The Event Formerly Known as Drink and Draw (And Other News)

Back in September of 2023, as Jeremiah and I sat at the bar in one of our favorite
local breweries (515 Brewing Company) and doodled in our sketchbooks, we struck
up a conversation with the beertender and proposed the idea of resurrecting Drink
and Draw. Drink and Draw was an event that had bounced around and evolved over
the years (pre Covid) and was a chance for doodlers like us to get together with
other doodlers and doodle together... while enjoying a tasty beverage. With the
impending Promptober, we decided it was the perfect time to rally the troops and
get a group of artists of all skill levels together to support and motivate each other!
Alas, our enthusiasm was (literally) unmatched.

Nevertheless, we persisted!

Throughout October, November, December, and January we continued our weekly
gatherings. Some were livestreamed, some were attended by actual real-life people
(wow!). But it felt like we were getting nowhere, and we often felt discouraged.
Through monster drawings, zentangles, holiday cards, and watercolors, we
continued. I said to Jeremiah one night, when he was feeling down about no one
wanting to join us, “I think of this as a standing date night – during which we can
make art together while enjoying some of our favorite beer... and sometimes other
people join in!” This made him feel a little better and also got us thinking – what is
Drink and Draw anyway?

In an effort to gain traction and get people involved, we broadened our scope. We
were doing a lot more than drawing with other people who like drawing! Plus, let’s
be honest, the word drawing can be a bit intimidating for people who don’t fancy
themselves as possessing artistic talent! And we wanted our gatherings to be
inclusive! For everyone! No skills required! Just exclamation points! So, we decided
it was time for a new name – a rebranding, if you will. Sure, Drink and Draw is
catchy, and I do love me some alliteration – but it was starting to feel misleading.
February also brought us new participants and our very first (gasp!) regulars! I
found myself with a whole weekend off of work (a rarity for someone who works in
aquatics) and Jeremiah and I set to work brainstorming and planning. It was time to
get our proverbial shit together!

Gone were the days of moseying into the 515 taproom with a box of random art
supplies to share and a couple of loose ideas for inspiration in case someone
showed up. Within a couple hours we had all our projects planned for Mondays in
March and we had a new name. We’d written down a list of names (well, I wrote
some down and Jeremiah put AI to work for his contributions) and crossed them off
one by one. We didn’t want a name that limited us, so we ditched anything that
included “drawing”, “painting”, “crafts”, “doodling”, etcetera. We though we’d
settled on a new name, and he was about to send a message to the taproom
manager to propose the change when I said, “What if we just call it ‘Art Night’?” And the AI bot was like “Pff... I was totally going to suggest that, but you all wanted to go and be complicated.”

​Anyway, Art Night was a perfect fit – it felt right! It wasn’t limiting, it’s not
intimidating, and it’s inclusive. Perfect. So, we quickly whipped up some flyers and
took them to the tap room to post EVERYWHERE. Had a beer. And went home.
This past Monday (March 4th) we had a record number of attendees (excluding the
birthday party we hosted one week – that was a blast!) and everyone had so much
fun that they each made TWO paintings! We are SO excited for more Art Nights.
Monday night is finally getting the love that she deserves, and we can’t wait to have
more people crash our date nights.

Up next...

Art Night, March 11 – We will be doing neurographic drawings. This is another fun,
relaxing practice that simply starts with a giant scribble over the whole page. Once
you’re satisfied with your scribble, you can then choose to paint or draw in the
bubbles you create. We’ll be using pen, pencil, and watercolor paints for this project.

Check out the photos and videos on our social media accounts for examples of this
project.

Not able to make it to 515 Brewing Company on Monday nights? Are you bummed
you’re missing out? Get in touch! We’d love to host Art Nights at other locations or
on other nights (or days) and would be happy to coordinate something with you!
Wondering what the rejected names were? Drop a comment and we’ll be happy to
share them with you!