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Reviewing records of old paintings

April 18th, 2023

Reviewing records of old paintings

Hi dear friends. Keeping showing some old works which are not more with me because I sold them or gave them as present. This is an old watercolour and ink painting: "Regent's Canal by Shoreditch, London, UK" from 2012 and this was sold also in my exhibition in Barbican Library in 2017 and this travelled to California US. I learnt never to discard an old painting because this could be sold at any time.

The Dolphin Tavern, Red Lion St. London, UK

March 9th, 2023

The Dolphin Tavern, Red Lion St. London, UK

Discovering this Iconic Pub
One day walking by Red Lion St. under the raining in a quite stormy evening I saw this pub in the corner and immediately like the image, so I decided to take a photo to then painting it. The storm and the warm but mysterious light coming from inside make me feel curious about this building. I return some days after to take some sketches and even I went inside to see it. After some time I researched the history of this pub and I was impressed to know about this building.
An Old pub with a ghost history
The original pub was destroyed by a zeppelin bomb in 1915 and was subsequent rebuilt. Three customers were killed in the explosion, and, by the end of that night, the pub was nothing more than a heap of rubble. Prior to the commencement of the rebuilding, however, the rubble of the previous building was combed through and the pub’s old clock was discovered, somewhat battered and scarred, but, otherwise, reasonably intact. The clock’s hands were frozen at 10.40pm, the exact moment when the bomb hit the pub with such devastating consequences. The decision was, therefore, taken to place the clock on a wall inside the rebuilt tavern, and this was duly done.
The pub today is still working and in an area that is mainly dedicated to catering for the needs of weekday office staff. But, when the last customer has gone and the staff is busily tiding away the debris of another day, they occasionally feel their attention drawn inexplicably to the old clock and hear a soft mournful whistling that gets lower and lower until once more all is quiet. . .
The oldest record dates from 1805/William Game, Dolphin, Red Lion street, Holborn/../../Holdens Directory.

Painting the pubs of London The Hen and Chickens Islington

February 23rd, 2023

 Painting the pubs of London  The Hen and Chickens  Islington

This is the painting I finished on 27 July 2022. One more piece to my collection of pubs of London. This is a pub and theatre bar in North London, specifically in Highbury and Islington area. This is called Hen & Chickens Theatre Bar, a pub with a rich history of stand-up comedy, a cosy Victorian corner building. I live locally and for some time I was to add it to my collection. Close to Highbury and Islington Tube Station this is a very active spot. There is something nice in the name of the pub and the figures of the hen and chicken on the arched tympanum of the building. I didn’t find the date of the construction but I assume that is old. Anyway I choose it because is a beautiful building. The painting shows it after raining in spring time.

A bit of my history of how I started painting pubs

February 15th, 2023

A bit of my history of how I started painting pubs

Arriving to London
I arrived to London from Chile in June 2004. It was around the first week and the summer was just round the corner. Wrongly I supposed that London could be cold even in summer, so I came wearing a very warm coat, scarf and hat and after I left Heathrow and came to central London I really noticed the 33 Celsius degrees in this day.
Discovering the Pubs
Few hours had passed from my arrival and someone invite me to have a walk in the park to stretch my legs. I was near Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. As an architect I was immediately in love with the architecture and then the park. I born and grow up in the Atacama desert where in some parts the relative humidity was 0%, some slightly rain every ten years and the greenery was really zero, so for me the park was really fantastic. Did not take too long to discover the pubs and absolutely fall in love with them. In those time there was available only my little and basic camera (still far from the devices we have today) and anyway I was happy and excited to be in London and during my walks I started to sketch them in my notebook. The first months I did not count with more materials and only carried with me my sketchbook and my pen and one day I decided to add colour to my sketches, so I bought some basic watercolours and did it. Slowly I started to do them in separate format and more adequate paper.
https://www.islingtongazette.co.uk/news/caledonian-artist-attempts-to-paint-100-islington-pubs-9042378

Pubs of London Watercolour paintings collection by Francisco

February 11th, 2023

Pubs of London Watercolour paintings collection by Francisco

Starting the blog
I have decided to create this blog to tell a bit my history with my artwork and how I commenced the collection of watercolour with pubs of London and others paintings. When I arrived to London seventeen years ago I felt in love with this city, and one of the things that more took my attention were the pubs. As an architect I was captivated by these buildings and how they were decorated with flowers and full of people inside and outside especially in summer. I could notice the energy and the spirit there. So I started to do sketches of them and later I decided to start to paint these drawings.
The firsts lines were with ink and then I chose watercolour because was easy to get it and to carry it. I was just arriving to London, so not to much materials and an established place to live. The last three years I decided to retire from architectural work and dedicate full time to my painting which is my passion. This is my first post and I will be telling the history of each painting, my experience, my feelings, emotions and impressions. This will include a bit of pubs history as well.