houses…sketched and hooked

I was in Toronto for a few days last week. One of my favourite places is the Art Gallery of Ontario. I like to  make a trek to my favourites, David Milne and Lauren Harris. and then head to the cappuccino bar which overlooks Dundas Street and its row of Victorian houses. It was a sunny day, something which has been very rare lately, and I had enough time to complete two sketches of these elaborate houses. I like the sense of calm that comes over me when sketching, even in the centre of a busy city, and I love to get to know a building by sketching it.

My Annie rug  is too big to leave the house now…so I’ve been working on a few small pieces. I seem to have houses on the brain (Annie has 65 and counting) and it’s interesting how hooking and sketching inform one another. I’m thinking of doing a series of these small mats, working with shapes, values and colour and rows of houses.