Drink N' Draw

Last night, with a Groupon deal and my friend Nick in tow, I hopped on the subway out to Bushwick for my first figure drawing session since graduation. The Living Gallery, located at Broadway and Dodworth Street, hosts a weekly Drink and Draw where participants can sketch a live model while sipping wine. The crowd appeared to be mostly in their early twenties and had varying artistic backgrounds and skill levels.

It felt a lot like being back in art school, but without the pressure of a professor peeking over my shoulder. I was required to take three figure drawing courses in order to graduate with my Illustraton concentration, but didn't particularly look forward to them like I looked forward to my illustration, design, and photography classes. In this environment, however, I felt completely uninhibited and ready to get a little crazy (in the sense that I used several colored pencils instead of charcoal, anyway).The Franzia didn't hurt either. 

After about an hour, an open mic replaced the model and the staff encouraged us to keep drawing. I went in a slightly sillier drawing direction, which made my inner illustrator happy. 

After working on a computer every day for the last year and a half or so, it was really nice to use my hands and some good old fashioned drawing materials. Perhaps I'll be back. At the very least,  I'm inspired to keep drawing!