E-Mail This Article to a Friend Drawing a pint Art and alcohol meet at the local pub ILLUSTRATIONS BY KEVIN BANKS AND SCOTT GETCHELL, TEXT BY KEVIN BANKS

Click here for the napkin art photo gallery.

DO YOU KNOW why they keep pens out of sight in pubs? It’s because bartenders know that people waiting for their dates and drunks waiting for the sunrise tend to pilfer the napkin and coaster supply and pass the time making ballpoint scribblings. Few seem to realize that these items cost money and are meant for catching beer spillage, lipstick, blood, and phone numbers. Better to stumble down the street to McDonald’s, where there are free crayons and placemats to scribble on as your motor skills turn Neanderthal and you mumble at the manager, "I’m not so think as you drunk I am."

It’s been said that what goes on in a bar stays in a bar. Why wake up with a pocket full of cryptic napkin doodles that only serve as evidence of last night’s beer-soaked psychedelic phase? On a paper napkin, the ink will blur and bleed — as might you, if you spend too much time tossing back pints and scribbling like a drunken social leper. But as we know, three drinks into your evening, you won’t give a leprechaun’s ass about etiquette — so do as you will.

Pub drawing works more smoothly if you have a bit of artistic skill and can pull it off quickly. It’s for people who have perfected those skills after years of practice and way too much pubbing. Also required is the ability to produce vivid bar scenes with the right hand while hoisting a pint with the left.

With St. Patrick’s Day approaching, the Phoenix dispatched two pen-and-pub specialists to deface some coasters and napkins on site. Braving the inevitable soundtracks of U2, Coldplay, and Aerosmith, Scott Getchell and Kevin Banks recently made their way to many of the area’s greenest pubs, sketching the locals over a Guinness and learning the hard way: never drink and draw. The pint you save might be your own.

To contact the artists, or to view more art from this collection, visit www.kevinbanks.com and www.scottgetchell.com