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Fun, high-speed life-drawing practice with tassels on!
==Article Transcript==
If you are looking to hone your live
caricature skills and get the chance to
try out different media and experiment
with your levels of exaggeration, all
without the pressure of a paying client
to please, Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School
could be just the ticket.

Usually, my weekends are spent at the
local supermarket being dragged up and
down the aisles by my long-suffering wife
(unless I have the much welcome excuse
of a booking that is). But now every other
month, I spend my Saturday afternoons
in the company of tattooed beauties,
twirling their tassels and shaking their
hips to 50s-inspired rockabilly tracks.

Dr. Sketchy’s was founded in 2005 by
artists Molly Crabapple and A.V. Phibes,
in a dive bar in Brooklyn, New York. Run
solely by Molly Crabapple (and her cadre
of awesome helpers) since early ‘06, Dr.
Sketchy’s has grown into a truly global
phenomenon. Every month, over 3,500
artists gather in nearly a hundred different
cities (including New York, Hollywood,
Sao Paolo, London, Rome, Paris, Tokyo
and my hometown of Nottingham, UK)
to sketch glamorous, subcultural models
and compete in drawing contests in an
atmosphere of artistic mayhem.

The compère for the Nottingham events
is organiser and performer Scarlett
Daggers. Her welcoming style, seamed
stockings, and sharp wit puts everyone at
ease as drawing boards are set up and
pencils are sharpened.

The opportunity to network with local
creative folk is not to be underestimated
and is an added bonus of these
happenings. Amongst the gathered
crowd is fellow Nottingham Dr Sketchy
branch organiser, Charlotte Thomson.
Charlotte is fast becoming the best known boudoir and burlesque illustrator
in the UK and is an active member of
Nottingham’s creative arts scene.

Having always had a fascination with 40s
and 50s culture, she had been drawing
lots of pin-up girls, which caught the
attention of burlesque performers in the
UK and US, including Scarlett Daggers.

The pair decided they had been to
enough dull life-drawing classes for their
liking and agreed to spice things up in
Nottingham. “It’s raised the profile of
my own art & illustration business and it
gives me a constant opportunity to flex
my drawing muscles at our own events”
says Charlotte. “We’ve also made links
with local organisations (art-related and
otherwise,) which has allowed us to do
fun one-off events and network with fab
people.”

The first Dr. Sketchy performer today at
the Nottingham Glee comedy club is the
delectable Vendetta Vain. The Glasgowbased
artist and model glides on stage
with shocking green hair and tassels to
match. The crowd greets her with whoops
and hollers–and that’s just the female
contingent! That is what is so great about
these events– here is a real mix of people
in the audience, from young art students
to older hobbyists, first-timers to seasoned
pros. The atmosphere is fun and laid back,
not dark and seedy.

Vendetta performs her “Creature from the
Black Lagoon” routine, described (and
quite rightly so) as a “strip-teasing, bump n’
grinding, tassel twirling B-movie monster.’”

She is accompanied by a rock ‘n’ roll
soundtrack supplied by the DJ, Johnny
Bull - guitarist for local psychobilly/rock ‘n’
roll band, the Speed Kings. I recognise
a few of the tracks–Johnny Cash, Elvis
Presley, Buddy Holly, intertwined with
more obscure, punk-influenced stuff
to tap your feet to. I am pretty sure the
Nottingham Sketchy crew could make a
healthy profit from selling compilation CDs
on the side!

Once the performance is over and the
wolf whistles have subsided, Ms. Vain
settles in to her pose–a short five minutes
to warm everyone up. Working at speed
like this is still tough, even after working
as a live caricature artist for more than 15
years.

I like to use watercolours at Dr. Sketchy
events–I can keep things loose and
quick that way. When I started drawing
caricatures on the sunny beaches of
Greece way back in 1995, I used to use
watercolours. The heat helped them to dry
as quickly as I worked. It’s funny because
I can’t ever imagine myself doing that
now! A Dixon Markette and a grey marker
are my weapons of choice for live gigs
these days.

The rest of the afternoon sees
performances by the red hot Daquairi
Dusk (described as “the burlesque
love-child of Gypsy Rose Lee and Nikki
Sixx”) and the graceful Cherry Loco who
“epitomises vaudevillian poise and genderbending,
epicene elegance.”

It is a fantastic afternoon of drawing,
music and tease. There are some
amazing pieces of work created by the
gathered crowd, and prizes are awarded
to the model’s favourites. I didn’t win–this
time–but I did get to have my photo taken
with Vendetta, which was prize enough!
After the event, people gather at the
downstairs bar, showing their creations to
each other and gaining valuable feedback.

Dr Sketchy’s really has become a
highlight of my calendar. If you are looking
for a fun, laid back and entertaining
afternoon of alternative life drawing, get
yourself to an event – there’s bound to be
one near you, and if there isn’t, why not
organize one yourself!?

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TheChairman: Created page with "Fun, high-speed life-drawing practice with tassels on! ==Article Transcript== If you are looking to hone your live caricature skills and get the chance to try out different me..."