Painting a Thompson Square panorama
in Windsor
Painting Windsor Seafoods and its neighbour Gloria Jean's Coffee from just outside the Macquarie Arms Hotel.
My favourite fast food shop in Windsor!
I've decided to paint a series of studies of individual shops.
Windsor Seafoods at 74 George St Windsor is in the AC Stearn Building.built in 1907.
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| TSW11 'George st from Thompson Square ' 2013 oil on canvas 31 x 153cm Enquiries |
I usually painted the trees, river and the graceful Georgian architecture on either side of the park. I found that I really enjoyed painting Windsor's George st shopping strip or "Eat St".
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| Starting to paint a small canvas 'Windsor Seafoods and Gloria Jean's Coffee' 2014 oil on canvas 28 x 36cm Enquiries |
The name "A. C. Stearn" and date is helpfully written in decorative maroon lettering on the top floor of the facade of this impressive heritage building.
One of the legendary attractions of Windsor Seafoods is their macaw.
One of the legendary attractions of Windsor Seafoods is their macaw.
However "Snappa" is only in residence 3 or 4 days a week, and by the lack of raucous screeching, this must have been one of "Snappa"'s days off.
The original balcony of this handsome two story building was unfortunately removed in the 1950's.
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| Starting to paint a small canvas 'Windsor Seafoods and Gloria Jean's Coffee ' 2014 oil on canvas 28 x 36cm Enquiries |
However it was later restored to its former grandeur in 1975, and then was updated again in 1988, in preparation for the Bicentenary celebrations.
There is a little laneway between Gloria Jean's Coffee and Windsor Seafoods which is topped by a cream wall that I initially thought was a walkway from the top floor of one building to another. It isn't, or if it is, you'd need the skills of a tightrope walker.
On closer inspection it's just a few rows of bricks strangely attaching the two buildings, with no real function. It could be a leftover from a previously existing building, possibly even the Sir John Young Hotel which was built in 1865, then demolished in 1915 following a fire in 1913.
Gloria Jean's Coffee is one of 3 little eateries in what apparently used to be a single building.
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| Halfway through painting a small canvas 'Windsor Seafoods and Gloria Jean's Coffee ' 2014 oil on canvas 28 x 36cm Enquiries |
On closer inspection it's just a few rows of bricks strangely attaching the two buildings, with no real function. It could be a leftover from a previously existing building, possibly even the Sir John Young Hotel which was built in 1865, then demolished in 1915 following a fire in 1913.
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| Halfway through painting a small canvas 'Windsor Seafoods and Gloria Jean's Coffee ' 2014 oil on canvas 28 x 36cm Enquiries |
The other 2 are "Grill on George" and Stir Crazy" but aren't visible in these pictures.
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| Starting to paint TSW18 'Windsor Seafoods' 2014 oil on canvas 36 x 28cm Enquiries |
I finished lunch and my first painting, then started another.
This time I used the same size canvas, but turned it around to paint a vertical study of Windsor Seafoods.
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| TSW17 'Windsor Seafoods and Gloria Jean's Coffee ' 2014 oil on canvas 28 x 36cm Enquiries |
One
of the charming eccentricities of the architecture is that the levels
of the crenellations of the roofline of the 2 outer buildings are lower
than that of the centre building.
All
3 buildings have blue and cream striped awnings, which with the white
canvas marquee, fluttering yellow and orange flags and blue and cream
umbrellas of Windsor Seafoods, give the whole streetscape a jaunty air.
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| TSW18 'Windsor Seafoods' 2014 oil on canvas 36 x 28cm Enquiries |