Art Beat – Tim Hunt’s Main Street Sketches

                                           Image by Tim Hunt

Tim Hunt

Tim Hunt explores his community outfitted with a small sketchbook, pen, and watercolour kit. In our regular feature, he shares the pages from his sketchbook and tells the stories behind his work.

I have long been curious about the history of the buildings at 48 and 50 Main Street. I pass by them daily, and although modest, something suggests that they have more to tell than they are letting on – just the sort of thing that piques my curiosity and gets me excited about making a drawing.

While Main Street evolves with the addition of bike lanes; vibrant businesses; and newer, taller buildings; these unassuming sisters keep a low profile. After finishing my sketch, I reached out to local artist David Hawken, whose website address is displayed in the window on the Harvey Street side of Studio 50. According to Hawken, the corner building was originally an Italian grocery store, and the red brick house next door was home to its owners.

Tracing its timeline back over a century, 50 Main has also been host to a French bookstore, a Canada Post depot, and a company that produced braille books. For the past 20 years, the building has served as David Hawken’s art studio – a significant contribution to the living history of Old Ottawa East. See David’s work at Instagram@davidhawkenart.