Mel's Cafe on West Main St.

The iconic dinner on West Main in Charlottesville has got to be "Mel's Cafe". Its been their since the 1970's or perhaps it predates that time I haven't checked but it is an excellent 'pit stop' on a walk from the University to downtown. I needed to include the place in my collection of 'known spots' true to Charlottesville's historical significant buildings. The building has that retro nineteen-seventies look to it with the wide expanse of glass and the winged roof atypical of that era. I enjoyed painting it although the darkness created by his smoked glass on most of the windows is something I neglected to include in my rendition of 'Mel's'. I felt that the attention to the images he includes on his walls such as framed photos and other framed items too small to make out their origins or type were objects of interest for me as I rendered this painting in oils. Its truly a unique place, and the only one of its kind in this city. Whereas, in other spots around town one can see the same blueprint being used to create a business building, this was not so with 'Mel's'. It is what it is and there is no other to rival it.

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What Has Worked;

Penn Academy of the Fine Art Visit in Philly

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