Graceful Old Lady

I had a committee meeting in San Antonio this week and took along my sketch gear. This old building caught my eye from my hotel room. Luckily I had a chance to find out her story and sketch her. Chatted with an employee there and had a run-in with a cop and pan-handled by street people. All in the day of an urban sketcher. I have more of the story on my blog post. The Hotel Robert E. Lee is now a low-income apartment complex that rents rooms for $600-$800/month. This is just a couple blocks off the River Walk, so the location is prime. The masonry and woodwork are all tight and well maintained. They restored the old signage and the old water tower on the roof, too.

Back Alleys

My sketch, done with a Hero pen on S & B Beta paper...FUN line variation

And this is where I've stopped...

I really enjoy the almost universal feel of back alleys.  This is the back of an apartment building in my town.  I've sketched the front before, but I really love that back view, with balconies, staircases, potted plants, antennas...it could almost be anywhere!

I wanted to keep it simple, so stopped before I killed the sparkle or got it all muddy...

You can see more step-by-step stuff on that sketch on our Artist's Journal Workshop blog!