Drink and Draw

Add this to the long list of "Only in New Orleans" stuff:

The Circle Bar, St. Charles at Lee Circle (the one in the gorgeously decaying old house that was once, I believe, the home of the first woman physician in the city), has a new offering to attract customers on Sunday afternoons. It's called, appropriately enough, "Drink & Draw," and it features a live nude model and Happy Hour pricing on all drinks. You pay $20 for two hours, bring your own drawing pad, stretched canvas, or illustration board (or, knowing how folks are, blank typing paper or an old legal pad) and your favorite drawing and painting media (ball point pens, anyone?), and sketch away. For slight extra fee, there's an actual art teacher to help you improve, if you're that interested.

Regularly, there's a "show" of the works produced at the weekly Drink & Draw, at places like Surrey on Magazine (the food there is divine, but don't try to go for brunch on Saturdays and Sundays -- the waiting line practically goes around the block). From what I could observe, the finished works of "art" are pretty much what you would expect from folks who are drinking and drawing on a Sunday afternoon, but what the hey, most people are definitely NOT going to Drink & Draw because they are, or have aspirations to be, Great Artistes.

Only in New Orleans. Sit in a decadent old mansion on a Sunday afternoon, look at a naked woman, drink low-priced drinks, and draw or paint (or pretend to draw and paint). How can you beat that?

I love this city.