What's New for 2016

Been a while since I updated the blog! I actually have a bunch of half-finished articles I think you'll find really useful, but it's been so busy, I haven't had a chance, and I'm kind of a stickler about making them the best articles I can. But I'm making a point of catching up! Stay tuned for more fun articles to come.

We have a couple of new, fun offerings for 2016:

Single Pose Class We're now presenting a 2 hour long, single pose class. It's a great opportunity to really hunker down and develop your visual acuity and get a very detailed, finished drawing. One nude model in a single pose for two hours (with a break every 20 minutes). We're currently doing it twice a month on Thursdays.

Classes WITH Instruction If you'd like a little formal instruction (or a lot), these classes are great. We have a nude model, and each class begins with some very basic exercises, and tips to help you capture the figure on paper and maybe see a little differently. These classes are usually pretty small, so you can get plenty of individual attention.

Special Events We're planning them now for the warmer weather! I hate to give too many specifics before they're finalized, but most likely you can expect more art sails aboard the Schooner Pioneer, Some unusual art workshops, and some social gatherings. And we;ll continue to list third-party events around town that may be of interest to our meetup members, even the ones that we don't organize.

Old Favorites We're still doing Sunday afternoon sketching featuring a nude model in an academic figure sketching class with both short and long poses, and our ever-popular draw-a-thon Draw-mania! that combines a variety show with a drawing event.

To find out all about these events join our Meetup group http://www.meetup.com/FigureSketching-NYC
It's free to join and will keep you updated with all our fun events.



Is there some kind of art event that you'd like to see us offering? Let us know! If it's possibly of interest to our membership we'd like to know!

Draw-mania! sail Sunday, June 28th! 1-3pm.

Remember last year's Draw-mania! on the Water sail? The one on a 129 year old cast iron schooner that featured three art models and has a sell-out crowd of 40 artists on it? We sailed all around the tip of Manhattan? Well, We're doing it AGAIN!! Sunday, June 28th 2015, 1-3pm aboard the Schooner Pioneer. It's gonna be a blast!
This event brought to you in conjunction with The South Street Seaport Museum and Th Art Student's League.

(can't make it? don't fret, we'll be doing it several more times this summer. Keep an eye on our Meetup site).
http://www.meetup.com/FigureSketching-NYC/events/223123168/

 

Jerry's Draw-mania! --a brand new weekly event in a brand new store

Starting on Tuesday, September 9th., we instituted a weekly figure drawing session in partnership with the Jerry's International Palette Shop!

The event is called Jerry's Draw-mania! and occurs every Tuesday, from 9-11pm. It's a fun, relaxed figure sketching session featuring one great model, for ONLY $5!!

 

Jerry's International Palette Shop is a great new art store in NYC at 111 Fourth Avenue (site of the original Utrecht Art store, for you old-timers). Jerry's offers a full range of art supplies, but it has a particularly full range of products for painters. More tubes of paint than you've ever seen in one place, I recon! They are the first New York outpost of the popular Jerry's Artarama chain. They also offer a number of exciting events and workshops in their store after hours. See their site for details: http://jerryspaletteshop.com/

 

 

DRAW-MANIA! moves to Thursdays!

First off, my apologies for not updating the blog more often. Not to sound corny, but with all the stuff we've had going on this year, I just wasn't able to devote the time to it.

"So, Jeff, what's been going on with the group?"

 

Out top story is that after several years offering Draw-mania! on the last Monday of each month, we've moved up to the THIRD THURSDAY of each month. This should make it a little easier for a lot of people who just couldn't free up Monday night.

 

Otherwise, it's still the same exciting Draw-mania! you've relied on for your creative needs. We'll still have a bunch of outstanding Figure models, both male and female, some familiar faces and some new ones. We still have Mike Ogletree for our DJ, offering an eclectic mix of tunes spanning all genres. We'll still be presenting live performances from some of the newest talent in New York City. And we're still in NYC's coolest rock and roll tiki bar! and the price is still the same--a mere $15 smackers for the whole kaboodle!

And did I mention the tiki drinks? If you haven't been to Otto's yet, you might not know they offer some of the best tiki cocktails and affordable beers! Imbibing is optional, of course, but if you are buying, they're there for you!

If you haven't been yet, COME! Our first Thursday event will be September 18th., 2014. 8pm.

Draw-mania! HOBOKEN!

April 3rd was our first real Draw-mania Hoboken event, and it was a resounding success! Our first event went as planned, but scary weather reports kept most people from attending. April's event was mostly smooth sailing! We has a great crowd in attendance, and people seemed to be really draing up a storm. We had 5 terrific models, including 2 new faces (but they will be back!) and entertainment provided by three outstanding comedians, Boris Khaykin (MTV, Bath House Brothers Variety Hour), Nathan Rand (Invitation to a Beheading), and Tim Warner (colleges and comedy festivals all over the place) and two musicians, Calem Ingram and Sho Handa, playing selections from their newly released album Making it Possible.

We'll be back at Teak on the Hudson May 1, 2013 for the next Draw-mania! Hoboken. You should be there!

Draw-mania! Goes INTERSTATE!

Hi folks!
Sorry I haven't posted anything new in a while. The Summer Sketch group has been going strong, still meeting a couple of Sundays every month (all year long, not just the summer), and attendance has been terrific--enough people to get a fun sense of community but not so many that it becomes awkward or overcrowded.

Draw-mania!, our monthly draw-a-thon and variety show, has really taken off! We're approaching our 15th event, and we're going strong into the coming year. If you've never been to one, just imagine a space filled with over 30 artists of all skill levels, from absolute beginners to seasoned pros, sketching, chatting, and, should they so desire, drinking, as they draw from 6 of the top art models for four hours! There's a break for the models every 20 minutes, and that's when a comedian, storyteller or musician takes the stage for a 10 minute performance. It' a blast!
We've been going strong every last Monday of the month in the East Village, at the possibly legendary and always amazing Otto's Shrunken Head (538 East 14th st.). Well, Starting in March, we're adding a second monthly Draw-mania!, just across the Hudson river, in Hoboken, NJ! If you're not familiar with Hoboken, you should be! It's incredibly close to Manhattan (The Hoboken PATH Train station is about 8 minutes from Manhattan's 14th st. & 6th Ave PATH station), and in the 80s it was where all the artists went after Soho priced them out. Nowadays, it's a cool, cozy neighborhood that features a lot of unpretentious bars and restaurants. We'll be at Teak on the Hudson (16-18 Hudon Place), a rather upscale place with a fun, exotic vibe, great cocktails and food, and an amazing riverfront view! Our first event will be March 6th, 8pm to midnight, and I'm putting together a great lineup of models and performers.

Hope you can make it, it's gonna be a blast!

for more info:
www.draw-mania.com

If you're on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/DrawMania

And if you're on Meetup.com:
http://www.meetup.com/FigureSketching-NYC/
http://www.meetup.com/Figure-Drawing-HOBOKEN-Draw-Mania/

Draw-mania! Testimonials

Sure, I have great things to say about Draw-mania!, our monthly art-a-thon extravaganza, but what do the people who come to Draw-mania! think about it? Watch!
http://www.draw-mania.com

Draw-Mania! THREE Thursday, Sept 22, 8pm

First off, a big apology for not posting about this to the blog earlier. I've been trying all kinds of different avenues to get the word out about this, and it looks like I overlooked the one right under my nose!

Well, here's the skinny: This Thursday, Sept 22 at the Bento Burger Lounge (101 East 2nd st., upstairs). The Bento Burger is part of the Lucky Cheng's Arts Complex, so to speak.

As with all the others we're offering the talents of some of New York's best and most popular art models, male and female, in an assortment of poses. We also have DJ Shred, a well-known DJ specializing in 80s and Depeche Mode in particular (but not exclusively), some terrific musicians and comedians, raffle prizes and drink specials!

It runs 8pm till midnight and you get it all for a scant $15 smackers.

And I promise to post more frequently about it!

for all the information go to the website: http://www.draw-mania.com

DRAW-MANIA Draw-a-thon-- Sunday, July 17th!!

Grab your pad and pencils and head over to the Fortune Cookie Lounge for a night of inspired drawing, comedy and music, draw-a-thon-style!
The Draw-mania draw-a-thon is a figure drawing party for artists. We feature some of New York’s top art models in a variety of poses to inspire your creativity in the East Village’s funkiest out-of-the-way lounge! (bring your own drawing materials)

Want more?—Some of the East Village’s hottest new comics! Music! Raffle Prizes! Drink Specials! (Drink specials, for god’s sake!)

All levels of artistic ability, and all kinds of reasonable drawing and painting materials are welcome, but NO PHOTOGRAPHY!
$15 at the door. 8pm. to midnight. Doors open at 7pm.
Fortune Cookie Lounge
24 First Ave. Betw. 1st & 2nd street, downstairs
(a block from the F Train, 2nd ave. station)

For latest news and list of performers, and other fun stuff, go to the website: www.draw-mania.com

Email: info@draw-mania.com

Until July 8th you can buy advance tickets for only $10 either through the Summer Sketch Meetup group (on Meetup.com) or via the Draw-mania page at indiegogo.com.
(you can find direct links to both on the web page www.draw-mania.com)