Sharpie Slam Atlanta

November 10, 2011

Last night was the Sharpie Slam Atlanta. It was put on by Red Bull, Sweetwater 420, Creative Loafing, Digital Atlanta and Sharpie. They had a DJ and lights and music and talking and mingling and drinks and so forth. It was located in the event space next to SoundTable on Edgewood near downtown Atlanta.

There were 8 artists split into 2 teams.We were given a topic and set loose to draw. the theme was “Uncapped Atlanta.” We drew for about an hour on 2 large white boards against the wall. The room was packed and it was quite exciting atmosphere. I even shook hands with Atlanta City Councilman Kwanza Hall. I told him I had a mural I wanted to paint for the city on Northside Drive.

When it came down to a personal strategy, I decided to not turn around, not think about what I was drawing and not stop until the whole thing was over. So that is what I did. It worked well for me.

When time was called they had the crowd and 2 judges pick the winners. My team and I won! We split a cash prize and a whole bunch of cool Sharpie products. I have never done anything like that before but I would love to again. I met some nice people and handed out some Bear stickers.

The closest to doing anything like this before was when I used to draw for kids at school and they would gather around and watch. I would narrate my thoughts as I sketched. I drew Action Charlie and monkeys and stuff with a pencil and notebook paper. This was similar; just with grown people, dance music and flash bulbs.

– kyle