Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Justin Santora


Justin Santora
Nobody Takes Traveler's Checks
12 x 18 inches

In May of 2009, I temporarily relocated to Montreal from the Chicagoland area. Following an intense week of drawing, printing, and recovering from an appendectomy; I packed up and drove from Illinois to downtown Montreal in about 14 hours. Eight or nine hours into my journey, I stopped to get gas and have a small coffee and a couple of bagels, thinking the combination of caffeine and carbohydrates would keep me from getting tired on the road. I remember pulling back onto the freeway listening to Toronto talk radio and putting my beverage holder to good use. I ended up making it to Montreal successfully, and while this was a totally ordinary occurance, it was my most memorable cup of coffee.

As I started adjusting to life in a new city, I ended up doing a drawing of a woman in a diner with a cup of coffee and a bagel--not unlike me a few days earlier in the middle of Ontario at two in the morning.

Also, it's true; no one takes traveler's checks.