original painting by Brooke Harker, 2012.
Sketching live downtown Los Angeles inspired this painting. I would like to thank the
employees of Subway for letting me sketch against their building at dusk! The angle
I really wanted was closer to the street, but for my own safety from a brawl on the
other side of the street between people in need of homes, mental health
counseling and many other things, I adjusted my frame and still felt compelled to
draw there. Perhaps that was me stubborn instead of a calling. However as
they continued to yell at passing cars and bicyclists, I continued to draw. Oddly
enough those rebel rousers that passes by me seemed a bit calmer when they saw what
I was doing. One man stood closer than felt comfortable and I could smell the alcohol
on his breath passing over my shoulder. I had to tell him I needed space to move my
arm while drawing, but he seemed to be emotionally hurting and disconnected. He
asked if I were married.
“Yes,” I said, even though I was single at the time. A couple other guys stumbled
in a similar state, looked mainly at the drawing and said they wanted to draw like
that. Their words reminded me that drawing is a luxury.
Brooke Harker
