It's a Sign! Firefly Day 15 and WWM Day 16 "Casting Shadows"

The Firefly prompt for today is;

Day 15: It’s a Sign
They might have a bad reputation for blocking out the scenery, but signs can also be a great source of inspiration. Get up close and recreate a colorful sign.

I know just the thing! I've been wanting to sketch this little barbershop forever. Now the long time owner has sold it and the new owner's paint job really sets off all the signs. Is there any doubt as to what business is going on here?

Watercolor tip: When I have a building with a mid tone or dark overall value, instead of painting the entire building the local color, I just paint the shadows. Doing that in the local color is enough to suggest that the whole building is, in this case, red.

The red stripe on the old retro barber pole on the south side of the building had faded, so I refreshed the color. 

The Day 16 prompt for World Watercolor Month on Doodlewash is "casting shadows" which dovetails nicely with this subject as well. Watch a Hyperlapse video of the first part of my watercolor shadow wash on my Instagram feed.

Side Note:
Ha! I was sketching in the shady part of the off street driveway when I realized that I was in the wrong way. Although I moved over to the proper parking section, now all the angles were different and the shadows, too. As you see, I've taken a bit of artistic license to make a better composition while still getting the idea across.

Oops! I just realized that I'm parked the wrong way  in a one way driveway.