NEXT SKETCHY: THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 6-9PM!

Good news everyone - I ran into Lana of Detroit Bellydance at World Hoop Day Friday afternoon and she's all set to model for us this month. So the next Dr. Sketchy session will be Thursday the 21st at Blick Art Materials on Michigan Ave. in Dearborn (between Schaefer and Greenfield, a few blocks west of Green Brain Comics). Manager Paul Flowers has been nice enough to offer us the front of his shop to use as modeling/sketching space, after the shop closes at 6pm. Expect cool prizes, snacks, music and probably a performance by lovely Lana too. See you then!


By the way, Hoop Day was a big hit, with lots of kids and adults too (including the crew of a DFD fire engine) showing up for some hoop-spinnin' and general community and good feeling in the shadow of the Temple of the American Dream, an intricate cut-plywood pagoda you need to see to believe (click the link for info on the project). IN FACT...

...you might get to see it up close if you come to Dr. Sketchy in September! A very special session is in the planning stages, so watch the blog and your email inbox for details.

MORE NEWS: Dr. Sketchy Empress Molly Crabapple needs our help!

"I recently wrote a panel called "DIY Empires: Taking Your Online Following Offline," It's about movements like Dr. Sketchy's that, despite being started by creative folks with low budgets, have spread all over the world. The panel's for presentation at SXSWi (South by Southwest Interactive), an international conference about digital technology and its effect on culture. We got past the first round, and now our fate is in part decided by voting."


Click the image above to go and vote for Molly and help send her SXSW!

Hoops go digital

More art from DS20. First, a few painterly photo treatments from Lou Salazar:




Next three sketches from the cool digital drawing tablet of Jim Anderson (and there are more on his web site).

DS20: Spin city

Many thanks as always to all who came to the latest Dr Sketchy at THC last Wednesday. Despite the rush to get it all put together, we even had a couple new art monkeys in the crowd and managed to raise around $140-150 for World Hoop Day charities. Our hooper/models, Revolva, Elise and Faith definitely earned it, they got quite a workout over the three hours, I think. So thanks for your generosity!

To find out more about World Hoop Day (coming up on Friday, August 8, 4-8pm), visit the site for the The Detroit Dream Project. There's lots of other links there too, to Motor City Blight Busters, Flickr pages with photos of the Temple of the American Dream project and more.

Next up: Plans are back on to sketch at Blick art supplies in Dearborn, with the lovely Lana as our model, this month. Then with luck it'll be back to our old HQ at the Belmont for September. I'll keep you posted. Meantime, send hoop art and photos to share!

DS AT THC THURS. JULY 31

Hey all,

It's official - I just spoke to the guys at THC and that's where it's happenin' tomorrow night, 7-10PM:

10241 Jos. Campau at Trowbridge, a few doors north of the Belmont. Call 313-285-9822. They're a cozy place with a good food & beer menu, plus of course coffee drinks, and a great atmosphere in an impressively renovated bar. They've even got a DJ spinning. Here's a link to a write-up about them.

Revolva has three hooper friends at least who've volunteered to model and dazzle us with their skillz, so be prepared to draw fast and stay portable (you might want to move around a bit!) Remember, proceeds go to charity, so bring tip money as well as the usual $5 (and a little for the DJ too!)

Thanks again for your patience, everyone, but this is gonna be a great one, so don't miss it!

Sean

DR. SKETCHY THURSDAY, JULY 31, 7PM

Hey there art monkeys,

Sorry once again to drag this out to the (very!) last minute, but strange and cool things have been transpiring here at DS HQ.

Revolva, who's modeled with her hula hoop for us before, is bringing some of her hooping friends to town:

"Part of the reason I'm coming back is to take part in World Hoop Day Detroit -- an August 8 charity event where a bunch of the Detroit Hoopers are giving away hoops to inner city kids and hosting a big hula hooping party at The Temple of the American Dream (in old Redford). It's in conjunction with Blight Busters, Detroit Dream Project and the non-profit SPARC. Here's the myspace page for the event:

http://www.myspace.com/888hoopdaydetroit

http://www.worldhoopday.com/

So we've had a change of plans - she and her pals will be modeling and hooping for us Thursday with proceeds going to the charities! It meant some rescheduling with Blick's in Dearborn, but it's way worth it. Trouble is, the venue is still TBA!! So here's the deal:

• We will either be at the THC coffeehouse on Jos. Campau in Hamtramck (just a few doors south of the Belmont)

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=385770560

OR

• We will be at a gallery space hosted by the Contemporary Art Institiute of Detroit in the Russell Industrial complex, at Clay & the I-75 service drive on the outskirts of Hamtramck (still waiting for this to get confirmed, but it'd be a greta idea if it works...)

I will post and email you all again as soon as things get firmed up for sure. I know this is nuts but I think it'll be worth the craziness in the end! Thanks for your patience, stay tuned everyone!

Sean

DS19: On with the show

Brief (and way late) post...

The Art of Dr Sketchy exhibit opened last Friday, and it sounds like it went well. I can't say from first-hand experience since I MISSED THE DAMN THING! Had to work late, early deadlines... But the show did get some ink in the local alt-weekly and a good bunch of people showed up at Cafe 1923 to draw DS fave Muana in full-on geisha costume. They even went outdoors for a while to draw, a DS:MCD first! Many thanks to all who helped out in my absence, especially Suzanne, Jim, Laura, Krysti and Matt, and all at the cafe. Photos by Agnes Domanska.

DS ART OPENING FRI. JUNE 6!

Hey everyone! The art show is up! We hung it at the Cafe 1923 this weekend and it looks damn fine if I say so myself. Take a look:




The official opening is THIS FRIDAY, JUNE 6, 6-9pm, and will include a drawing session featuring our most stalwart model, Muana The One & Only, from 6-8pm. PLEASE COME! Tell your friends, and grab a short stack of postcards while you're here and spread the word. Many thanks to Mike Oberdier and Jim Anderson for letting me use their art on the postcard! There'll be a mention of the show in this week's Metro Times as well, also featuring Jim's art.

The show will be up until July 12. The cafe is at 2287 Holbrook in Hamtramck, between I-75 and Jos. Campau, across from the Kowalski sausage factory neoen wiener sign.

See you this Friday!
sean

DS18: Demonique Attack!

Those of you young enough not to remember "Demon Attack," just count your blessings you never had to endure 8-bit video games.

Anyway, more sketches, this time by me.

DS18: More Demonique

...this time from the always amazing Jim Anderson.

DS18: Pizza Party!

Okay, DUMBEST POST TITLE EVER! As if pizza could hold anyone's attention with a model like Demonique on stage. Photos by Agnes Domanska, drawings by John Nagridge.






Sorry for the late post - lots going on over the holiday weekend - and sorry for its shortness - much yet to do to prepare for the upcoming art show! Thanks to everyone who brought artwork to exhibit. If you didn't bring anything Thursday and still want in on the show just contact me and we'll figure something out.

More photos and drawings from DS18 as I get them, and more news on the art opening and the next session at Cafe 1923 to come soon.

Dr. Sketchy News Bulletin!

Hi again Art Monkeys,

Passing this along to all of you who might want a bit of Dr. Sketchy energy you can wear around with you - the official Dr. Sketchy Art Monkey necklace! Oh, it's a beautiful thing, all snarly and artsy. Click on the photo below to see DS founder Molly Crabapple modeling one, and get all the details on ordering yours here. Note that all proceeds go to help support the Dr. Sketchy empire, so it's all good.


And what the hell - anyone who shows up wearing one at a DS:Detroit session gets one free admission!

ALSO:
DON'T FORGET to frame up your best Dr. Sketchy sketches for inclusion in the upcoming exhibit at Cafe 1923. Bring 'em with you to our next session at the Belmont on May 22, or arrange to drop art with me before or after that if you can't make it. Frames don't need to be expensive or fancy, so don't sweat it! The show is getting hung the last day of May, so...

DS:MCD MEDIA: I was interviewed by a reporter from Crain's about Dr. Sketchy as part of an article about Hatch, so watch for that.

AND, Molly says a DS documentary is in the works. So if there's anyone out there with video or filmmaking experience (I can think of a couple folks) it'd be cool to get some footage of an upcoming session to send to her for inclusion. She sent along technical specs which I can forward on to whoever is interested.

Round-robin drawing above provided by Jim Anderson (with help from two unnamed accomplices).

See you all soon,
Sean

More from DS17...

...this time from Doug Blanchard, who contributes more of his swell sketchbook collages.





Don't forget that I'm collecting art for an exhibit next month at the café in Hamtramck! Contact me if you'd like to contribute.

Zac Attack

Jim Anderson sent in some great color sketches of Zachariah from last Sketchy. Check out Jim's web site for more of his awesome artwork.

DS17: Rock show!

DS photog Agnes sent some nice shots of Zachariah from last Thursday.

Dr. Sketchy #17: Sketch It Like a Rock Star!

Another fine turn-out for last Thursday's session. Thanks much to everyone who came out on a nice spring evening, so nice we kept the back patio door open most of the night. Zachariah turned out to be a natural, gracing the stage in a variety of rock star outfits and poses, and brandishing his great Ovation guitar (I think he said it used to be his grandfather's). Between costumes he even favored us with a couple of acoustic songs, a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Gold Dust Woman" and one of his own. I saw a lot of nice drawings getting made during the night, hope folks will send them in soon!


Our next session is on the Belmont schedule for THURSDAY, MAY 22. Which reminds me...

THE ART OF DR. SKETCHY DETROIT: AN EXHIBIT

May 22 date is also the perfect time to get me YOUR ART WORK from past Sketchies to be included in a Dr. Sketchy-themed art exhibit at the Café 1923 in Hamtramck! I got several expressions of interest Thursday night and earlier, so now all I need is the actual art.

If you have drawings you'd like to display, please frame them up as you see fit (expensive frames not necessary, but something) and bring as many as you'd like to show along with you on Thursday. If you'd rather not tear pages out of your sketchbook, if you work digitally, or if you're a photographer, feel free to contribute framed printouts of your work.

If you can't make it on May 22, let me know and I'll arrange to get your art from you. I can set up an evening after the 22nd to be at Cafe 1923 for art drop-offs if that helps. As a last resort, I can even receive hi-res digital files via email or ftp and print and frame them myself (you can pay me back later...).

I WILL NEED ALL ART BY MAY 30 in order to hang the show when the current show comes down on the 31st. Earlier, of course, is better.

There's no fee to be in the show, and if you'd like to put your work up for sale, you can do that too (Hatch, who sponsors the exhibits at the cafe, may want a cut of sales, I'll double-check on that). There'll be an official opening the first Friday night in June with snacks and such, and possibly a Sketchy session in the cafe's back courtyard, out in the fresh, sausage-scented Hamtramck air!

Contact me here or via email with any questions, and stay tuned for updates.

Sean

DS17:In Like a Lion!

Looks like spring is getting serious about sticking around, and what better way to celebrate than to coop ourselves up in a dark bar for a night of drinking and drawing?

NEXT DR. SKETCHY is scheduled back at the good ol' Belmont for THURSDAY, APRIL 17 (that's next week!). Perfeect for blowing off some post-tax deadline steam on the cheap - still only $5 to draw.

Our subject this time out is will be local model and folk/rock/experimental musician Zachariah Griffin. He promises to bring his guitar for prop purposes at least, and maybe we can coax a tune out of him during a break if we ask nice.

ALSO: Plans are in the works for a Dr. Sketchy art show at Cafe 1923 in conjunction with Hatch. If you have any artwork from previous Dr. Sketchy sessions you'd like to display in a few months, please let me know right away! Any size or medium is fine.

See you Thursday! (Drawing of Lily LaRue above by Michelangelo Cicerone)