All Over Coffee : Intimate Drawings of San Francisco

Paul Madonna is an artist in San Francisco.  His drawings and words make us think about locations in a different way, a way that is both startling and familiar at the same time.

His works are printed in our newspaper, they are sold in our bookstores, and they lay on our coffee tables.  His wife Joen Madonna runs ArtSpan, an organization that supports local artists, a non-profit that for the last 20 years has kept artists in our city…making nice things for us to look at, to read, to brag about having seen.

Last month these two people got evicted.  Another artists’ home and studio space fed to the greedy monster who wants your square footage, because by God, the monster has someone out there willing to pay a RIDICULOUS sum to have your flat.  That someone probably makes six figures somewhere outside the city, and they have a french bulldog with asthma that rides an electric skateboard, but they’re going to pay $4500/month to have your place…’so thanks for all the years…but take your art and get the fuck off of my goldmine…I don’t know how long this tech thing will last this time around…’

Now enough of my ranting.

Here are Paul Madonna’s words:

“San Francisco housing has gone crazy. And in the midst of outrageous prices and rampant evictions, my wife and I lost our home and work space of ten years. At one point I had to just throw up my hands and laugh it was so absurd. And so in response, I’ve begun this new mini-series of All Over Coffee strips reflecting life in San Francisco right now.”

Paul Madonna writes and draws All Over Coffee, the weekly series published in the San Francisco Chronicle and on theRumpus.net.  His stories and drawings have been published internationally and exhibited in galleries and museums. He is the author of two books, All Over Coffee (City Lights 2007), and Everything is its own reward (City Lights 2011), which won the 2011 NCBR Recognition Award for Best Book. Find more of his work at paulmadonna.com.  We are stoked to have his work on our site as well.

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