Parking Lot Vista 1998

If there is anything in my world that would qualify as "most seen" and "most boring" it would be the endless proliferation of parking lots in front of store clusters. I have lived here for more than thirty years and parking my car among others in the lot is a lifetime pre-occupation. Sitting in front of Starbucks sipping coffee is another life-time activity. This drawing depicts a Starbucks customer who is also enjoying a smoke. This is twenty-three years ago, when smoking outdoors was still permitted. When I first came to this area you could smoke wherever you wanted. The stink of cigarettes was everywhere. More and more restrictions were added and nowadays I hardly smell it at all. You can still smoke in designated areas but it is now rare to see public smokers in our urban environment. It's an example of enforced changes in a lifestyle, just like the virus-fighting face masks that are suddenly part of daily life for many folks. Just don't burn your mask with your cigarette.

Black tech pen on sketchbook page, 5 1/2" x 7 1/2", April 6, 1998.