Drawn the Road Again

Tag: east

  • Toast-n-trinkets

    Toast-n-trinkets

    The Friendly Toast is a masterpiece of kitsch—sort of the Wall Drug of diners (except the food is excellent!). Come hungry, and bring a sketchbook—you’ll have plenty to keep your pencil occupied while you wait.

  • Duck dining

    Duck dining

    A “duck” is kind of the architectural version of “you are what you eat”—at least in this case. Hey, if you’re looking for good roadside food, it’s hard to go wrong with a place that gets a blue ribbon in the atmosphere department.

  • Home sweet homes

    Home sweet homes

    You know how much I love drawing houses—and Prince Edward Island seemed to be the pretty-farmhouse capital of the world. There were so many, in fact, that it was hard not to spend my entire vacation sketching houses. So this was the only way I could think of to save room in my sketchbook for…

  • Banke of Colonials

    Banke of Colonials

    Where I live in the Pacific Northwest, there’s pretty much zero architecture that predates 1850; but I grew up in New England, where early American buildings are abundant. And as you can probably guess, I absolutely adore colonial houses—so I go a little nuts when I get the chance to sketch a whole neighborhood chock…

  • Sea to shining sea

    Sea to shining sea

    With all the travel and sketching this year held, it’s hard to believe it’s still 2013. This year gave me 62 days out of town (a new record!) and many dozens of drawings—and best of all, brought me to both coasts. And while it feels a little like a blur when I look back on…

  • Time travel

    Time travel

    Okay, I just have to say it: I usually have mixed feelings about historical reenactments—even the best ones. While I love the idea of immersing myself in a time and place, costumed interpreters (for all their talents and lovely enthusiasm) tend to bug the heck out of me. I don’t know what it is, but…

  • Mad science

    Mad science

    The Tailor and I had completely different reasons for wanting to visit Thomas Edison’s laboratory. For my part, they had me at “National Park”—and it didn’t hurt that there existed a hilarious song about the place (which, let me tell you, played on repeat in my head for a good month afterward). But the Tailor’s…

  • Life (or death) drawing

    Life (or death) drawing

    Speaking of taxidermy, Wednesday’s post reminded me of my trip back to Providence a couple of years ago, to show the Tailor around my old city and my alma mater. He was politely interested in my tour of the campus, but I knew he’d completely freak out (and I was right, he did) when I…

  • The last roundup

    The last roundup

    I couldn’t be here in person for this, and I haven’t actually eaten here since I was a kid. But Giuffrida’s has been a familiar (and completely incongruous) landmark on countless drives north of Boston over the years, and this is the first neon sign I ever loved. So when my dad told me it…

  • Trick or treat

    Trick or treat

    This is my favorite time of year—the air is crisp, the leaves are golden, there are pumpkins everywhere, and tomorrow is Halloween. And as the icing on the cake, today happens to be my birthday. (I can tell you, there are few things more delightful than getting to blow out candles in a Halloween costume…