Readers of my posts may know that I love colour. Fall of course is definitely a time when colours are evocative and brilliant. I started putting this post together in mid October, but life got in the way and it turned out to be November before I published it.
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| I'm not usually a fan of heavily manicured landscapes, but I was drawn by the vibrant reds and greens of the Beaconsfield Inn. |
A couple more scenes follow of complementary red and green.
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| Complementary red and green, in the "Duet", adjacent the James Bay Fire Hall. Checking online, the Duet is an apartment hotel. |
And here is one more scene where red and green work together.
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| These two buildings along View Street provide my final example of red and green. In the foreground is the building which used to be the residence of the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese, adjacent to St. Stephen's Cathedral. Built in 1907, the former residence building is now used as offices of the Diocese. In the background is part of the St. Stephen's Square office development. |
Victoria provides constant colour beyond its fall foliage, despite the grey skies of winter which will soon be prevalent.
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| I've regularly noticed this yellow house on Olympia Street, and the multi-coloured vehicle which is often parked on Dallas Road. This day I thought I'd see how they looked near each other in the same photo frame. |
Here's a close-up of the artwork on the sidewalk side of the vehicle.
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| The references to Mile 0 (the beginning of the Trans-Canada Hghway), and Fonyo Beach, hint that the owner lives in the area. |
Moving on to another favorite topic, that of window design, where colour is independent of the season. Here are three windows that caught my eye in recent weeks:
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| These are just a few of the colourful bottles on display in this store specializing in gourmet olive oils. |
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| The bright yellow in this window display attracts the viewer's attention. |
And here is one final window display which used orange and purple for a Halloween theme.
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| This flower shop is at "Five Corners" in James Bay, and always does a fine job of its window displays. |
I often walk by the Magnolia Hotel on Gordon Street, and appreciate the distinctive turquoise detail which subtly dresses up the building.
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| The Magnolia Hotel, and the intricate green design which extends vertically. I liked the contrast of gold fall foliage with the green details. |
I'm a fan of banners, and I enjoyed the display by Christ Church Cathedral.
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| The Cathedral grounds, showing a distant view of some of the banners |
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| A better view of the banners |
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| These banners are along the Quadra Street side the of the Cathedral |
And banners at Beacon Hill Park...
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Are black and white colours? Here's a facade which caught my attention:
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| A well chosen design theme which fits with the business name. I liked the reflection of Broughton Street's mature trees in the windows which make the ambience less stark. |
I can't leave this quick homage to colour without a nod to the amazing dahlias I see blazing forth from so many gardens. As well as their brilliant colours, I'm always in awe of the intricate designs of their petals. Here's one image from earlier in October:
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| A segue to a different kind of geometry in this beautiful dahlia |
The images in this post were taken in October, but I'm inserting one taken from earlier in the summer, as a nod to the local pub.
When I lived in cities with suburbs, I used to dream of living in a city where I could walk to a local pub. Somehow that idea is the essence of a human-scale city.
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| This attractive building is one of several local pubs, all within walking distance! The historic hotel is where the artist Emily Carr lived in her final years. |
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| James Bay United Church. I like the tryptych feel of this image, with the church, the mural, and the November flowers at the end of their season. |
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| The colour in this downtown scene, on Yates Street at Blanshard, is provided by the iron used in both the planters, and the ironwork sculpture. I'm intrigued by how much iron is used in Victoria's buildings, and how it somehow works to soften the hardness of concrete and glass. |
Most of the images in this post have been of our built environment. I will close with two images from nature:
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| Rocks exposed by low tide are illuminated by the golden light of a late October setting sun |
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| October sunset -- complementary colours of orange and blue! |
As the fall season draws to a close, may you find much colour in your life.
