Crowds at Sunset Beach
As restrictions ease across Vancouver and British Columbia, I too am easing myself into the idea of being in crowded places.
Last evening I walked to Sunset Beach in the evening, expecting to see many people hang out on a warm Saturday. But it was packed beyond my own expectations. There were a lot of young students, barbecuing, drinking, partying, talking, doing all the things that young people do in such abandon. I looked at them and remembered what it was like to be so young, to feel so infinite and immortal.
I sat down to draw a little away from the burgeoning crowd. Below me, rainbow colors have been laid out on the concrete parking lot and open patio. Skateboarders and roller-bladers do their thing here. Sometimes people play hockey on roller-blades too. These days there are a couple of food-trucks, one serving Indian snacks and tea, another serving Mexican food. I am yet to try the Mexican food-truck, but the chai at the Indian one is amazing. Highly recommend.
I finished this drawing in my little Moleskine sketchpad as the sun hung around on the horizon, just beyond the edge of the world, until it finally, slowly, began to sink under the waters of the Pacific Ocean.
Cheers to the return of normalcy. I hope I see many more such days!
I started drawing from the middle of the page. There was a couple sitting at the benches who caught my eye. In front of them lay the beach and then the water and then Kitsilano on the other side. They became my subjects. This drawing is about them in a way, and all couples who have pined for such evenings to return.
I then drew the horizon beyond them. The background of my scene, with families on the beach and the water beyond. Trees capped the end of my sight, forming a dense cover that worked as a suitable frame for my subjects.
There’s a lot of activity on the beach, you can see!
Finally, I came to the objects closest to me, at the bottom of the page. Some cars park here, and they worked as useful elements to show the different ways people arrive at this lovely spot. I am not so good at drawing cars, so I looked for shortcuts with every stroke I made.
You can order an 8x10” (or larger) fine art print of this drawing from my shop. Buy using the “Request a Print” item, and indicate which drawing you want in the notes.