While on sabbatical, one of the things I wanted to do was challenge myself to stretch my skills – make my brain work and go beyond what I think I can handle! This drawing does that in spades – and I captured just a small section of it for you on video. Be sure to read the blog post below the video for stories about what I was picturing in my little town!

View on YouTube

I’ve spent enough time with my little town that I thought about all the types of people who live here and what the shops are that I’ve drawn….read on to see a little of what I imagined while sketching!

City Hall: Where the town’s business is done! This town has a large facility that also houses the post office, a wedding chapel, and serves as the voting center for my little community. They’re especially proud that earlier generations were audacious enough to build them a place with a dome on top and a nice park behind it – they stand out in the county!

Every year the citizens gather around the center of town for the tree lighting. This year they have to socially distance, so they’re walking with their “bubbles” to stay safe, but are enjoying waving to each other across the way on a frosty night. The tree looks spectacular with its lights and big gold star!

There’s no service at the church tonight, but stop on in for some cocoa and pick up some handwarmers donated by the Knights of Columbus. The kids are near the doors collecting canned goods for the food pantry, so run back to the car and pick up what you brought to donate!

The antique mall has had a hard time in 2020, but they’re open with limited patrons allowed in; call ahead to schedule an appointment, and if you know what you’re looking for, they’ll text you pics of what’s available too! Parking lot out back is pretty piled up with snow so you might want to walk into town. The exercise will do you good. And fyi the carolers are in the wide open foyer – pop in to warm up and hear a tune before heading out to the tree.

Don’t forget the mom n pop shops before going back home; they’ve got the most popular gifts in the windows out front, marked with numbers so you can call and ask for it to be bagged up for you when you’re on the way home! They take Venmo, so you’ll get that shopping all finished – yay!

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