The Wokker Restaurant
APRIL 2010 | Acrylic on Canvas | 8″ x 10″ | View Larger »
The Wokker is a little restaurant on Queen St. East just past the Don River, roughly where Riverdale becomes Leslieville (these boundaries are pretty vague, it seems). I’ve never eaten there, but it has the look of a classic Canadian Chinese restaurant, with a cooler sign and clever name. [map]
Josie and I snapped the photo this painting is based on last fall, when we went out to a gallery opening in the area for a friend’s show. I like the way the red and yellow lights of the restaurant light up the surrounding area and reflect on the streetcar tracks in front. Having never attempted a night scene before, I’m pretty happy with the results.
As I was working on this painting I had a sense of deja vu; then I realized the composition is very similar to the George Street Diner painting I completed last year (hydro pole, lights over the sign, wires, bicycles in shadows) though I think this one works much better.