I went downtown to the construction site of the Dr. Phillips Center of the Performing Arts. My plan was to sketch the children’s art that covers the fencing surrounding the site. As I walked down Magnolia however, I couldn’t resist sketching the Methodist church spire against the dark storm clouds. A building across the street from the church was being demolished to make more room for the Arts center construction.
Dark rust colored beams were beginning to rise from the construction site. The buildings were taking form. A web cam tracks the building’s progress 24/7. Part of me wants to get on the construction site to do a series of sketches documenting the progress. Then again it is boiling hot outside with little hope of shade on the site.
I thought I would be sketching in the crowds of people rushing home at 5pm, but the streets were eerily vacant. Only the vehicular traffic left the impression that Downtown was bustling. A bus driver stopped next to me and the doors opened with a hiss. I was about to explain that I wasn’t waiting for a bus, but she said, “I just wanted to see the sketch with the color, I saw you when you started the sketch.” I held up the sketch so she could see and she gave me a thumbs up. One fellow wearing a tie stopped to see what I was doing. He said, “That’s my building!” Apparently he must be the architect. A lightening flash blinked brightly on the horizon. The rain held off long enough so I could get back to my car. Then it poured.