Sketches of mine

Here are a few quickies from both Dr. Sketchy sessions, along with a portrait of my Sara, from the day she modelled for Lynn's Los Milagros drawing group.

Did I Say I Love Dr. Sketchy?

Because I do, I really really do. It's a wonderful thing to look forward to at the end of a long, hectic weekend. Tonight was part 2 in Oklahoma City, with not quite the crowd of the premiere, but an enthusiastic, talented gang nonetheless. We had another model from Tulsa's Eye Candy burlesque -the delightful Lu Foxxx - and more fine, eclectic music to help set the tone. And guess what? I won two of the three contests! Yeah, I know. Being far from the cleverest sketcher in the room, it must have been a quirk of fate, a misalignment of stars, or just one of those things. The first I can attribute to my partner, as it was a teamwork project; upon arrival, we were given a Betty Page pin-up playing card, and at this point in the evening, had to find our mate. I was a queen, so I connected with the other queen, who happened to be the dj playing the stellar tunes. During the ten-minute pose, we worked on our sketch for half the time, then switched paper with our partner. I hadn't completed mine yet, by my partner pretty much had, using black felt tip. Since I had no details to add, I opened my tin of Caran d'ache colors, my little film cannister of water (back when cameras used real film, you built up a convenient collection of lidded cannisters, perfect for on-the-go watercolor work), and washed in a bit of pink and soft aqua for the japanese umbrella, ochre for hair, and a wee dab of red for her heart tattoo. Color always trumps, I guess, 'cos me and the dj won the prize! What was the prize, you ask; it was a super special shot, to be taken onstage, along with Ms. Foxxx. The bartender called it "Oscar" something, considering the squarer folks in town must have been staying home to watch them. (Ha, I say, because I'm sitting here with a bottle of wine, a cat, a dog, a hot bloke, a laptop, and the Oscars on tv, despite having not seen any of the films, and not caring at all what happens.) The drink involved vodka, triple sec, rum (I think), orange juice, cranberry juice, maybe something else, I don't really remember. I do remember that I chugged mine first, yay me, and it tasted like a V-8 Splash.
For the 20-minute pose, our model came out in a leopard print scrap of fabric, adorned with feathers, shell necklace, white fishnet stockings, and holding a little skull. Our assignment: sketch her in her 'red carpet moment', whatever that means. I just focused on the sketching part, till near the end, when I decided to draw an Oscar in the hand that wasn't holding the skull, and, down at the bottom corner of the paper, a red (that's right, I broke out the watercolor crayons again, at the final moment) tongue licking her bare toes. The winner was chosen by Marilyn, our svelte, elegant emcee, and she picked mine! Blimey. She said, "I choose this one, because she has an Oscarection. " I'd like to show it to you, but the model liked it too, once she saw the toe-licking bit, so I let her have it, meaning I gave her the sketch, not I punched her lights out. That prize was a super cool sketchbook from Blue 7 - hip, indy boutique on north May Avenue, in Oklahoma City. (They were selling my copper wire necklaces for a while; this reminds me I should check in soon, to see if maybe they've sold any, or want to demand I come collect them so they can put fresh stuff in their place.)
So that was all a thrill - forcing myself to stick with a pose, exploring graphite, charcoal, ink, color, loosening up; did I mention one of the contests was we had to be in a conga line, with our sketchbooks on the back of the person in front of us, and - while conga-ing around the room - draw the model? Yeah. That's the one I didn't win. ;)
But my friend Sam Echols, the fine portrait painter did.
Yes, Dr. Sketchy is a wonderful, stimulating phenomenon, and if your area doesn't have a branch yet, how about being the one the to instigate, I mean, start one? You'll be really really glad, and I mean it.
Other news - I spent a couple hours amongst the hundreds of thousands of books at the Friends of the Library sale this afternoon, and managed to rescue three grocery bags full, though I hated to leave any tattered, battered, torn, yellow, brittle, probably-otherwise-unwanted books behind, what can you do? Like with cats, or jellyfish stranded on the beach, there is a limit. They're still in my car, probably not to be unloaded and fully explored until tomorrow. A grrrl can only manage so much in a day, after all.
Before the book sale, but after the morning massage client, and our shared brunch at Jimmy's Egg, Sara and I zoomed up to Edmond, where I painted the 'baby' skaters first, then went to work on some other, older skaters as they prepared for the matinee of "DreamSkate", which is quite the spectacle. Really. I'd like to have seen it again, but this was my only chance at the book sale, so once the skaters were facially embellished, I left my baby behind, with a heartfelt "break a leg" and headed back to civilization.
She's a born showgirl, my wee one.
Not the best picture, but I was determined to go flashless; she's got a washed-out face, a pink zig zag, and black shorts, kind of in the middle.
Seeing as it's been a jam packed weekend, I need to stop typing now, finish my wine, take the cellophane off my new sketchbook, and prepare to face the week.
Stay tuned for pictures of the new old book acquisitions - they'll either be here or on my flickr, or both.
Cheers, and happy week!

Dr. Sketchy!

Certainly not a waste of time, or money. For a mere $10, the 25 or 30 participants were treated to a stylish hostess, continuous eclectic music ranging from Blondie & The Cure to Louis & Billie, and the charming Elsa the Wolf as model. The evening began with a saucy burlesque routine, performed to "Accentuate the Positive", from which Elsa went right into a series of 1-minute poses.

Throughout the evening, the poses lengthened in duration, up to 20 minutes, a number of drawing competitions were held, with assorted prizes given out, and a bar offered beer, wine, & mixed drinks. Some light snacks were also available for purchase, but clever me had brought along a tub of cherries from home, so I didn't need any of their junk food. (Okay, maybe I bought a chocolate bar.....).

What, you're asking, did I produce from this three and a half hour artistic extravaganza? Several sketches of course, but nothing yet photographed for your perusal. So sorry. Be patient, I'm sure I'll be sharing my educational process before long.
Next month, another Dr. Sketchy event comes to Oklahoma City, this time with a model called Lu Foxxx. You can bet it's already engraved on my calendar.
If my experience has sounded in the least enticing to you, I urge you to investigate Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School, to see if there's a branch in your area. It seems to be growing rapidly, and with little wonder.
Now.....I'm scheduled to pose for the art guild's drawing session tomorrow night. If it doesn't get cancelled due to the layer of ice that's covering everything, I wonder if I should bring along a few props to liven things up?.......

The Best Laid Plans.....

Though we know that plans can go awry, it doesn't stop us making them and hoping for the best, does it? Yesterday's plan was flexible, as usual, but it did include highlights of me stealing Tony away from his intensive orthopedic studies for a little, erm..... (keeping it kitten friendly) marital bliss?, followed by a brisk stroll in the cold bright sunshine over to the cupcakery for a fat mug of coffee and a cleverly named sweet treat. We did accomplish part A (mmrrrrrow), but whilst lounging barely conscious afterward, the phone rang. Someone from the ice rink: "are you Sara's parents? She's hurt herself. I think her ankle's broken...."

So, an unplanned drive to the rink to collect the hobbling, injured girl, a trip to a random "quick treatment, in-and-out" clinic, where her poor kid state insurance card was denied, requiring me to pony up real money, up front, for the visit and x-rays. "Quick" is a term open to interpretation, but I suppose the two hours of mostly waiting was a better deal than we would have gotten at any area ER. Both our parental instincts (not to mention Tony's medical training ones) were correct, and she doesn't have a break, only a sprain/strain sort of thing, which she is now underplaying, once she realized she may not get to skate on her birthday next Saturday; "This is going to be the worst birthday ever. If I can't be on the ice it'll be no fun at all." Poor dear.

While I didn't get my cupcake, at least Sara's not in a cast, and I don't have an $800+ medical bill to contend with; that's a pretty pleasant bright side.

The happiest news though, is tonight I'm going to Dr. Sketchy, yay!!!! This is Sketchy's OKC debut, and I find myself trying not to have horribly high hopes, in order to lower the possible disappointment factor, but I can't help being excited. Honestly, when one sees the words 'burlesque', 'life drawing', 'art', 'alcohol' all together describing one event, how can one not hope for a grand old time?

For the curious, I promise to report back tomorrow, giving details of the good, the bad, and the ugly. For the very very curious, I suggest you google "Dr. Sketchy" to learn more, and see if there are events in your area.