North End, Boston - Mike's Pastry

"Going for some Pastry at Mike's #1 - North End" (16"X12", Oil on Canvas, SOLD)

This painting was done for a friend in 2008, but remained unsold until summer 2009. I still make matted prints and note cards from this image and they sell very well, as might be expected, considering the far-flung fame of Mike's Pastry.

Lots of people express disbelief that only one person is walking in and that there's no line at all. Most people go to Mike's in the evening or on the weekend, when there's always a huge crowd of people waiting to get in for cannolis or black-and-white cookies. Of course, I live very close to Mike's and can go anytime to get a shot for a painting (this was taken from the middle of Hanover St) and wait for the composition that I want. This guy had just stepped out of his Mustang 5.0 which he parked right in front (another point of disbelief) and I snapped the photo as he stepped into the gloom for his Italian pastry fix.

I like the play of the sun over the sign and on the sidewalk, creating the feeling of afternoon summer light which reflects into the shadows. The tenement fire escapes in the background give the hint of the setting being in a turn-of-the-century neighborhood, which the North End truly is. The square lights in the ceiling and the price board at the back of the room give a sense of the interior space through the windows which also reflect the street scene outside.