6 Days: Dr. Sketchy

About three months ago, I was walking to a restaurant in Hampden with a friend of mine. We bumped into a friend of hers, Alexis, who is an art teacher. I asked Alexis if she could teach a non-artistic fool like myself how to draw. She was adamant that she could teach even me how to draw. So, I put her to the challenge. We met a few times and truthfully, I was blown away with how quickly she conveyed to me how to draw a face. After only one lesson I drew a self-portrait that didn't suck! She's good.



I think that experience help set the stage for much of what I've tried during this 40 day experiment. And tonight, it sort of came full circle. I had three goals in my drawing lessons with Alexis. We really only accomplished the first--drawing a face. I really didn't think it would happen so pursuing the other two were mere fantasies. A second goal was to be able to draw my own tattoo. Honestly, I didn't want to wait as long as it would take for me to get that good--so my friend Jesse was a much better choice to get that done. I did help with the design--but am very thankful it's not my artwork on my arm. But the last goal was to learn how to draw a full body.

In order to draw a body--it's pretty essential to have a model. So when life got busy and I stopped meeting with Alexis, I kind of put that one on the back burner. Well, tonight--I went to Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School. And very last minute, I emailed Alexis and guess what--she was already planning to go tonight. So, I picked her up and off we went. I am so glad it worked out. Serendipity.

And now, one funny little incident to share about the experience...I thought I had read there would be food and drinks available. Drinks, yes. Food, no. If you know me well, you know that I don't do well when I haven't eaten. We arrived at 6:30pm and the event ended at 10pm. The bartender said I could order from a Joe Squared menu and they would deliver it. I called up and ordered their Bacon and Apple Risotto. It's good stuff.

Thirty minutes later, while our model is posing for us, someone in the back of the room calls out, "Who ordered the pizza?" Yeah--that's me. The guy "sketching" the naked lady who ordered pizza. Everyone cracked up. I felt like Spicoli in Mr. Hand's class from Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Hilarious. Of course, at our next break--several other people ordered pizza from Joe Squared. So, I didn't feel that bad.

Guess which sketch is mine--and which is Alexis'

Clearly I still have some work to do.