Yaletown’s waterfront architecture tends towards an unremarkable sameness. It is hard to caricaturize or exaggerate such a homogenous view but when you consider how the scene represents the majority of the inhabitants, it makes sense to depict the buildings as relatively similar and crowded together. Vancouver, and Yaletown in particular, is a very health-conscious city. On any given morning you are likely to pass joggers, booty-camp classes, and even seaside yoga enthusiasts all striving towards fitter forms no matter how foul the weather.

About.com notes this about Yaletown residents:

Whoever they are, there are certain traits all Yaletown locals share: they love their gyms, their yoga, their weekends in Whistler, their easy access to the area’s gourmet food and hip nightlife, and their dogs. Little dogs are de rigueur.

This scene shows a group of buildings clustered off and “admiring” the one building on the left. The sky above is punctuated by thought-bubble heart clouds while the seawall winds sinuously past a drink-umbrella gazebo and some frivolous trees. There’s also the Quayside Marina and the classic blue-green shades of Vancouver.

I rarely put people or animals in my paintings. I usually prefer to let the architecture personify the denizens, but I couldn’t resist putting in (look close!) several tiny dogs in dresses prancing about. There’s something vaguely disconcerting about seeing a miniature terrier wearing both a tutu and a muzzle.

PS: This commercial cracks me up.

Acrylic on canvas, 30″ x 36″
Fall, 2009
Located at: Private Collection (SOLD)