Category Archives: Eccleshall

Eccleshall, Eccleshall Architecture, Gallery at 12

Eccleshall Glows Red

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High Street, Eccleshall with the Arcade – home to Gallery at 12

Gallery at 12 in Eccleshall is a firm supporter of the work done by Shape Arts . Each December the Gallery holds a charity day to fund raise for them and this year it tied in with ‘RED’, their winter-themed exhibition by all the co-operative membership. I’d love to say the words ‘Beam me up Scottie!’ and be transported back to the Gallery for the day but in the meantime I got out my red oxide ink for some fresh sketches of Eccleshall and posted some new work to the Gallery from their long-distance guest member.

These are cropped images from four little original drawings of Eccleshall, all mounted ready to frame. I’ve also made sets of cards of these as handy stocking fillers.

You will always get a warm welcome in the Gallery and Eccleshall is such a picturesque place to visit – if you live in the area, why not head over.

If I don’t post again before Christmas, here’s wishing all my readers a very happy one and hope you get many peaceful sofa moments!

Architectural drawings, Eccleshall, Gallery at 12, Pen and ink drawing, Uncategorized

Fifty Streets:2/3

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Sitting outside Cowling and Wilcox drawing Holloway Road, North London, summer 2016

The more streets that I drew, the clearer I became on what it was all about. It’s simple and selfish – I only draw the streets that are meaningful to me in some way.

Half a dozen people stopped to talk to me that afternoon, curious as to what I was drawing.

Sometimes it’s because some detail has caught my eye and sometimes streets link me to family and friends. This way I connect with each street and I get lost in the hours that sink into each drawing.

Holloway Road, North London

The other thing that is really important to me is that I draw them as architectural and social records. These are my surroundings as I find them now. The people on the drawings were there at the time, including the chap taking a breather from working in the Hope Cafe.

Each street is gradually added to my archive blog where I break the streets into individual buildings and add insights of history that I discover as I go along. It’s a slow but steady process but it really gives you an idea of what Drawing the Street is all about.

Holloway Road, above ‘Ginger Lettings’

From time to time someone suggests a street for me to draw, including complete strangers! I always consider it because I might find it as interesting as they do and sometimes surprising connections unfold in the drawing of it.

Mount Parade, York was one such street. I was planning to draw the street nearby when a gentleman walked past me, stopped and asked whether I knew about the street just around the corner.

Thanks to the gentleman on the right for telling me about this street

I must have cycled past the end of this street countless times going back and forth to town and had missed it all these years!

Elegant Georgian terrace only minutes from the centre of York

As my streets gathered pace I became a member of Staffordshire Artists Cooperative and displayed my work in Gallery at 12 where I later held a joint exhibition with the library to display all my local street scenes. Another exhibition followed on a few months later in Blossom Street Gallery in York.

Thanks to Noel Bennett Photography, Eccleshall, for this pic taken in Gallery at 12
Another thank you to @SueSherman for this pic taken at Eccleshall library.

The best part for me is discovering and acknowledging the people who lived in these places, the lives that have gone ahead of me. For instance, I discovered that Charles Hammersley set out from this house almost a century ago, only to be killed in France in WW1.

N o 7 Hitchman Street, Fenton, Stoke-on Trent

I haven’t mentioned how much urban sketching is part of the fabric of Drawing the Street – it’s where I meet people and really get the feel for a place.

In my next 3/3 post on this reflection of my fifty streets I will bring you up to date with my latest news up here in Scotland!

Thanks for reading! Ronnie 🙂

High Street Eccleshall, Summer 2015
Architectural drawings, Eccleshall, Gallery at 12

Eccleshall people bringing life to the street

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1People of Eccleshall
A few quick pencil sketches of Eccleshall people before inking on to paper

Whenever I draw a street scene, I like to include the people who are around at the time. This has become just as important as recording the buildings as it’s the people who bring the street to life.

1a Eccleshall from Buttons to Valentinos.jpg
Work in progress on the next stage of Eccleshall High Street

Although I already had a few photos of people, I put a call out on social media to invite volunteers from Eccleshall to step on to my latest drawing of the High Street by sending me a photo of themselves or friends along this part of the street.

I was delighted when the photographer Caroline Burley sent me a selection of photos of figures striding out between ‘Valentins’ and ‘& Buttons’. Thanks Caroline! I will leave you to figure out who’s who, but here are the line drawings – almost ready for the colour wash.

2 56 High St Eccleshall Valentino sq

3 Angela Pearly Smith Eccleshall
 Angela ‘Pearly’ Smith…from Gallery at 12 

4 Caroline Burley
Photographer Caroline – classically framed!

5 Man and dog eccleshall
Walking the spaniel

6 Sean Hirst Flowers
Armed with Sean Hirst Flowers

7 Leaning man and man on bike eccleshall

Josh crop march 2016 a
My new assistant Josh, fresh from the North Staffs RSPCA shelter on Monday.

Thanks for reading.

Ronnie

Architectural Drawing, Eccleshall, Staffordshire

Adding colour to the High Street, Eccleshall

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No 2 to 30a High Street, Eccleshall Staffordshire
Inking up the length of High Street Eccleshall

I am gradually picking up from where I left off before my recent accident. I am much more mobile now and keen to get back to normal activities so settling down to draw the second stage of Eccleshall has been a tonic.

Drawing of Star Pizza High and London House, Street, Eccleshall
Star Pizza and London House, High Street, Eccleshall.

This is a wonderful street to draw as it is full of life, colour and history.

colour on drawing of Star Pizza and London House
Star Pizza and London House with colour washes

As an example, London House was once the shop and home of a ‘mercer’ – a dealer in textiles, built for £50, and is now home to a restaurant.

Pen and ink and pencil drawing of Eccleshall High Street
Inking up Eccleshall Pharmacy, Wine Etc and Spencer the Jewellers, all listed buildings.

Eccleshall High Street lies in the heart of the conservation area where there are 61 listed buildings. Further descriptions of these buildings can be found on British Listed Buildings Online. The timber framed building now occupied by Wines Etc was originally built as a market hall in 1884, and is now listed grade 2 along with the others in this cluster.

colour drawing of Katherine House, Eccleshall Pharmacy, Wines Etc
Colour washes applied to the sepia drawing.

colour wash in egg tempera over Eccleshall Library
Eccleshall library and clock

The 1.6m long drawing is almost complete with some finishing touches to add along with the lettering. Once finished,  I will scan and load the finished image on to the website Drawing the Street.

long view of whole drawing of Eccleshall High Street
Almost complete, just the lettering to add.

Limited edition, (set of 60) signed, fine art quality giclee prints will soon be available to buy at three different sizes: 30 small prints (60 cm) at £65 each, 20 medium (1.2 mm) at £125 and 10 large (1.5m) at £195, including postage and packing.  Please contact me at RonnieCruwys@drawingthestreet.co.uk if you would like to reserve a print. If you are a trader who would like to stock these prints, or licence parts of the image for merchandise, I would be delighted to hear from you. Last of all, something for Cherry of Mercian Scribes:

Monty Grey Cat
The now All-Seeing-All-Knowing Monty-Grey Cat