coffee shops

coffee shops 01 copy

coffee shops 01 copy

In really cold weather, the only place left to sketch is in coffee shops.

and the steamy heat fogs the windows and the only thing left to draw is the place itself.

These are from various sketchbooks over twenty years or so.  Boston had a great many spots that were a nice respite from the damp and cold, Chicago a good number, but Boulder's 40+ coffee shops must top the latte-location/capita list.

coffee shops 02 copy

coffee shops 02 copy

The weather in Boulder is so rarely bad that not a lot of coffee-shop-drawing has taken place for me in the last 12 years.

Do I have anything to say about the architecture or design of these places?  Not really, I go there to take a break from the studio and do some mindless sketching.  Although, all the way, I have learned a lot about coffee shops, their feel and atmosphere and how they have changed with the onslaught of mobile computing.