October was a bit premature to share what was on my drawing board at the time – snowy scenes of some of Audlem’s delightful shops.
Now that we are into Advent and the temperature has fallen, it feels much more timely to share the images which are now on sale as Christmas cards at Williams of Audlem.
Derek at the Doorway of Williams of Audlem
Pop in to Williams and say hello to Derek!
Audlem Cycle Sport and Dry Cleaners
The Old Priest House Cafe, AudlemThe Old Post Office, Audlem
Following on fromm my last blog post, here’s the finished tea towel – a great Christmas gift and easy to post! On sale at Williams of Audlem, Cheshire.
Just a short post this time as I am about to head off to a big family gathering. Thought you might like to see a few more drawings which I have completed and posted over on the main website www.drawingthestreet.co.uk. I would be delighted if you would click over and have a look.
Before you head over, a few words about the Post Office on Market Place, Burslem, below. This was a project which the Burslem Regeneration Company and my former workplace, Horsley Huber Architects had a hand in reshaping together with the owner.
Although the reinstatement of the original window layout is a relatively small job in the building industry, I do have an idea of the background work that has gone on behind the scenes by all parties to make this happen, there is more than meets the eye!
That said, this building now looks so much better and you can really see the overall impact when you look at the street as a whole.
Post Office and the Leopard pub, Market Place, BurslemBurslem Post Office before the conservation work began in June 2011
Moving down towards the west end of Market Place, there is a narrow gap, Market Passage where there is a faded mural.
The Burslem Bear
I would never have noticed the Burslem Bear had I not drawn this! A sign of Burslem’s history…
I have begun to draw up Market Place in Burslem. I took photographs on the most beautiful day last year and got a great welcome and a complimentary cup of coffee from the good ladies in Silver Coin Amusements, pictured below. As promised, they are on my drawing!
Silver Coin, Market Place, Burslem
The black and white drawing above is shown so you can see work in progress. I have begun drawing the opposite side of Market Place and will add colour when both are complete.
I have also been overhauling my website -please do click on the link below to see the fledgling site. I would welcome any feedback. Just let me know whether you can see the drawings on your computer ok – there is so much for me to learn with all this. I hope to get the new site and old name integrated in the next week or so. www.cargocollective.com/drawingthestreet
Yes, I know, a slow start but I am gradually getting back into my drawing stride.
I have just come back from a weekend in York, visiting family in my old home town and taking a fresh look at some of the York streets that I would like to draw over the course of the coming year. There is one particular street in York which I love to visit, known fondly by the locals as the Bishy Road.
It is a good step away from the tourist hot spots but it is always buzzing! Hardly surprising when there are so many great independent outlets such as the Pig and Pastry and Cycle Heaven – the latter is always a big attraction for my husband whenever we visit.
What really strikes me as the key to this thriving street is the great community spirit and the handy, reasonably priced car park alongside.
Park and shop on the Bishy Road
It was great this Christmas when we had free car parking here in our town of Newcastle-under-Lyme, more please! Let’s support our local communities wherever we are by providing access to our town centre shops.
So here is a flavour of street drawings to come and if you do visit York, don’t forget to have a look at Bishopthorpe Road, it’s a ten minute walk south of Clifford’s Tower and Skeldergate Bridge. Right, time to sharpen my pencils and get sketching!
If you have been one of the people to visit the Drawing the Street exhibition, my wholehearted thanks! I have been very moved by the continuous flow of positive comments. These drawings have entailed endless hours of work and to read how well they have been received has been a wonderful vote of confidence in what I began a year ago this month. I hope to respond to each of your comments in turn via email or the blog pages.
It is evident that Newcastilians are most enthusiastic about their town and its history! The centrepiece drawing ‘Ironmarket in Winter’ has been enjoyed by so many of you that I have decided to donate the original to the library to keep it in the public domain. I would love to hear any thoughts or memories of the old Ironmarket and town centre so I can build up a living history alongside the drawings. I have come across a strong community spirit here in Newcastle, it would be good to draw some of it together through this website.
Ironmarket in winter – extract
I will retain the copyright of the drawing and a number of prints (of all my drawings) are being sold through Newcastle Library, the Borough Museum and Art Gallery and directly from me. I will get a price list together in my next web update, but if you are thinking about a print for a Christmas gift, do get in touch with me as soon as you can by email RonnieCruwys@drawingthestreet.co.uk or phone  07966 230909.
Coming soon…. gift box sets of ten best quality postcards of ‘Ironmarket in Summer’. There is a limited pre-Christmas launch of 100 sets, so if you would like me to reserve a set, please drop me an email.Â
Drawing the Street 