Last session with Tony Apollo? Holy Moly, hands down Tony has to be one of the best dynamic models we’ve ever had. The audience knew it too – I haven’t seen a crowd get that rowdy in awhile, and oh, they knew what they wanted. We had a minor communication mishap/traffic issue at the beginning of the night that caused Tony to be a few minutes late through no fault of his own—so Alexis jumped on stage to pose while Tony got ready.
Usually the crowd is tickled pink by this (the two times it’s happened), but not this time. I must have gotten asked at the door 3 times in 5 minutes,
“Where’s Tony?”
“Oh, we’re just running a few minutes late. Alexis is doing a 5-minute pose while he gets ready in back.”
“Are you lying? I came here to draw Tony.”
“I’m not lying! He’s here! Why does everyone think I’m lying?!!”
I’m telling you, I thought I was going to get shivved.
Five minutes later, Tony jumped up on stage and we dived into 1- and 2-minute poses.
Brian Dugan
Then we took a ten-minute break. Here’s a couple tweets folks were sending during the breaks—
I’m at @drsketchysbmore and seriously this model is almost to hot to draw. It’s redonculous (@ The Windup Space) http://4sq.com/gGXCqP -annatagonist
The model at @drsketchysbmore is Tony Apollo, who is ridiculously built – it’s like drawing a Street Fighter character. (In a good way.) #fb – fizzbang
When everyone got back from the tinkle break, it was time for the first contest of the evening, the opposite hand contest where, if you’re right-handed you draw with your left, if you’re left-handed you draw with your right, and if you’re ambidextrous we hate your guts.
As always, the contests are optional. The prize for the two winners was a mystery shot from Russell at the bar, as long as you’re 21, of course.
By the way, we’ve been recording video for a bit now to make a Dr. Sketchy’s Baltimore documentary at one point—we’re going to post a tiny clip here to see how WordPress handles it. This bit cracked me up, so it sounds like a good candidate.
After that there were three more 5-minute poses.
A quick break followed so folks could get a drink and Tony could get a breather. Next up were the 10-minute poses and the first contest of the evening—Alexis made a few “best incorporation” suggestions from celebrity birthdays and historic events that happened on or around Feb. 28. Justin Bieber’s birthday was the next day but, to our relief, there wasn’t a single Belieber in the audience. Texas was annexed by the U.S., but no one was feeling a Texas-themed contest, either. Finally, Alexis gave up on Wikipedia, channeled her inner dork (which is always a better source of inspiration), and won them over with Battlestar Galactica—since, you know, the whole Apollo thing.
The winners got a gift pack of issues of the zine Smile Hon, You’re in Baltimore from Atomic Books in Hampden, and a 18 x 24 pad of vellum from Artist & Craftsman Supply across the street on the corner of North and Howard, with the first place winner taking their pick. Both of these businesses are part of why we’re able to run Dr. Sketchy’s— without them it would be a lot, lot more difficult. So, if you’re looking for art supplies or books of one sort or another, pay them a visit, they’re awesome.
Another break and we’re on to the first 20-minute pose and the next contest where folks wrote the most maddening sentence they could imagine, traded it with a neighbor’s, and then attempted to draw whatever their neighbor had written. The prize was a pair of sexy-as-hell, vintage-style backseamed stockings from our brand new sponsor What Katie Did.
Seeing how we’d finally figured out what the crowd wanted, we said screw it and went with the best incorporation of Firefly for final contest of evening. (If you don’t know what it is, go watch it on Netflix’s instant download.) The prize was Miss Mindy’s Sassy Paper Doll Bonanza by Miss Mindy from Baby Tattoo Books, who, if you didn’t know, also runs the LA branch of Dr. Sketchy.
Special thanks to Tony Apollo for being one of the best models we’ve ever had! And thanks to our sponsors Atomic Books, Artist & Craftsman Supply, Baby Tattoo Books, and What Katie Did for donating all the prizes for folks to win, thanks to Russell for the space and for slinging drinks and booze and for so many other things that would be impossible to list them all, thanks to Jeff to the snazzy photos above, and thanks as well to Alexis for posing a little bit and hosting all this bedlam.
Thank you as well Viola Van Wilde and Roma Mafia who, with no notice, emptied the contents of their closets on the floor in order to rush down and pose for all of you in case Tony wasn’t going to be able to make it. I cannot possibly express how much it means to us they were willing to dump dinner in the trash, grab something sparkly, and ride like hell for the Windup. That’s what cool looks like.
Next session is Monday, March 14th with Little Luna of Gilded Lily Burlesque! Fairy tale theme! One of my favorite costumes of all time! Doors are at 6, start is at 7! Drink tickets for a dollar off a drink if you get there before 7! Little Luna always blows the doors off, so get a good seat! I use lots of exclamation marks!
Dr. Sketchy's Baltimore 