As a restaurant writer/critic, I always eat before I write. Marilynne Bradley, a restaurant artist, always eats before she paints, and she has compiled an excellent visual history of St. Louis restaurants over the last quarter-century or so. An exhibit of several dozen of her charming watercolors is at Compônere Gallery, 6509 Delmar Blvd., and will remain on display through October.
"I make a quick sketch," she said, "take photos from all angles and finish in the studio. Doing it this way allows me to add people, change the background and make sure the sign is accurate."
Bradley is a small-d democrat when it comes to St. Louis restaurants. Tony's, Balaban's, Kemoll's, Steak 'n Shake, White Castle and the late California Donut Company all have posed for her. She also has updated the lineage of several restaurants, showing both Tony's and Kemoll's at their original and current sites.
And she refrains from critical comment.
Photo of a Marianne Bradley watercolor of Crown Candy Kitchen.
