North Beach, San Francisco, 1955: A gawky fifteen-year-old girl wearing bright red lipstick and ballet slippers uses her fake ID to sneak into The Jazz Workshop, a club on Green Street. John Coltrane is playing tonight. The girl finds a table off to the side, with a good view of the stage. She orders a Coke and takes out her sketchbook. Coltrane starts playing his sax and music pours out of his horn like a stream of whispers. The girl starts drawing. 

Years ago, in an old photo album, I came across my mom's sketches from her youth in Beat era San Francisco. I like to imagine her then: young and in love with jazz, art, and the city. Today, in honor of her and the  release of the film version of Kerouac's On the Road, we feature Beat-inspired artwork from the Red Fox crew:

Diane Browning

Rosalinde Bonnet

Elizabeth Haidle

Sarah Watts

Jed Alexander

Adam Gustavson