The Salisbury Service Station - Stanmore

The Salisbury Service station in Stanmore was opened in 1935 and has been run by the same family until it’s recent sale.

I drive past this charming service station in Stanmore every week or so, it always catches my eye. The cream and green colour scheme and the rounded roofing is classic art deco style, there aren’t many servos left that look like this, they are all so shiny and clinical now.  I thought it was a great example of the disappearing inner west and that it had to be included in my ‘Best Inner West’ show.

The sketch for this artwork came together quite quickly, I was inking the black linework before I knew it. I used a few different thicknesses in inking pens to get some depth in the drawing. The watercolour for this one was minimal, I wanted the building to really feature the cream canvas texture. I subtly watercoloured the surrounding shops and painted the Holden a darker retro green, which offered a good contrast against the fabric texture of the building.

I found the perfect frames for the show, a rustic natural birch box frame that sits approx 10cm deep from the wall. The colour and the texture of the frame highlights the detail adding to the charm of  the subject matter.

The Salisbury Service Station is now on display at Sweets Workshop for my ‘Best Inner West’ Exhibition, on until the 3rd Nov along with a few others. I will be featuring a couple of the pieces a week until the show closes.