Old Montreal – Le 375 C

Anticipation is building for the USK workshop in Santo Domingo!

İçinde
a few days we’ll be drawing in the heat of the Caribbean summer. Looks
like an excellent group of sketchers. Many familiar names from
sketchblogs everywhere.  I see people in my workshop from Brazil,
France, Germany, Portugal, and Venezuela. Though mostly from Canada and
the US. Makes sense I guess, as the DR is easier for us N.Americans to
reach.

So,  yesterday Shari Blaukopf and I were doing a little pre-Santo Do warmup. She took on the foreboding Silo No. 5 while I exercised the better part of valor, drawing a nice classical building across the street.

Biz
were sitting on this abandoned rail bridge leading into the Silo so we
could both see our subjects but still be drawing side by side. In the
last few minutes of the painting a security guy drives up and tells us
that’s not an abandoned rail bridge at all, and we should move our gear
or get ready to join the Darwin Awards. Fortunately I only needed to re-enforce the darks in the hedges and pop in the statue out front.

I
noticed (from the battened down umbrellas on the roofline) that there’s
a posh rooftop restaurant in this place. They would have a great view
of the quays from up there. Turns out this is the club Le375C.  I’m not
in the social circles to be a member, so I may never see the insides. It
certainly looks like a palace for business moguls.

I’d like to have sketched it back in the day. Check out this archive photo! (Before restoration after a fire in 1860).

Biz
did a second sketch after lunch, which I’ll post in the next few
days –  I’m putting together a small ‘making of’ at the moment. I was
trying to do these two in a strict, by-the-book manner while taking
notes for my workshop session. This year I’d like to have a little more
structure to my presentation. More on that soon!