USK Montreal – report from Sketchcrawl #35

Just back from my first Sketchcrawl as part of Urban Sketchers Montreal! If you’re in Montreal, and looking for a sketching buddy – friend us up at facebook.com/UrbanSketchersMontreal.

We were a small but dedicated group today. Put in five hours of drawing, chit chatting and having lunch. Generally a congenial way to spend a rainy day.

First stop was the Centre d’histoire de Montréal. When it rains, it seems sketchers seek museums. This place is probably typical of smaller civic museums. The final resting place for a random assortment of 19th century ephemera.

The star of the permanent collection is a huge statue of Lord Admiral Nelson (freshly relieved of one arm). Back in 1805 some group of city elders felt it was a good idea to memorialize England’s naval hero, who’d so recently trounced the dastardly French.

This might have been a wee bit divisive at the time. But on the other hand, the French Canadians could take some solace in the fact they sniped him out of his shoes at the peak of his triumph. Took the wind out of *his* sails.

So, our particular Lord Admiral Nelson now oversees once high-tech portable sewing machines, beaver top-hats, worn leather shoes and various other examples of Montreal urban history. I’ve placed him above the view from the third floor of the museum.

We finished up at Concordia, in a small student lounge with a cool aerial view of St. James the Apostle church. Was a fun shot to draw, even though we had to sketch through the moiré pattern of a giant graphic pasted on the windows.

Was great hanging out with a few of Montreal’s Urban Sketchers. Hope to see a more locals out next time!