A new life for the Oriental Hotel

Victoria – Oriental Hotel Restoration, originally uploaded by Matthew-1.

I’ve been very busy lately and have not been doing much sketching but I had a chance to get out today. My lack of practice was apparent right away and so I was frustrated, and after making a few smudges I almost gave up on this sketch. But I kept going and wound up with something I kind of like.
I’m a big admirer of Danielle McManus’s very loose and expressive style and kind of had that in mind as I started – and this way of sketching seemed to suit the very decorative building.
I will probably never have as expressive a technique as Danielle’s but I’m happy to “loosen up” and try a new approach.
I was hoping to colour this in with watercolours but wound up using a non-waterproof marker so it will remain forever black and white.
Nice to see the building being saved and turned into (relatively) affordable housing.