Sketchbook: Coffee Shop Chairs.

Before work, I spend my mornings drawing in a nearby coffee shop. I often bring photos and reference of things I want to draw, but sometimes I’m in a hurry and don’t have time to prepare reference, or I’m bored with what I brought. When that happens, I turn to a favorite object: a chair.

I’ve been going to the same coffee shop since I first moved to San Diego ten years ago. It occupies a wonderful, open space. High ceilings. Great light. It has a welcoming vibe with friendly staff. It also has those large, over-stuffed chairs and couches that appear charming until you sit in one and realize that its charm abandoned it long ago when you disappear completely into its old, unsupportive cushions.

But they sure are fun to draw. Couches and chairs possess a certain gravity for me. I enjoy trying to render them. They have a personality that I want to capture. A story they want to tell.

A little side note… despite the abundance of seating options available in this coffee shop, if I start drawing a chair there’s a 90% chance someone will sit down in it.

Here are some of the quick drawings I’ve done while sitting in the coffee shop. The drawings are various combinations of pencil, pen, watercolor, and marker -- all done in a Moleskine sketchbook. I experiment with each drawing, trying to figure out a new way to render shapes and edges.