life-drawing – Page 7 – Dr. Sketchy's Baltimore

February 12, 2012January 21, 2014

Shit Sabrina Chap says.

January 30th’s session with Sabrina Chap was one of our top attended sessions of all time. Really, it’s not surprising. In the spirit of openness, I should probably say upfront that Sabrina is one of our favorite people ever. She’s smart, she’s funny, she’s pretty, and a fucking ninja when it comes to dodging arcs of pee from drunkards. The last time she posed for us, she hadn’t been in the city (for the first time ever, mind you) two hours before some blitzed guy sitting at the bar in the Hippo whipped out his whatsit and tried to take her out.

Did I tell this story the last time I blogged about a Sabrina session? Probably. I’m not going to bother to look. In any case, with her back turned, she dodged it like it was nothing. Remember that scene in Resident Evil 2 with the hallway filled with lasers? It was like that.

In any case, whenever we’re in NYC, we try to meet her for a beer – sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. The point is, of all the various interesting things to do in NYC, “a beer with Sabrina” is always on the list, regardless of what cockamamie thing is going on.

Oh, and she can sing. She sings real good. Here, take a listen.

The album that’s from, Oompa!, is honestly one of my favorite CDs.

You should go buy it.

So . . . how was the drawing? It’s Sabrina, you don’t even need to ask.

1 & 2-minute poses.

Cecilia Strakna

Tim Kelly

Susan Moore

Tim Kelly

Cecilia Strakna

J. F. Schloman

Danielle Mascioli

Tim Kelly

Everyone ran to the bar and the powder room for a minute, and then we jumped into the 5-minute poses, the first of which was the non-dominant hand contest. 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, you—SQUIRREL!

The two winners received a mysterious concoction from Russell behind the bar.

Tim Kelly

J. F. Schloman

Kat Parker

Cecilia Strakna

Edward Williams

Cecilia Strakna

Tim Kelly

Another quick break and then it was time for a musical interlude. I already showed you the first song—here’s another, the title track from her latest album, We Are the Parade, which you should definitely also buy:

It was then time for the 10-minute poses. The first one was a contest, the theme being “Shit Baltimoreans Say”. The two winners received either Sterling Hundley’s Blue Collar / White Collar from Atomic Books in Hampden, or a pair of stockings from What Katie Did.

J. F. Scholman

Cecilia Strakna

Kat Parker

Cecilia Strakna

Tim Kelly

Edward Williams

J. F. Schloman

Next up were the 20-minute poses, the first of which was the last contest of the evening. The contest was the best incorporation of MacGyver, since it was Richard Dean Anderson’s birthday. The winner received Ragnar’s The Art of the Big City from Baby Tattoo Books.

Susan Moore

Tim Kelly

Kat Parker

And that was a wrap for our first session of 2012! [Kermit the Frog arm-waving YAAAAAYYYYY!]

Bubbling thanks to Sabrina Chap who came all the way from NYC; thanks to our wonderful sponsors Atomic Books, Flying Dog Brewery, and Baby Tattoo Books; thanks to Russell for slinging drinks and booze; thanks to Jeff for the photos above; and thanks to Alexis emceeing the thing.

Who’s next?

Sweet Jesus, I’m getting the vapors.

[Aaron, that doesn’t mean what I think you think it means.—Alexis]

Don’t know if you know this, but besides being a burlesque and go-go performer, Candy is one half of the amazing photography duo that is Stereo Vision. A lot of our best flyers were created using photos they’ve taken. Reverend Valentine’s being the first that comes to mind—and there’s dozens of others.

She’s going to do a half-time performance for you too. Bring your EpiPen if you’re allergic to, you know, HOTNESS.

December 12, 2011

He’s got legs—he knows how to use them!

That right there may very well be my favorite pose I’ve ever seen. If you told me you’ve had the opportunity to draw something like that before, I’d call you a liar to your face. LIIIIIAAAAAR. I love how you can see the stars shining though the wings from the back, too. Fucking beautiful.

Man, if Paco Fish had toppled, he would have taken out the banners, Alexis, everyone in the first two or three rows—it would have been like the Hindenberg coming down. You have to picture it in slow motion, arms flapping, and someone screaming a deep, distorted, “NOOOOOOOOO!”

Alexis took one look and said, “Oh my God, it’s like . . . like . . . a burlesque Batman!”

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves though: first, there were the 1- and 2-minute poses, and a nearly overpowering urge to make some sort of Heroes reference.

Cecilia Strakna

We took a quick break so Paco could get a breather and folks could grab a beer (hopefully a Flying Dog one), and then it was time for the 5-minute poses. The first one was the ol’ opposite hand contest, where if you’re right-handed you draw with your left, if you’re left-handed you draw with you’re right, and if you’re ambidextrous you get shivved. The two winners received a mystery shot from the bar—God help them.

Cecilia Strakna

John Schloman

After another break, we jumped into the 10-minute poses, the first of which was a best incorporation of “Black Friday.” The winners received either a Sticky Buns Burlesque t-shirt or a limited edition Ralph Steadman tote bag from Flying Dog Brewery.

We took another break, and then it was time for Paco’s performance. I’d show you a video, but sadly, the video camera’s battery died, so you’re out of luck. Here’s a photo or two, though…

Then it was time for the 20-minute poses, the first of which was our last contest of the evening: the best incorporation of The Exorcist. The winner received Overkill: The Art of Tomer Hanuka from Atomic Books.

Todd Gardner

Last 20-minute pose of the evening…

Cecilia Strakna

John Schloman

And that was a wrap. Thanks to Paco Fish for doing a stunning job of posing for all of you; thanks to our sponsors Atomic Books, Flying Dog Brewery, and Baby Tattoo Books; thanks to Jeff for the photos you see above; thanks to Styger for helping at the door and helping push things around; thanks to Fred for helping push things around too; and thanks to Alexis for manning the mic.

Only ONE Dr. Sketchy’s Baltimore left this year!

December 12 with performance artist and contortionist Rebecca Nagle! After this session, we’ll be on a break until January 23, so if you miss tonight’s session, it’s going to be a long, bleak, Sketchy-less winter for you.

(Photos of Rebecca Nagle courtesy of RaRah.)

November 25, 2011

La Bella Muerte

Holy Mictecacihuatl. Well, Nona Narcisse of Slow Burn Burlesque out of New Orleans was [ 5 pages of expletives removed due to space considerations and Aaron’s repetitiveness – Alexis ], fucking amazing. If you were there for our Day of the Dead session, you know. If you weren’t—well, remember that Christmas where you really, really, really wanted He-Man’s Attak Trak and when you got up that morning, not only was the Attak Trak under the tree, but your dad robbed a Toys R Us after you went to bed and left everything under the tree, THEN, stormed Mattel headquarters and left the senior executives tied up under the tree so you could personally place an order for shit they hadn’t even thought of yet?

IT WAS LIKE THAT.

But, umm, in a way that was kind of scary in a “You don’t think she’s really Mictecacihuatl, do you? I’m kind of scared to look her in the eye” way. (Which, to be fair, is somewhat similar to that “Oh shit, one of these execs has a GPS bracelet on!” moment about 30-minutes into that Christmas morning oh so many years ago.)

So, best Dr. Sketchy’s ever? I don’t know—maybe Nona Narcisse and Reverend Valentine can have a face-off session and settle the matter with knives or something. I’d draw that.

By the way, we’ve NEVER gotten this many drawings sent in for a session. It took FIVE HOURS to download them all and insert them in this post, so let’s get rolling, cause, folks, this is a LONG post. Go make a cup of coffee, I’ll wait.

Ready?

We started off with the 1- and 2-minute poses.

Adam J. Tolman

Fred Zeleny

Adam J. Tolman

Fred Zeleny

Our photographer Jeff is seriously knocking it out of the park with the photos too. Probably the best he’s ever done—Lord knows it would have been hard to take a bad photo with all this, but still.

We took a short break so folks could flex their drawing hands, get a drink, a smoke, pee-pee, whatever floated their boat, and then it was time for the 5-minute poses. The first was the traditional opposite-hand drawing 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, you spend most of the pose crying quietly in a bathroom stall because you’re different and we can only support so much “being different” at Dr. Sketchy’s before we turn into a middle-school cafeteria and give you a swirly.

The two winners received a mystery concoction from Russell at the bar.

Tim Kelly

John Schloman

Fred Zeleny

Daniel Govar

Fred Zeleny

Cecilia Strakna

John Schloman

Fred Zeleny

Clarice Jones

Cecilia Strakna

Tim Kelly

After that, it was time for a second break, and then, once everyone was safely squirreled away in their seats, the lights dimmed, Nona performed one of the best burlesque routines I’ve ever seen in my life.

Watch. If you skip this video, I don’t even understand why you’re reading all this anyway.

Here are two photos Jeff snapped during the performance as well :

After Nona’s well-earned break, it was time for the 10-minute poses, the first of which was the random noun contest where the audience calls out drunken gibberish. This time around it turned out to be “David Bowie.” The winner received Miss Mindy’s Sassy Paper Doll Bonanza by Miss Mindy from Baby Tattoo Books. Baby Tattoo runs the LA branch of Dr. Sketchy’s; if you’re ever out there, check ’em out.

Tim Kelly

John Schloman

Clarice Jones

John Schloman

Next up were the 20-minute poses—and whoa nelly, did these produce some amazing sketches. The contest for the first one had the appropriate theme of “Voodoo” with the winner receiving a Flying Dog Limited Edition barrel-aged Gonzo Imperial Porter from Flying Dog Brewery, who not only provided THAT, but had Flying Dog beers for sale all night at insanely cheap prices.

Fred Zeleny

Last pose of the night . . . the contest for this one had the theme “Occupy Dr. Sketchy’s” with the winner receiving Day of the Dead : El Dia De Los Muertos by Antoni Cadafalch from Atomic Books, our longest-running sponsor and the best damn indie bookstore you’ll find in Baltimore (right up there in Hampden on the corner of the Avenue and Falls).

Fred Zeleny

(This next photo was of Nona watching the finalists get picked.)

Last, but not least, there were a few drawings that for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out where they belonged in the night. They were pretty cool, so I didn’t want to leave them out.

Tim Kelly

David Wright

Adam J. Tolman

More thanks than I could possibly express to Nona Narcisse for posing for us while she was up from New Orleans; thanks to our amazing sponsors: Atomic Books, Baby Tattoo Books, and Flying Dog Brewery; thanks to Russell for slinging drinks and booze and hosting us at the Windup Space; thanks to Jeff for turning out the best photos he’s done yet; thanks to all of you for making it a great night and sending in the best selection of drawings we’ve ever seen; and thanks to Alexis manning the mic regardless of the quite real peril of being devoured by an ancient Aztec goddess.

So what next? What could have a chance of towering over what’s come before?

What about Paco Fish ON STILTS???

Have you ever drawn anyone on stilts? I sure as hell haven’t. Not only that, but he’s got a slew of costumes you’ve never drawn before and a performance that will rattle you in your shoes. I could go on further (and I *did* on the event page—if you’re coming, you should go let us know). In any case, next session is Monday, November 28th at the Windup Space. Doors at 6, start at 7, show up early if you want a good seat. 18+ to draw, 21+ to drink, 55+ for fisticuffs. Only two sessions left this year, folks! Get it while the gettin’s good.