The gentrification of Griffintown
Posted: March 25, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized 10 CommentsGriffintown, formerly the home of many of Montreal’s Irish immigrants, now a hub of urban development and renewal. In the 1960s large parts of the neighbourhood were demolished to make room for an expressway that ended up separating the area from downtown Montreal. Sadly very few of the original buildings remain. While I sketched endless numbers of fancy cars drove by, no doubt scouting out the best investments in condo real estate.
Shari Blaukopf's Sketchbook 
Alas,expensive condos seem to have taken over most cities.
It is hard for “average” folk to live in or near city centers now.
You did a stellar job of depicting it.
Linda
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Thanks Linda. It was great to get out of my suburban neighbourhood and into a more urban locale.
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A sublime palette Shari. You have really captured the multiple levels of emotion entwined in the multiple degrees of urban development. Everything from the seemingly inert earth to the promise of soaring sky scrapers – a human mark on the skyline. But is it really progress? Does not the earth hold more promise? The more I look at this image the more complex and emotive it becomes. Thank you Shari!!!
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Thanks for all that Alison. I have been trying some new colour mixes lately so I’m glad you like the new palette. I will definitely be going back to Griffintown for more sketching…
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You were moving fast on this one Shari – it captures the energy
love the wet mixing!
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Thanks John.
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Really like the earthy color palette in this one.
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I was trying out all kinds of new stuff on this.
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I was looking at this again and thinking that it looked a little like a cross-section with the earth in the foreground and the pile driver and towers ‘growing’ behind. Also like the tailed-off top and bottom of the sheet.
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You’re right John. It is a bit like a cross-section. It was a multi-layered scene with the piles of dirt in the front, lots of generic industrial stuff in the middle and then the shiny skyscrapers in the back.
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