Piccadilly Gardens - Original Drawing
Piccadilly Gardens (2024) - biro, ink and wash
Original drawing of Manchester’s premiere public space. On cartridge paper, 42cm x 25cm (slightly cropped A3).
Original drawing, signed. I’m more than happy to advise on mounting and framing. Original drawings, especially at A3, are expensive things due to the amount of time that goes into them. I’m more than happy to discuss payment options if you’d like to get in touch.
My spiel about the spot:
The much loved (maybe only by me?) and much hated Piccadilly Gardens! The view from this spot is a rare one for Manchester because you can't see a single structure from before the 1960s. (Ok, a miniscule section of the beautiful and bizarre 1850s Watts Warehouse, now Britannia Hotel, pokes out under the hotel but it was too distance to feature in my sketch).
The brutalist modernism of Piccadilly Plaza was finished in 1965 and I love it. The Pevsner architectural guide esp describes the "three funny little roofs" which sit on the slab of the hotel viewing platform. They are indeed random little guys.
Prior to the Plaza's construction this was just more Victorian warehousing until the Manchester blitz blew that away.
From the 1750s until the 1900s this was the site of the Manchester Royal Infirmary and Lunatic Asylum with gardens set out for the rich and respectful of Manchester to promenade in. Prior to this it was a semi swamp spot nicknamed the Daub Holes where builders could load up on muddy clay for brick and mortar construction. Lovely.
In the coming years the Gardens are set to be redeveloped yet again, following on from the recent demolition of the concrete wall and cover which divided up the gardens from the bus and tram stop, which had been nicknamed 'the Berlin wall' (not a compliment).
Cute detail, as I drew in the preliminary lines for this the refuse collector (in the centre with his trolley) made up a little ditty with a chorus "he's not Van Gogh yet but he's getting there, he's getting there". He assured me he was "just having a laugh, not taking the piss" so that's alright.
Piccadilly Gardens (2024) - biro, ink and wash
Original drawing of Manchester’s premiere public space. On cartridge paper, 42cm x 25cm (slightly cropped A3).
Original drawing, signed. I’m more than happy to advise on mounting and framing. Original drawings, especially at A3, are expensive things due to the amount of time that goes into them. I’m more than happy to discuss payment options if you’d like to get in touch.
My spiel about the spot:
The much loved (maybe only by me?) and much hated Piccadilly Gardens! The view from this spot is a rare one for Manchester because you can't see a single structure from before the 1960s. (Ok, a miniscule section of the beautiful and bizarre 1850s Watts Warehouse, now Britannia Hotel, pokes out under the hotel but it was too distance to feature in my sketch).
The brutalist modernism of Piccadilly Plaza was finished in 1965 and I love it. The Pevsner architectural guide esp describes the "three funny little roofs" which sit on the slab of the hotel viewing platform. They are indeed random little guys.
Prior to the Plaza's construction this was just more Victorian warehousing until the Manchester blitz blew that away.
From the 1750s until the 1900s this was the site of the Manchester Royal Infirmary and Lunatic Asylum with gardens set out for the rich and respectful of Manchester to promenade in. Prior to this it was a semi swamp spot nicknamed the Daub Holes where builders could load up on muddy clay for brick and mortar construction. Lovely.
In the coming years the Gardens are set to be redeveloped yet again, following on from the recent demolition of the concrete wall and cover which divided up the gardens from the bus and tram stop, which had been nicknamed 'the Berlin wall' (not a compliment).
Cute detail, as I drew in the preliminary lines for this the refuse collector (in the centre with his trolley) made up a little ditty with a chorus "he's not Van Gogh yet but he's getting there, he's getting there". He assured me he was "just having a laugh, not taking the piss" so that's alright.
Piccadilly Gardens (2024) - biro, ink and wash
Original drawing of Manchester’s premiere public space. On cartridge paper, 42cm x 25cm (slightly cropped A3).
Original drawing, signed. I’m more than happy to advise on mounting and framing. Original drawings, especially at A3, are expensive things due to the amount of time that goes into them. I’m more than happy to discuss payment options if you’d like to get in touch.
My spiel about the spot:
The much loved (maybe only by me?) and much hated Piccadilly Gardens! The view from this spot is a rare one for Manchester because you can't see a single structure from before the 1960s. (Ok, a miniscule section of the beautiful and bizarre 1850s Watts Warehouse, now Britannia Hotel, pokes out under the hotel but it was too distance to feature in my sketch).
The brutalist modernism of Piccadilly Plaza was finished in 1965 and I love it. The Pevsner architectural guide esp describes the "three funny little roofs" which sit on the slab of the hotel viewing platform. They are indeed random little guys.
Prior to the Plaza's construction this was just more Victorian warehousing until the Manchester blitz blew that away.
From the 1750s until the 1900s this was the site of the Manchester Royal Infirmary and Lunatic Asylum with gardens set out for the rich and respectful of Manchester to promenade in. Prior to this it was a semi swamp spot nicknamed the Daub Holes where builders could load up on muddy clay for brick and mortar construction. Lovely.
In the coming years the Gardens are set to be redeveloped yet again, following on from the recent demolition of the concrete wall and cover which divided up the gardens from the bus and tram stop, which had been nicknamed 'the Berlin wall' (not a compliment).
Cute detail, as I drew in the preliminary lines for this the refuse collector (in the centre with his trolley) made up a little ditty with a chorus "he's not Van Gogh yet but he's getting there, he's getting there". He assured me he was "just having a laugh, not taking the piss" so that's alright.