Tag Archives: drawing

Band practise with Baron Anastis and the Erinyes in a secret space!

Rah Hell at the Catacombs Dec 6 2017 by Suzanne ForbesMy wonderful drummer muse Rah Hell is in a second band, besides Donut Heart, now.

The band is called Baron Anastis and the Erinyes and consists of Baron, Joe Dochtermann and Rah. They are a sexy-punk glam-punk triad! They rehearse at an undisclosed (and remarkable) location, in a space called (with reason) The Catacombs.

Baron Anastis and the Erinyes by Kim Hven of Kimera Photography

Baron Anastis and the Erinyes by Kim Hven of Kimera Photography

The band came and had a photo shoot in my studio last month, it was lovely to help them get all funky and be photographed! I was flinging props and wardrobe at them like a maniac, my secret fantasy career has always been set dresser or costume designer.

Here’s frontman Baron at The Catacombs, growling and crooning over his handsome polished wood bass.

Baron Anastis catacombs Dec5 2017 by Suzanne Forbes

Drawing Joe, below, is such fun. He is a classic rocker.

The guys were coming in on one of the songs a little Hendrix-y, as I drew these, and arguing about a pedal. I was loving being in a rehearsal space for the first time in a long time, really enjoying the way you can hear the music when you are an audience of one. It sounds different when there’s only a couple meatsuits for it to bounce through. The band already has a real sound, too.

Joe Dochtermann at the Catacombs by Suzanne Forbes Dec 5 2017I did four drawings of Rah behind the drum kit, in front of the space mural with its flaming asteroid.

I think you can see the progress in them. I did a pencil sketch of the drum kit for the first, to get a handle on how it takes up space in the space. You can see the ghosts of innumerable corrections for scale and perspective. With the second I opted to use just a stick of compressed charcoal on the smooth paper, for crude power and speed.

Rah Hell drumming in the catacombs Dec 5 2017 by Suzanne Forbes 1 and 2I am getting used to drawing the physicality of a drum kit, and the struggle to find an angle where you can actually see the drummer’s movements.

I’ve been drawing accordionist and guitarist musicians for decades, and made a great long-term study of a cellist with Unwoman over eight years in the Bay Area, but this is the first time I’ve worked on getting a drummer’s energy and movements down.

On the third drawing I sketched in a rough outline with charcoal, wiped it out and drew over it with my PITT “B” pen. And the fourth was pure charcoal again.

Rah Hell drumming in the catacombs by Suzanne Forbes Dec 5 2017 3 and 4

Next time I go to the secret space I’m gonna take my Windsor and Newton Series 7 Sable, some Sumi Ink and a big newsprint pad.

Gonna get SERIOUSLY loose and kick out the jams!

You can see dozens more musician drawings here on flickr. As always, I am so grateful to my beautiful Patrons on Patreon for providing the monthly sponsorship that allows me to document Queer, Indy, Punk as Fuck Berlin!

 

Dr. Sketchy’s Berlin: The Haunted Medium and the Ghost Bride.

dr sketchys Berlin drawings by Suzanne Forbes Nov 26 2017Dr. Sketchy’s here in Berlin features elaborately costumed models, fabulous sets, and often multiple skits and wardrobe changes.

Dr Sketchys Berlin Haunted Medium by Suzanne Forbes Nov 25 2017I really enjoyed the saga of the medium who is possessed by the ghost of a bride.

And working on different transparency techniques for the bride’s veil!

Dr Sketchys Berlin Ghost Bride by Suzanne Forbes Nov 26 2017

As you can see I purchased my first white gel pen and used it for the first time on these.

Like all other tools I use, my crude multi-media “technique” will quickly contaminate it with chalk particles and destroy it! But it sure was fun to have something precise to make marks on the Strathmore Toned Gray paper with. It was so much like using the Pentel White Paint Markers that first appeared at Pearl Paint around 1981-1982. They were the biggest thing ever for us NYC graffiti writers!Dr Sketchys Berlin Ghost Bride and Haunted Medium by Suzanne Forbes Nov 26 2017

I had to photograph this one rather than trim it for the scanner cause there was just too much going on at the edges!

I should either get a bigger scanner or start not using the whole page, which is unlikely since “use the whole page” was drilled into me at Parsons from age seventeen.

Previous post from this session here. Thank you LaLaVox and Le Pustra for another incredible night! What a gift you give us!

And thanks to my Patrons on Patreon whose financial support makes it possible for me to go to events like this. You are the best.

Previous Dr. Sketchy’s Berlin posts hereherehere and here.