little bit of the history of the Library. To see the complete history see: www.mywpl.ca/library-history.
1904 - City of Woodstock passes a by-law for the establishment of a public library and donates land at northeast corner of Hunter and Graham Streets for a library building
1905 - Carnegie Foundation awards City of Woodstock a grant of $24,000 for the construction of a library
1909 - Carnegie funded library building opened
1935 - Membership 3,341
1976 - City of Woodstock designates Carnegie library a historic building
​1984 - Membership 8,100

It's been a long time since the release of the books "Barhopping into History, London Ontario" and "Hopping into History, London's Old East Village" by my author friend Kym Wolfe, and myself. It has to be the right project. There are so many craft breweries here in London ON and they each have history and character and awesome craft beer. We are systematically making our way to all of them: testing, talking, observing, taking photos, and interviewing owners and brewmasters. 

Excited to be part of the "Meet the Artist" Series at the London Public Library. Kym Wolfe and I will be discussing the history and architecture of significant London buildings. 
Location: London Public Library
Branch: Central Location
Date: Saturday, November 19
Time: 2:30 to 3:30 pm
No registration required, 2 hours free parking at Citi Plaza, cost: Free

Holiday Market at London Brewing Coop - I'm a Vendor!
Location: London Brewing Coop 
Address: 521 Burbrook Pl, London
Date: Saturday, November 26
Time: Noon to 7pm
Stop by, check out the holiday market, and enjoy a truly local beer! It’s not just great-tasting beer and it’s not just brewed there. Their beer is as local and as organic as possible.

I am pleased to say that the Woodstock Art Gallery Gift Shop, now carries my artwork and art cards. Last Friday, I delivered nine pieces of artwork, some framed, some matted plus 8 of my greeting cards. Framed pieces include the architectural illustrations: Woodstock Streetscape with Capitol Theatre, Theatre Woodstock, and Woodstock Market. All these pieces of art were completed in 2022. And working on some more. And Woodstock architectural greeting cards to come.

The Woodstock Art Gallery Gift Shop features unique items crafted by local artists (and your purchase supports both artists and programming at the Gallery), including pottery, glass, jewellery, fabric arts, paintings, prints, art cards and more. If you become a member of the Woodstock Art Gallery you receive a 10% discount.

A video of the creation of a "Woodstock Streetscape with Capitol Theatre" a section of Dundas Street in the City of Woodstock. (Note to Self: My video creation and editing skills could use some improvement!)

The love and appreciation of built history started after a trip to France in 2007. As an avid walker, living in the Blackfriars Heritage District in downtown London, I started to take notice of the visually-interesting buildings right here at home. I have been documenting the rich tapestry of buildings in Southwestern Ontario ever since.

​After a little more research and I found some images of the Capitol Theatre, before it met the wrecking ball. I think this was the most beautiful building on this block. My final illustration captures todays streetscape with a black and white drawing of the demolished building, using a little imagination and guess work to complete the image. You will notice some history on the marque and you will also find "YOU DID NOT SAVE ME" strategically placed on the façade.

This AM the Urban Sketchers London had it's first event as an official chapter of Urban Sketchers International. Met downtown, the artists went where they wanted to and them met up at a coffee shop for the throw down. Some sketchers from Waterloo Region US made the trip. Probably our largest gathering of sketchers to date.
I have drawn/illustrated the (former) Kingsmill's Department Store building a couple of times before, but always from photographs.  Now it's home to Fanshawe College: School of Tourism, Hospitality and Culinary Arts. And this time it's a sketch completed on location. I would not say the building was "saved", but at least we still have the original facade for the Dundas streetscape. I think, when you only keep the front wall, and completely rebuild the rest, you loose spirit of the building and have not really saved it. But this is better than loosing it completely!
New sketchbook started August 1 and this time a little bigger. First 2 were 6 x 6 inches, this one is 10 x 8 inches. Still working on sketching everyday.... still only missed one day since April 8.