Tom's Burned Down Cafe at Madeline Island

I believe everyone who steps on the Madeline Island must have a beer or a soda at this funky, hippie bar. Tom's burned down cafe is surviving on the island for decades and has an interesting history behind as you can read in this article.

We went there twice, first on a Friday night, when there was live music and the bar was quite busy. It was one of the funniest bars I've ever been to! I loved the laid-back atmosphere, but what I liked the most was the cool signs! There are dozens of them, hanging around the place, which made me laugh a lot.

We had a great time that night, sketching, drinking and dancing. It was a nice way to relax and sketch, the four of us, together!

Funny sayings everywhere, and lots to sketch

Here's my second sketch, from the outside. The place is so cool to sketch!

And here's my friend's sketches:

Here's Nina Johansson's sketches of the exterior and the interior. Notice how she suggested depth in the one above, leaving ink contour only on the bar (the bar is that tent and stuff!). She uses black areas in both sketches to estabilize the drawings, creating visual anchors and an arrangement of two-dimensional pieces - a dynamic pattern

This is Oliver Hoeller's sketch. We're sketching side-by-side while having a beer and discussing different approaches to on-location drawing. His drawings always have an animated, exciting feeling

Jane Blundell's sketch shows a beautiful balance between elusiveness and description. The blacks under the tent hold the composition too, and the suggestion of the foliage contrasts nicely with the details of the fence and stuff.