I ain’t afraid of no ghosts

and now thanks to a new event in Vancouver -held monthly at the Vancouver Film School Cafe – I ain’t afraid of drawing either.

Draw by Night was started by local artist Myron Campbell,notsosimpleton.com.

The idea behind this free event is to have “an ole-fashioned drawing party”,

with some new fashioned tools: you can draw with pencils, knitting needles, code or like me, with a tape recorder.

Think drawing is only for snobs, geniuses, prodigies and depressed teenagers in plaid?

Well, sure it is!  But it’s also for you too.

Campbell has set up an inclusive and creative environment, with DJ Noble infusing the room with songs,

communal paper and tons of pencil crayons and markers, that you will be delighting yourself with what you came up with in about the same time it takes to grab a coffee at the front door.

Another thing that struck me was having conversations with strangers;

across a slab of paper we were all drawing on.

I haven’t had that sort of freedom since the first week of kindergarten.

And it was just as much fun.

As well as being inclusive, Draw by Night is also quite relaxed.

mel nugent about to dive in

Nobody cared that my drawing skills stopped at grade three and not only that,

they encouraged me to add onto their opuses, which you can find curated by Campbell at this flickr site:
www.flickr.com/groups/drawbynight/pool/

(Another big supporter of dusting off your grade three pencil case and doodling is Mo Willems, award-winning artist and encourager extraordinaire).

Here are some of my own drawings…

ghost of a tapeworm

ghost of a keg stand

ghost of a stunted octopus

ghost of a chicken salad