I've really been digging myself into the drawing community of Cleveland lately, and the speakeasy was the beginning of that.
A week before the event, I'd decided to put art in the backseat of my life. I'd just been dumped, and the thought of doing this nonsense alone was tremendously frightening. I'd go to events and doodle (because it's still more interesting than football), but I wouldn't make it a priority.
Drawing has always been both the most fulfilling and most arduous part of my life for as long as I can remember. If you've ever dated someone who draws, or you draw yourself, it becomes hard to prioritize and I didn't want to deal with that anymore.
I wanted to come home to something simple.
I really half assed most of this stuff. I drew in the Dr Sketchy style that I've been using for the past three years, and I focused more on the beer and conversation.
The drawings were nothing more than an admission price to a party, a ticket stub rendered in marker.
Going back and looking at them now, after doing a project for Ingenuity, organizing art shows, teaching cartooning, and literally drawing every day. I don't see that anymore.
I see portraits of my friends. The thing about drawing from life, is that a lot of times its the only way you can slow your brain down enough to really appreciate the moment you're in. It's not really about smelling roses, it's about drawing them.
The Apples In Stereo wrote this on a record once: "The Elephant 6 Recording Company re-opens our doors and windows, and invites the world: join together with your friends and make something special, something meaningful, something to remember when you are old."
I've liked it since I read it, but nowadays I've adopted it as a way of life.
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