Drawing Club Epiphany

Went to Dr. Sketchy's again tonight.... It was hotter than hell. Still enjoyable, but man, I felt like I was in Cuba! I had an epiphany tonight... I'm still rusty with my drawing skills, and for the first half of the night, I laboriously struggled to get all my proportions right, drawing then second guessing every line... then half way through the night, I got my underlining draft set up, and just boldly drew the line that most caught my eye as dark as I could... before when I was drawing and redrawing everything I was almost getting detracted by the model... I would fall in love with the curve of her nose, or the highlight on a knee... and then struggle getting all the pieces to fit together correctly.... once I boldly/brashly started committing to lines, I realized I don't need to final piece to look 100% like the model... she can be there as a reference instead of a subject. (This concept goes against all five years of drawing classes in art school).  But, suddenly I started having a lot more fun, and started coming up with more successful drawings. I’m still rusty, but it's a step in the right direction.

Macabre Flowers

I like how you can say anything you want through abstract art, and no one has to know...they may get the vague gist of what you were thinking... but they will never be able to precisely say what was on your mind. Abstract art to me, can be kind of like talking to a therapist, all kinds of stuff is said without any veils of "maybe I shouldn't have said that." But looking back at what transpired can make one feel very bashful.

This drawing was done after a date that went very well... I was contemplating the loss of past successful relationships, and the giddiness of finding someone new that I'm quite fond of. I didn't intend to say any of that when I sat down... I had just said good night to my date, and then sat down with my sketchbook and my mind started roaming. Looking back at the piece brings back my thoughts very vividly, but I am quiet grateful that it will not have the same effect for the spectator.

Craft Day

A friend of mine decided to host a craft day that was open for each of us to bring our own project. I brought a couple projects with me, but then decided it has been a really long time since I last posted on this blog... so I decided to work in my sketchbook instead. It's always a gamble to work in front of other people. I get nervous knowing that others can see my work, which in turn causes me to create bad drawings. Beyond that, it's very rare for me to draw with a vision if I'm in a social setting with my sketchbook.... I'm not thinking about what my doodle "should be"... instead it is a spontaneous dance, every step is a surprise. I make a mark, then react to that mark with another mark... sometimes I end up with really interesting stuff, and some times it just turns into chaos... personally I think this piece embodies both categories simultaneously.

V.a.c.a.t.i.o.n.

Down in Key West for the week. Its interesting checking out the galleries, cause the artists down here have a completely different color pallet than the Midwest does…. My mom and I noticed this last time we were in Florida together… but now that I’m in the Keys I see where this color pallet is coming from…. All paintings include a light turquoise, and when you look out into the water, which is everywhere, it’s the exact same funny blue. Key West is a very joyous place to be… seems that everyone is here to find themselves (or get away from themselves, I’m not sure which)…but everyone seems happy, and slightly sun burnt…. Maybe it’s just the optimistic vacationer in me, but I am finding it to be a great inspiration… fresh new color scheme and unique patterns everywhere (from the wood trim that adorns each house, the rod iron gates that show up as stores close)…. I’ll post new sketches soon I’m sure.

Choice one or choice two, choice one or two????

Choice one or choice two, choice one or two???? Negative space was not the goal for this sketch, but I drew myself into a corner… I loved where it was going but couldn’t figure out anything more to add to the bottom half. In a way I find all the empty space as peaceful and zen, but a part of me feels like it’s a puzzle that I just can’t solve. There’s got to be something I could add to the bottom half. So while I was sitting on an airplane I took the time to play around with adding “something” down there (if you look through my old posts you can see the artwork that I collaged in there (though the colors have be altered, and I’ve added a lot to it). It’s amazing what you can do with a computer.

The seedy side

Going to the burlesque drawing class got me thinking about the parts of Kansas City no one goes to... it's ironic to me that buildings can look cold and sinister, not because of the architecture, but purely because of it's location....we were in the part of town that use to be the mecca of the industrial revolution, now it's a blind spot....full of lifelessly empty factories, huge, dark, cold factories.

A new empire named Dr Sketchys

There once was a girl who was desperately bored in life drawing classes, who asked “why do we have to draw such boring poises? They are nudes after all.” This alleged girl decided to start a club where artists would chip in a few bucks and have some burlesque dancers pose for them… this started a revolution that has now spread all across the country. (If you’re wondering if there’s a group near you google Dr. Sketchy’s and your city's name, if your in a big city it’s probably there…somewhere.)

I learned about Dr. Sketchys in Florida about 5 years ago, and quickly discovered they are in my city too, though attending has always been a nervous debate… this is not just a life drawing group with a bunch of nudes, this is life drawing with a bunch of nudes that will make you blush…. And your probably going to get a show too….I was afraid of sitting in bible study some day and blurting out “that reminds me of this burlesque dancer…”… but lately winds of change have struck me, I’ve been rapidly knocking off those things on my list that I’ve trepidaciously set aside for “another day.” So I found a friend would go with me, AND IT WAS AAAAWESOME!

My sketches don’t give it any justice… it’s been a long time since I last drew nudes… and these were just quick 5 minute or less drawings…. But let me paint you a picture:

The address of this group was down in the empty factory district….aka the place where no one goes. When we found the right street with huge ghostly buildings all around we were stopped by a random chintzy train stopping bar…in the middle of nowhere, with no train… yet sure enough, about a minute later a train came blazing through… no horn honking like normal, cause well, we’re in the part of town where no one goes…. But as we’re waiting for the train to pass we see a kid with a sketch book walking around the corner… so we decide to park and follow.

There’s a flyer on the door, indicating this is the place… door was unlocked, but there was no one inside, and there were only a few lights on inside huge factory building…. We happen to spot the kid with the sketch book, who emerges from a dark room filled with who knows what, and he asks “do you know how to get there?”…then suddenly we hear a deep rattle and a few bangs…. And a narcoleptic emo kid emerges out of the corner “You guys need a ride up?”… “um, yeah,…a ride up to the burlesque drawing class?”…no answer, he just turns around and starts walking…. The three of us follow him into the old elevator covered in old Dr. Sketchy flyers…oh good, where in the right place…. We must have gone up 5 stories before the doors opened again… but this is a much different view… music is pulsing from a switch board manned by a DJ… a mixture of indie rock and classics like patsy cline…. Edgy artwork is all over the walls, the place is huge with couches every were, and a bar that looks like its from an old speak easy in the corner… with a bartender that’s all tattooed up, wearing suspenders and bright orange highlights in his bleach blond hair…a dining room table filled with burlesque dancers playing cards while smoking and painting their finger nails…a friendly pitbull weaving around about 50-70 artists, young and old adorned with cameras, sketch pads, markers, etc…. in the back corner is a platform surrounded by chairs, and then surrounded by couches….the place was unreal. As my friend put it “I don’t feel cool enough for this place.”