Tag Archives: drawing

Leathermen and cigars in Schöneberg, at the Pussycat Bar.

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Berlin Cigar Men smokers by Suzanne Forbes Nov 4 2017My friend Miss Natasha Enquist invited me to join her at Berlin Cigar Men, a cigar lounge night at a wonderfully cosy bar called The Pussycat.

The Pussycat is a warm, snug lesbian bar that once a month welcomes a celebration of classic leatherman culture. This evening included head shaving, with a proper razor, and bootblacking.

I could smell the cigar smoke all the way down the block from the Ku’Damm.

Berlin Cigar Men bar scene by Suzanne Forbes Nov 4 2017I knocked on the door and Miss Natasha peered through the speakeasy peephole and let me in out of the cold.

Wow, what an amazing group of great-looking old-school (and young) leathermen and wow so much smoke! I love the smell of cigarette and cigar smoke. I smoked two packs of Marlboro Reds a day from age 13 to age 24, and people smoking freely is one of the things I love about Europe.

And yet even for me it was a lot of smoke! I actually got a tiny bit nauseous from it, like when Tom and Joe and Huck smoke corn-cob pipes on the island.

Bootblack at Berlin Cigar Men by Suzanne Forbes Nov 12 2017I had a fabulous time, and everyone was super friendly and nice.

The crowd was international and relaxed. It was like travelling back in time to the Chelsea of my childhood, the Chelsea and Christopher St of the ’70s and ’80s, and I felt very much at home.

I didn’t know much about bootblack fetish and culture until I worked at Wicked Grounds kink coffee shop in San Francisco in the Oughts. We had a young woman bootblack there who came in to do boot nights, and I saw the passion that people have for boot care and wear. So I was delighted to get a chance to draw Andrew the Bootshiner, above. Sadly, I missed the headshaving this time!

Check out the bottle of Tom of Finland Organic Vodka in the top pic- it has a Tom drawing on the bottle and a percentage of the profit from sales is donated to the wonderful Tom of Finland Foundation!

The Berlin Cigar Men event is produced by Olaf Hartmannsgruber. He is the same gentleman who puts on the MaleSpace main stage at Folsom Europe, which was wonderfully diverse and inclusive despite the name. I am looking forward to the next event!

Drawings from Folsom Europe here and here. It’s the monthly financial support of my Patrons on Patreon that makes it possible for me to document gay life in Berlin and publicly share it. You can help, for a dollar or less than a euro a month!

ESDIP Life Drawing happytimes!

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10 minute life drawings by Suzanne Forbes at ESDIP Berlin Nov 10 2017Me and Daria and Marina went to ESDIP Life Drawing yesterday. Know who else was there??

Lee Dotson who I know from the Bay Area, who is living at Rah Hell’s place and co-working at ESDIP, both occurring totally unrelated to me. The world is small, and rich in co-incidence.

5 minute life drawings by Suzanne Forbes at ESDIP Berlin Nov 10 2017We did five minute poses to start.

We were blessed by Luciano, a wonderful life model. For a former comic book artist like me, there are certain body types it’s terrifically easy to draw.

10 minute life drawings by Suzanne Forbes at ESDIP Berlin Nov 10 2017Then ten minute poses.

I am having a really interesting time switching back to markers and inkline after six months of experimenting with pastels.

5 and 1 minute life drawings by Suzanne Forbes at ESDIP Berlin Nov 10 2017Towards the end we did one-minute gestures.

I did two, and worked on the left-hand one for an additional four minutes, because Spiderman!

ESDIP Berlin life drawing artists by Suzanne Forbes Nov 10 2017For the last two poses, I drew the artists instead.

Several of my students and former students were in the group, which was lovely, and I wanted to capture the moment. Also, unlike most figurative artists, I’m not that interested in naked people. Even beautiful, fit, young naked people.

Daria tackled the last pose and made a terrific drawing despite the difficult angle from where we were seated. Check it out!

Life Drawing at ESDIP Berlin by Daria Rhein Nov 10 2017

Life Drawing at ESDIP Berlin by Daria Rhein Nov 10 2017

You can see my previous drawings from ESDIP Berlin life drawing sessions here, and here. Naked people warning, of course!

You can come to life drawing at ESDIP once a month. And you can sign up for our Illustration Intensive Program starting again in January if you want me to teach you to draw hands like a boss!

It’s the monthly financial support of my Patrons on Patreon that makes it possible for me to be a working artist. You can help, for a dollar or less than a euro a month!