From My Sketchbook:
This cafe has a window seat where you can enjoy a fine cup of coffee or light meal, along with a view of the of the park and shoreline. It is a casual place to go have breakfast or lunch, meet up with friends, relax, or watch the world passing by.
It was Market Day in the city. A cruise ship had arrived at the pier, the passengers were coming off ship – visiting the nearby historical fortress, taking in the local shops and restaurants of old town, and milling about among the canopy tents of the street vendors, while taking photos and looking for souvenirs.
It was late morning and I had just finished a sketch shortly before while over in the park. I went inside “Polly’s at the Pier,” for some refreshments, where I saw this view with one of the vendors, a jeweler, sitting outside the cafe’s open window and the street scene behind her. In contrast to the movement, music and sounds of the street, she was quietly at work on one of her jewelry designs while sitting in the shade of the veranda, not far from display cases of her fine silver craft wears.
I liked the setting, how the old brick arch and pillars work as a frame, and too, how the busy street activity of shoppers and tourists reinforces the stillness of her figure and the simplicity of the surrounding architectural space. It was a pleasure to be there and leisurely sip my coffee, enjoy a cinnamon scone, watch the comings and goings of the passers-by, and have the opportunity to make this sketch, all this within a view of the Caribbean’s warm waters.