These were drawn on different days, in different places.
A salt shaker and sugar rack at Beans & Barley on Milwaukee’s East Side—a place that is gone now. A chair at Starbucks, which is still there.
When I go places, I wait.
Waiting is filled with observation.
Observation is recorded with marks.
Marks spark memory.
I can look at a few pencil lines years later and remember where I was.
Maybe that’s what a sketchbook really keeps. Not drawings of things, but evidence of moments.
For Doodle Addicts, I would use this rather than making Beans & Barley the whole story. The loss of Beans & Barley gives one sketch poignancy, but your larger idea is better: drawing converts otherwise disposable waiting into memory.
A quick observational sketch from the chess meet—boards, pieces, and the strange architecture of waiting. The chessmen seemed to be rehearsing before the players arrived.
Two pens resting on the table, drawn quickly before they were put back to work. The lines wander and double back, but that is part of looking: an ordinary object becomes particular when we give it our full attention.
Ink sketch from observation.
Faster than you think. Simple finale. Drawn with the 'hay' technique, using a computer mouse, all with one brush. I've published the sketches before, so you can follow the creation process. The 'hay' sketch on one layer, then another on the other, on and on until you get the lineart, then shading and colors. That’s all.
Okay, I may have paraphrased the quote unintentionally when I was drawing this but it still checks out, hopefully…!
“Say what you mean, because communication is a sure path to personal happiness. But don’t say it mean, because causing pain for others will never heal your own.” - Kay Medaglia.
Where will my curiosity take me, you say? Down the road of some Curious George fan art this time around!
Also, one way to honour another legend too with this here quote :-)
“Everybody should keep some grip on childhood, even as a grown-up.” - Tim Curry (1946 - 2026).
This is literally the 40th and last drawing in my current sketchbook, and yet? The first hammerhead shark I’ve crafted for this…
“And in your drеams, everything is exactly as it seems
You wakе up, everything's forgotten
Life's a dream, life's a dream…”
- from ‘Life’s A Dream’ by Modest Mouse.
