Artist Chris Shearer moved to San Francisco in 2007 and has been inspired by the city – from its gritty urban scenes and iconic architecture to its breathtaking natural environments and the combination of all three together – ever since. Shearer uses a watercolor line drawing technique to capture the beauty of the city.
Starting tonight, August 15 through October 5, Shearer will be showing some of these works at Dolores Park Cafe. The opening reception takes place this evening from 6-8 p.m. The show will consist of Shearer's recent landscapes mostly, including the largest of his works, "From Twin Peaks, North."
I reached out to Shearer to ask him some questions about his work and his inspiration.
Clement and 3rd
When did you move to SF? In what neighborhood do you live?
My wife and I moved to SF in April 2007 all the way from Michigan. We live in the Richmond. As of a year ago, I began street vending through the SF Arts Commission. I now sell prints and postcards of the entire series of Urban Landscapes of SF.
What was the first landscape of SF you drew? What inspired it?
The first drawing was a sketch of the pedestrian overpass on Geary and Steiner, which was covered in graffiti at the time. It was only days after moving to The City that I found the urban landscape to be quite beautiful and full of visual energy. I have always been intrigued by street art which inspired me to render these temporary moments of expression into these detailed drawings.
From Twin Peaks, North
What's your favorite landscape that you've drawn?
One of my favorite scenes is Ocean Beach and the graffiti covered storm drain. I'm also very proud of my largest work, "From Twin Peaks, North," which took nearly a year to complete and stretches 3 ft. high by 6 ft. long. I made a time lapse video of creating it.
"Fort Mason" is another which depicts the nightlife of Off the Grid, where the best food trucks gather on Friday's during the summer. I was featured as Artist in Residence via Off the Grid during the month of April and was given my own tent to display and sell my artwork.
Japanese Tea Garden
What SF scene have you not drawn yet that you'd like to?
The Hibernia Bank on McAllister and Jones has been on my mind for a while now. It sparked the idea to create a series of drawings that captures landmarks that could potentially disappear over time.
All images by Chris Shearer; including top image 'Jones and Taylor'