I pass this little corner market at the corner of K and 23rd, not to mention the nearby train station and the old Ford pickup truck, on my way to and from the 17th Street Pub.
Technical: I snapped a photo of this using my iPhone, viewed it in iPhoto on my external monitor, hand held my iPad and began sketching free hand in Paper 53 and finished it in Procreate. Good practice.
It happens now and then. I walk into the 17th Street Public House. Miller is behind the bar. At this point I say, “What am I having?” And, as if she were reading my palm, she diagnoses my brew disposition by handing me a sample of something that pretty much always hits the spot; and that’s what I go with.
However, earlier this evening things were slightly different. Miller was busy with other thirsty patrons, and I got the 1st of two beers for the evening from another therapist/barkeeper.
About thirty minutes later, while I was sketching the image below – an owl in connection with something in wood I’m currently working on – I hear Miller talking to another patron about a certain beer on tap. My curiosity is triggered. I inquire, and Miller says, “I’ll give you a sample, if you draw a picture of me.” Now, I’m not from the Depression Era, but I am somehow accustomed to doing almost anything for beer, even a sample of beer. So, knowing that I need all the sketching practice I can get in general and at least as much Procreate practice in particular, I sip the sample of what I eventually order next, accept that it is, indeed, Miller Time, and I start working on this:
Remember what I said about the owl?
My layers got out of control. I ended up just going with the Procreate flow, backwash is more like it.
It started when Annyth and I made a relatively unexpected stop at the 17th Street Public House for a porter, no make that two for each of us after squeezing in a couple of delivered tacos from J&R Tacos at halftime. Yea, it became an outing.
And there I was staring at a cool Dogfish Head tap head, which I photographed, brought home, and started playing with. Part of that photo remains in today’s image, but that particular portion – and the drawing itself – kept resizing themselves within their layers. At any rate, here’s where I decided to draw the line and scream kaput!
No live music here at the 17th Street Public House, but this image occurred to me nonetheless…#greenflashblackIPAthemore.
Yesterday afternoon I rode my bike down to the 17th Street Public House and had two beers, a Payback Porter by Speakeasy Ales & Lagers and a Belgian Style Double IPA Homework Series Batch No. 2. from Ballast Point (I think, at least that’s what the sticky note said). Delicious and potent both!
On the way out I took an iPhone photo of the exterior and rendered this rough drawing in Paper 53 from it earlier today in two sittings.
[Note: Due to technical difficulties, I’ve deleted and reposted this. Sorry for any inconvenience or confusion.]
I started this drawing last night while sipping the featured subject but got carried away with a conversation at the bar. Two pints later and it was time to go. So I finished it off this morning with the help of a photo and plenty of dramatic license, as usual. Besides the beers, the woodwork itself at the 17th Street Public House is eye catching.
On our very first visit to Merced, CA in January of this year, while Ann was interviewing and being interviewed, I was engaged in a contextual research project. That’s when I first stumbled into the 17th Street Public House; and, that’s when I began imagining our own potential immersion, our own possible intertwinement in this new context, to honor the texture of this metaphor. Fast forward, and we’re here in Merced, and I’m already making comparisons between my initial research findings and those related to a similar investigation that I conducted at El Bait Shop in Des Moines, Iowa four years ago. At any rate, I’m pleased that we’ll be able to take part in the Great Beer Movement that’s happening here and throughout the country. Kinda’ makes me feel at home.
portfoliolongo 
