I finally went to my first Dr. Sketchy's event here in Cleveland. It was located nice and close at the Beachland Ballroom.
For those of you who aren't hip to the good Doctor, Dr. Sketchy is kind of an anti-art school live model drawing event. usually sprinkled with some music and adult beverages. I've wanted to go for a while, but this was the first one that didn't conflict with some other excitement.
It was a lot of fun. It's not all rigid and intense like some life drawing classes are. The people there are there to have fun as well as to draw. They had a contest where, on a ten minute pose, you got to work on the drawing for five minutes and then hand it to a buddy to finish. Then the assembled artists got to choose their favorite and the winner won some prizes. I'm proud to say that my finishes over my new friend Mark's drawings got us some wonderful grease pencils and much needed kneaded erasers. (Sadly, it's the one drawing I don't have from the night, as it was in Marks sketchbook, so he got to take it.)
The model was a Pittsburgh performer and jazz singer, Phat Man Dee. She's the subject of my sketches here. Obviously she's not necessarily the first thing that comes to mind when you think of an art school model, but you have to draw people of all shapes and sizes, and everything's got its own set of drawing problems to be solved and lessons to be learned. She was no exception. She even sang for us, which was a treat.
It's interesting, too, the things you work on in life drawing. I was taken with the way her hand splayed on her hip in one pose, so I did a couple different studies of that. It's moments of focus like that which make these events so good for one's development as an artist. You can always get better, and this is how it happens.
I had a good time there, made a couple new acquaintenances, and who knows, maybe even lined up a new gig. They haven't announced the next Dr. Sketchy's event, but if I can, I'm going to be there.
And, as always, click to embiggen any of these sketches.