Celebrating One Year of Appleton Drawing Club
By Kevin McGillivray • April 12, 2025
It's been a whole year since the first Appleton Drawing Club session! Since last April, I've been truly encouraged and inspired to meet so many artists, art models, photographers, and art enthusiasts and to watch a community grow around life drawing in our neighborhood. In the first year, we had...
15 sessions
14 models (11 humans and 3 birds)
90 artists
180 poses
2000+ drawings!
The origin story, and shoutouts
Like most wonderful things, Appleton Drawing Club started partly by accident. Also, like so many wonderful creative things in Appleton, John Adams was involved. I met John, who is a known catalyst for getting things started, when I was considering looking for an art studio space after moving to Appleton in 2023. He casually mentioned that he was on his way over to a new space that was under renovation for a non-profit, the Photo Opp, and that I should come check it out.
Walking in, I knew immediately it was an ideal space for life drawing—not only because of the beautiful open studio, in progress renovations, and easy access to a tower of lighting equipment, but because of the creative energy already at play before the floors were even installed. I had been keeping an eye out for an opportunity to organize a figure drawing session for a few years, and when I shared the idea with John, he said, "Let's make it happen, and let's make it awesome."
Over the last year, the Photo Opp crew has been incredibly generous and helpful with their time and space – I'm personally grateful for the support of Mark, Brandi, Amy, Morgan, Char, and John in scheduling and prepping for sessions. Appleton Drawing Club wouldn't be here without them! We also wouldn't be here without the help of Ally Wilber, artist and art advocate, who introduced so many models and artists to our sessions who have become part of our community, and without the help of Cristian and Emily at fsm art journal in spreading the word and collaborating on a session at the new fsm art house.
A friendly, local life drawing community
I'm grateful to have met so many artists and models of all kinds at Appleton Drawing Club sessions. Illustrators, tattoo artists, figurative painters, art teachers, art therapists, and musicians have all come to life drawing for one reason or another. Each time there are beginners who are just getting started in life drawing or drawing in general, and professionals who are refreshing their life drawing skills as a boost or a break from their regular practice. So many have shared stories of taking figure drawing classes in school and feeling excited to have a chance to get back into the practice.
A question I hear a lot is, "How the heck do you find models?" It turns out, models are everywhere! I've been amazed by the creative, professional, and thoughtful models who have worked with us in our sessions. Nearly every model this year has been a first time art model, and each has given generous creativity and care to their sessions. Art modeling is an art and practice in itself, and each session is a collaboration where models shape the direction through their pose selection, storytelling, music, and themes.
One dream come true was the remarkable wildlife drawing session featuring Kyle the Hawk, Elphie the Merlin, and Squall the Peregrine (and their human companions, Brandi, Tim, and Natalie). This was another happy accident thanks to proximity with the creative community at the Photo Opp and was a big highlight of the year!
Drawing each other
I had a few key intentions in mind for the figure drawing sessions I wanted to organize. I wanted these sessions to be:
- ✍️ Welcoming and encouraging for beginner artists and models who are looking to grow in their craft
- ✍️ A true collaboration between artists and models
- ✍️ A reliable, high quality, professional environment for access to life drawing practice for all kinds of artists
- ✍️ Playful and entertaining as a fun night out with friends
Looking back on the highlights of the year of drawing and modeling amidst a construction zone, sharing piles of drawings at the end of a session, a packed wildlife drawing session, and a brat summer playlist, I think we're on our way!
Life drawing is a noble tradition as a practical exercise to expand an artist's skills. But more importantly, life drawing opens our eyes, minds, and hearts. For a first time model or artist, it might be a brave step into a new sense of self. For some, it might be a chance to revisit happy memories of figure drawing sessions as a student. For others, it's a fun night out with friends on a Wednesday. For me, it's a moment to be alive together and see each other with a bit more kindness and curiosity. I'm grateful for everyone who has been a part of Appleton Drawing Club this year, and I can't wait for year 2!
You're invited! Join us to celebrate
Come celebrate our one year anniversary with a portrait drawing session on April 23! Our model, Kelsie, will be posing for a mixed pose portrait session. We'll have a few snacks and drinks, and everyone is invited to bring their favorite portrait and figure drawings (from an Appleton Drawing Club session or otherwise!) for an impromptu gallery. Find all the details and tickets here, and we have 2 for 1 tickets available to celebrate! I hope we'll see you there.
–Kevin
Let us know what you think!
Have you attended an Appleton Drawing Club session this year as an artist or a model? We'd love to know what you think! What did you enjoy? Any ideas or feedback to share? Let us know below.
About the organizer
I'm Kevin McGillivray, host and organizer of Appleton Drawing Club! I'm an oil painter and charcoal artist—I started studying drawing through a practice of drawing and painting from life. A few years ago, I went to my first figure drawing session and became enchanted with the challenge and thrill of figure and portrait drawing. I haven't stopped since!