Art in the open

Dr. Sketchy's classes go public

The man standing at the front of the coffee shop is shirtless. He is wearing a kilt and a long, gray-and-black wig. His face is painted blue and white, it is the middle of a sunny Saturday afternoon, and he is holding an ax.

As Mr. Braveheart stands perfectly still, baristas shout coffee orders and a dozen or so artists with sketch pads work on incorporating a likeness of the ax-wielder onto them.

It is an art class, only with lattes, hold the teacher.

"I get a kick being the center of attention," model Mark Zumbach would say later.

That's just the kind of model who is perfect for Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School, a New York-based phenomenon that puts art classes into public spaces, adds a touch of booze and an extra serving of exhibitionism.

After getting their start in 2005, Dr. Sketchy's classes have expanded from New York to places such as Rome, San Francisco and Raleigh, where the monthly get-togethers have been held at Helios Coffee Company on Glenwood Avenue.

Founder Molly Crabapple, a freelance illustrator/burlesque dancer/entrepreneur, got the idea after working as a model for drawing classes while an art student. Though the classes were perfectly educational, there was a little something missing.

"I didn't see why art shouldn't be a bit more fun than the classes we were posing for," she says on the phone from a coffee shop in Washington D.C., during a break from a tour to promote Dr. Sketchy's. Crabapple, 23, brings her party to Durham on Sunday.

Dissatisfied with the sterile environment of traditional life-drawing classes, she rounded up some burlesque dancers and hit the bar. Dr. Sketchy's has twice-monthly gatherings at a Brooklyn lounge.

William Lewis of Clayton first heard about the classes through his day job. He works for an Internet company that publishes an online magazine, www.eros-zine.com. The magazine did a story on Dr. Sketchy's inspiring Lewis to start a local chapter.

Among his models have been belly dancers and a woman in a sexy Santa outfit. For $10, which helps pay the model, participants can draw, paint or sketch for three hours. During his session, Zumbach changed clothes a couple of times, with the final costume consisting of a leather vest, leather boots, tiny red-and-yellow shorts and a spiky wig.

At home, Zumbach has several trunks filled with interesting outfits. "I'm kind of like a little kid in an adult's body. I like to dress up."

Jared Liles of Oxford has attended several sessions, after learning about Dr. Sketchy's on Craigslist. "There's nothing like it anywhere that I've ever heard of," he says. Unlike the standard art class, Dr. Sketchy's features a laid-back attitude. "Nobody is looking over your shoulder to see if you're doing better than they are."

The classes include nonstandard contests for the artists, which are judged by the model. On Saturday, the artists were encouraged to incorporate a city scene into one of their pieces. Prizes included wine and art supplies.

Lewis, a graphic artist, started the classes to help pump something a little different into the local art scene. Holding them in a coffee shop means the occasional awkward glance, but the public space offers free advertising. "We get a lot of questions, which is good."

For her appearance in Durham, Crabapple has lined up a model who plans to wear "retro '50s lingerie made of latex."

Questions about that?

Perhaps it's best to ask her yourself.