In the early 1990s, the very first neighbourhood, Bloor West Village No. One was commissioned by a gentleman as a gift to his wife. He was being transferred to the East coast. His wife made a list of the family's most popular shops, and restaurants and David came up with the design. Needless to say, the family LOVED it, and it became David's most famous neighbourhood of all time. Since then, there have been at least 4 new versions of Bloor West Village and many other communities, which have been added over time.
By this point in his career, David had changed how he made his prints. He now used the silkscreen method to create the basic print that he would then hand-paint. David was now creating his prints using the silkscreen method. * First, he created 150 prints through the silkscreen. Then, he painted each and every one of these prints by hand. The finishing touch and the mark of all limited editions is the numbering of the prints (i.e. 7/150) and adding the artist's signature in pencil.
David's Toronto Neighbourhoods series of artworks are super popular, and it's no wonder why? These are the places that we know and love. This is where we raised our families there, fell in love at the movie theatres, went for Friday night Pizza, and walked our dogs.
The Toronto Neighbourhood Posters bring together the most popular shops and businesses of the community when it was created. It is much easier for David to change the original neighbourhood print to include new and different shops and businesses in the digital age.
Here is the way that new neighbourhoods and versions of these communities are created -
1) by commission - Beaches No. 1 and Beaches No. 2 are examples of this.
2) upon request for new storefronts. Customers will request and pay for new artwork to replace storefronts within an existing neighbourhood print that may no longer exist as the communities change and time moves on. Roncesvalles No. 1 and Roncesvalles No. 3 are examples of this.
What makes this Art Series so popular?
Besides the beautiful artwork:
1) the whacky way he can take businesses that are all over the neighbourhood and on other sides of the street entirely and
2) the way he has captured snapshots in time of the places where we live, laugh and love
Bring a smile to the faces of friends and loved ones. Consider making a gift for you and your family or friends, adult children, or business associates.
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