A "Toof Cleaning" Sketch... and Comfort Food!

A "Fishhead" Sculpture of a Radiator, I'm sure...

It's been a while since I've done a "daily sketch." I'm doing some paintings for a show, and that has been taking up most of my time, but I had to go get my teeth cleaned the other day and I hate having it done to me.

No need to go psychological on this subject. I'm lucky to still have all my teeth, even my wisdom teeth, and it all comes together to give me a charming smile, but I just don't like the process. 

So, what does this sketch have to do with a "toof cleaning," you may ask. The answer is, comfort food!

Whenever I get my cleaning, I have to go to some restaurant, and eat to quell that violated feeling I always get.

I know it is wussy. I've had quite a bit of dental work, and I don't like that either, but I usually am advised to not eat anything after a root canal or other dental excavations!

So, I don't.

Anyway, I went to a local restaurant called Mandy's appropriately named for its location... Mandeville, LA. The food is great New Orleans home cooking and their etouffee omelets are to die for. It was a Monday, and so I decided to have the ubiquitous "Who Dat" luncheon special on the menu on this day...

Red beans and rice with hot Italian sausage... yum!

So, again, what does that have to do with this sketch? It is a large brightly colored fish that resembles one of the members of the now retired bar band, The Radiators. Probably, at the time this seven foot sculpture was created, the band's writer and piano player, Ed Voelker, wore a gray, slightly tattered beret on his balding dome. If you are at all familiar with the band and Ed's facial features, you cannot deny that the sculptor was inspired to create this "fish head" maitre'd with Ed in mind. Having finished my lunch, while sipping another loving cup of Mandy's strong coffee, I sketched the monster.

It is not one of my better pieces, but I was still feeling sorry for myself. It really should be sketched in vibrant, almost psychedelic colors, which I did not bring with me. So, if you are ever in the area, check out their menu for breakfast or lunch and be greeted by a very imposing, colorful fish head.

By the way, another clue to my theory of its origin is that the restauranteur is Frank Bua, the Radiators' long time drummer!

Copyright 2013/Ben Bensen III