Occasionally I find myself drawn to the small town local scenes. I have done numerous sketches of Centerville’s back alleys and even had one published in The Best of Sketching & Drawing by Rockport Book Publishers.

This old shoe repair sign caught my eye years ago; in fact, I took the photograph in 1996. The sign has long disappeared and other businesses have been located in this spot on West Van Buren Street, just off the Centerville square.  I sketched these angled buildings and added the parked cars for interest and also the electrical wires spanning the street and alley. This was a petite size to do and fun to paint. I plan to do many more of these intimate small town scenes that capture life in the rural Midwest.