An Illustrated Love Letter to My City

Finding My Place Between the Crows and the Cross

You know that feeling when you know you're almost home? For me, it hits with two specific sights: one made of steel, one made of wings. They are the symbols that tell me I’m back on my side of town, back where I belong. This is a love letter, of sorts, to the place I’m proud to call home, East Vancouver.

It starts with a beacon. Riding the SkyTrain back from work each day, I’d watch for it. The East Van Cross, standing against the skyline. By day, it’s an iconic piece of street art, a bold statement of identity. But at night, when it’s lit up, it transforms. It becomes a landmark in the truest sense of the word—a fixed point of light guiding you in. Seeing it has always made me smile, a simple, quiet signal that I was home.

The second sign is a living, breathing spectacle. Every single evening, a massive flock of crows—a murder, in the proper, poetic term—makes its daily migration flying right over East Van. When I first moved here, the sight was unnerving, like a scene plucked from Hitchcock’s The Birds. But that apprehension quickly turned to admiration. There’s an intelligence and determination to them. Now, I look forward to their nightly pilgrimage. I’ll sit outside just to watch them, a river of black wings against the twilight sky, another faithful marker of the day’s end and my own return.

I wanted to capture this feeling, this deep affection for the gritty charm of my neighbourhood. I knew any true love letter to East Van had to feature both the cross and the crows. So I created a drawing, a hand-drawn silhouette where urban wildlife meets an iconic landmark.

In the drawing, city crows perch on power lines against the legendary Cross, while more fly through the sky. It’s my attempt to distill that feeling of place and pride into a single image. It’s a tribute to the unique spirit of one of Canada's most vibrant neighbourhoods.

The soul of East Van isn’t just in its public art and urban wildlife, but in its gathering places, too. If you were to visit, I’d send you to Trout Lake. Tucked away in a residential area, it’s the community's heart—a place with a beach, mountain views, a farmers market, and an ice rink. It’s where you go to gather with friends and soak in the beauty of this city. Perhaps that will be the inspiration for one of my future illustrations.

Making this East Van Cross & Crows piece reminded me of something pretty simple. People always say "write what you know," and I think that sentiment applies to any art. When you draw the stuff that actually matters to you personally, all that love comes through. When you lean into the things that make your own life feel good, the art just flows.

I’d love to hear from you in the comments:

What is a landmark, big or small, that makes you feel like you're truly home?