my peeps
January 29, 2008
It’s funny, every time I sit down at a cafe to covertly sketch fellow coffee swillers, I inadvertently record a lasting memory. As I later thumb through my sketchbook, perusing the faces I’ve jotted down, I recall every conversation overheard, and every impression I’ve had of a particular person.
Yes, yes, that person sitting alone, at the table next to yours, is in fact listening to your conversation. Take note whether or not that person has a sketch book in hand. You just may end up on their sketch blog.
Ok, where was I? Oh yes, lasting impressions. So the blonde woman on the phone, I remember her being extremely boisterous and blustery. If memory serves, she was dropping celebrity names very loudly to the unfortunate soul on the other end of the conversation (as well as everyone in the cafe.) Ben Affleck is apparently a good friend of hers.
The smirking, young woman in the cap, is a barista. She makes a damn fine cup of coffee. She makes that coffee exactly the way I like it, and she does so while bestowing upon me the gift of her acerbic wit. A small price to pay for a perfect cup, I suppose.
Dude up there, seemed like a nice enough guy, although I’m pretty sure he thought I was hot for him. He caught me checking him out, and gave me a couple of knowing looks and a wink or two (shudder.) I have to be more careful about the length of time I study my subjects at any given moment.
sketched out 
January 29, 2008 at 11:50 am
Ha! I like the dude way up there! Looks like a suitable character for the Sopranos. But hey, he’s got looong Buddha ears, very generous person he must be. Glad that he appreciated you appreciating him, Linda! 😉
January 29, 2008 at 12:34 pm
You are a riot. Very witty. Love the sketches.
January 29, 2008 at 3:22 pm
That is my biggest fear about going out in public to draw people (which I have yet to do). At what point do they get security and complain that some weird person keeps staring at them and jotting down notes! Or worse, approach you and ask what you are doing. I assume you sit in a dark corner with sunglasses!! 🙂
January 29, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Helena, in person, he DID look a “made guy.” So, y’know, it was a little nerve-wracking to have him wink at me that way, hee hee.
Mom, thanks!
Tom, you really have to be cagey. You can’t be too worried about getting the person down perfectly. You base a lot on memory and fill in the blanks with creative license. You get fast after a while. It’s really great sport. But, once in a while you get caught. At that point, you just have to cease and desist, lest you be thrown out by security.
February 5, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Good pointers, and a great exercise! I’m trying to do more of that sort of thing myself, as you saw. But I haven’t gotten the knack for doing it at a range close enough for faces; whenever I think I’m being subtle is exactly when my subjects zero right in on me!
This is why I don’t play poker. But I’m working on it.
Great characters tho, you’ve got a true talent for capturing personality, even without the written descriptions.