Being single for about the last year, I've become very perceptive. I notice everyone, Particularly college-aged females. Sometimes, while riding on the train or sitting in a coffee shop, one will strike me. For a brief period of time, I become smitten by a total stranger. Happens a lot more than three times a day, but I usually can't crank out more than three drawings in a day.
So, yesterday I was at Bonte' again. I sat by the window (The waffle iron was on the fritz, so there weren't many people there and I could choose my seat more carefully). There was a girl cleaning up because it was the end of her shift. I took it all in. She was maybe 5'7" and slender, but with wide hips (the good kind). As she was changing the trash bags, she looked over her shoulder to notice me examining her. Now, I don't know if any of you have noticed the face you make when you're examining something for artistic refference, but I've become painfully aware of how strang I look in those instances. Lots of times, I'll even have to avert my attention to make it seem like I'm not looking at someone. Strangly, she actually smiled at me over her shoulder. Smote! Later, I'd settled into my usual cafe mode; refilling coffee, listening to itunes, and running internet errands. The mood in Bonte' was the usual hip cheerful feeling with people momenterily noticing each other and the baristas joking around. Suddenly, the atmosphere changed. A small thin figure charged in. At first, I couldn't pin it down, but there was something different about her. I kept thinking "Jeez, she's so serious!". After she sat down, I noticed she had some kind of note book. She took a sip of her tea and started writing furiously. I assume it was a journal. Once she'd settled into a comfortable position, I started drawing (lower left). The girl noticed that I'd been looking at her, but it was obvious that she didn't know I was drawing her. For a while we were alternating between trying not to meet eyes and pounding away in our books. Afterwards, I felt disappointed that she didn't get to see the drawing...
