Dr Sketchy anti art school

A model I met told us about Dr Sketchy which is life drawing with a twist : the models dress up in burlesque costumes and assume dramatic poses. In Sydney this is held on a fortnightly basis at the Art House Hotel. Intrigued, I managed to gather a few friends and booked us for an evening. Most of us were not artists but were happy to drool not draw. We turn up at the Attic Bar which is like a large gentleman's club, furnished with leather Chesterfields and low mood lighting. There is a stage in the centre around which the regulars and serious artists clustered. There were two models; a busty lady (gender in question) wearing a curly blonde wig and red satin corset, high heels and fishnet stockings. The other was a brunette, slim waisted and moved most diaphanously.


Well the clothes came off slowly like a bit of a strip tease but they were never naked. I loved drawing the brunette and here she is in an exotic costume reminiscent of 'the dance of the seven veils'. The poses were short : 10 min max and it was frantic trying to do colour but oh! How to resist when the costumes were so colourful and over the top. Brunette also did a show where she emerged in a fringed bikini and a cowboy hat. At the end she took off her bikini top but hid her boobs with the hat. The blonde was much harder to draw because of her wig and smile. Here is an attempt where I ignored her face.


Everyone had a good time and we'd do it again. If there was one criticism it is the mood lighting. Very hard to make out what tones and shadows : the models really needed to be in spotlights.