one of my favorite old bars is gunther's tap room in Northport. It is a place with a ton of history and walls that hold a lot of stories. To this day the main clients are a mix of blue collar, clammers, baymen and regular everyday northport people. One reason I love the place is that Jack Kerouac spent his final days in orthport and was a regular at gunthers. He used to sneak in flasks of whiskey because he was broke in spite of his fame. It can still be a bit rough in Gunther's at times and once I was grabbed by someone who didnt like me drawing his picture at the bar. It is a very popular place on thanksgiving. I once spent my whole thanksgiving in there drawing pictures of the lost souls chewing on turkey. I made this oil sketch from a drawing I made that thanksgiving. It needs a bit more work and was fun to paint. I need to add the gunther's lettering on the window as well.
8 x 10 canvas
That's awesome, I didn't know about Gunther's. I'll have to check it out. I found a place in Brooklyn where Kerouac lived with his mom when he wrote the Town & the Country. The 2nd floor where the apartment was is now home to a first aid squad, but the 1st floor has the same italian pastry shop. I loved going there for a canoli & coffee imagining Jack & friends meeting up before heading for a night in the city...
ReplyDeleteNice oil sketch. I can remember many a Sunday sitting at the end the bar eating a breakfast sandwich before I helped my father clean up before opening. Thanks for preserving the view :)
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