Chipped Cup
2022, oil and collage on canvas, 48 x 36”

Saturdays are the best days. You’ll usually find me in the backyard of The Chipped Cup—a well-loved coffee shop in Harlem—sitting with my adult son, catching up on life over lattes and pastries. The backyard is a bohemian mix of antique finds and quiet charm. I always bring my tiny sketchbook. Like Bonnard, I make a quick drawing on-site, then return to the studio where memory does the rest. The colors always end up better than real life.

This painting grew from one of those Saturdays. I couldn’t stop thinking about the wrought iron gate—its curving forms like lace, tangled with vines, soft petals, and the filtered light of a good conversation. I used collage to build that layered memory: paper leaves, delicate florals, shadows, and soft bursts of color that recall the moment more than they record it.

Chipped Cup is both a place and a feeling. It’s routine made sacred. A quiet backyard in the middle of a loud city. A portrait of what lingers after the sketch is done.

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