Espresso drinkers (sketchbook)

I'm back from New York city and a very inspiring weekend. My old college roomate Dan and I met up with our old Illustration professor, Robert Kaufman in Lower Manhattan on Saturday. (This was our informal 10th reunion from The Art Institute of Boston). Robert recently wrote and illustrated a book called

BLOCKOLOGY An offbeat walking guide to lower Manhattan

He spent six months walking every block below 14th street, observing, photographing, sketching and journaling his observations. He walked over 300 miles. Robert took Dan and I on a walking tour that included a speakeasy in Greenwich Village called "Chumley's", a prohibition era bar that was frequented by many american authors and 20th century characters like Hemmingway and T.S Eliot. There was no sign on the door, you just have to know that the inconspicuous "86" on the door is the entrance to Chumley's (Exit is through the alley way out back). The distrssed wood, cheap beers, cigar stench and the 100 year old dog lying in the middle of the barroom floor kept that 1920's feel ever present.
Todays post is a sketch I did afterwards of a couple of Paisans sipping Espresso in a Chumley's-like atmosphere. This image is out of my head, I'm thinking of maybe doing some earth pallet paintings of imagery like this. We'll see, I've got a lot on my plate right now.