Samantha Foster
Assistant Spectrum Editor
The stage of Strange Matter, normally used for concerts and beard competitions, held a different sort of entertainment this past Thursday.
Hot Tottie Holly, more commonly known as Holly Sullivan, was clad in a bombshell-blonde wig and homemade supersuit she made to resemble the outfit of Barbarella, the glamourous space-traveling sex warrior. “Barbarella” is a 1968 cult classic fim starring Jane Fonda as a sex-crazed astronaut.
“I’ve modeled before, but not in front of this kind of audience,” Sullivan said. “It’s so amazing. The models dress in costumes, and it’s fun to be surrounded by that and still brush up on your drawing skills.”
Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School, founded in 2005 in a bar in Brooklyn, is now a worldwide alternative drawing movement with locations in over 100 cities, including Richmond. Artists, both professional and novice, gather every month to draw fabulously costumed models, burlesque dancers, drag queens and many other types of “underground” performers – including Hot Tottie Holly.
The Richmond branch of the Anti-Art School is currently owned by headmistress Deanna Danger, but it passed through several owners before she adopted it. Danger took over the Richmond branch in January 2011, after having been a model for a drawing session.
“It’s special to Richmond, so I picked it up and helped revive it,” Danger said.
Danger is the owner and instructor at Boom Boom Basics Burlesque Studio and Richmond’s only full-time burlesquer. She also works as a model, aerialist, producer and designer.
For the past three years, Dr. Sketchy’s Richmond has been held at Strange Matter on the third Wednesday of every month. Attendees must bring their own drawing or painting supplies.
Each session is three hours long and includes two-minute, five-minute, 10-minute, 15-minute and 20-minute sessions. Tickets are $7 or $5 with student ID.
“Artists who come out to draw at our sessions have a chance to meet, mingle, eat and drink, share their work and get a great experience drawing figures and poses far outside the norm of regular college or studio figure-drawing sessions,” Danger said.
Models for Dr. Sketchy Richmond vary every month, and the same model has never been used twice, except for Danger. Other models have included burlesque stars Cherrie Canary and Indy Go-Go, belly dancers, circus artists, cosplay models, fetish models and men.
“(The male models) tend to wear less than the girls,” Danger said. “At any given Dr. Sketchy’s Richmond session, one can expect a professional and talented model, wearing an extravagant or unique costume of sorts, to model and pose in a theme for the artists to draw, sketch or paint.”
Artists also have a chance to win prizes for their sketches. During one of the longer sessions, Danger announces a theme or invented setting for the artists to incorporate into their drawing.
“I like to be silly with it,” Danger said. It’s all light hearted.”
Prizes have included a book from Baby Tattoo, burlesque show tickets and items from local artisans.
All levels of artists are invited to attend Dr. Sketchy. Every session is all ages since models do not disrobe because of state laws on nudity.
“We get lots of regulars, but we’re always getting new people coming out,” Danger said.
Most attendees are college students or post-graduates, but Dr. Sketchy also draws in a crowd of professional illustrators and art lovers.
AFO student Scott Mitsching came to his first Dr. Sketchy session this month.
“It’s really fun, more fun than the nudes in drawing class,” Mitsching said. “They just kind of sit there.”
Dr. Sketchy will be offering a free drawing session April 1 at the Virginia Comic-Con.
“I would encourage anyone who draws or would like to try drawing, who also likes beautiful, funny and elaborately costumed models to come to our sessions,” Danger said. “We are open to all.” CT