I walked to work one gorgeous and warm November day. I got to work at 8:00 a.m. and immediately thought, “What am I doing here?” Everyone else was off at meetings or had taken the day off to play golf. I thought I should be out painting on one of the last really nice days of fall before cold, gray winter sets in. It would be criminal to do otherwise. So, after about two hours of diligent work, I decided to play hooky and walked home. As soon as I got back to the house I packed up my paintbox and walked about four blocks to this location. I have ridden my bike or walked by this street many times and have always found it to be an interesting location.

I was set up right in front of an auto body shop and the mechanics kept note of my progress. They could not understand why I would want to paint a grungy alleyway, but after they saw the completed painting I think they understood why I was attracted to it.