Shanghai Alley – Artwork In Progress

Shanghai Alley, 20″ x 20″ Acrylic on Canvas, in progress. The historic Shanghai Alley is located near the entrance to Vancouver’s Chinatown and is an L shaped roadway which leads south from Pender St, then turns right to exit onto Taylor Avenue. I recently ‘discovered’ this historic building, which is actually the rear facade of 509 Carrall Street, directly on the back-side of the Sam Key Building (the world’s thinnest building), on Pender. You can see the dark grey side of the Sam Key Building with its single arched window on the left of this piece.

Although I may have seen this building frontage years ago, it didn’t register or make an impression at the time. I was always too busy looking at the front of the famous Sam Key (the world’s thinnest building) Building. But on a recent walk, a friend pointed it out to me and I was surprised—maybe it’s painted differently? It really stood out. I loved the window picture of the woman in traditional dress and pose with flowers.