Artists take your mark: DCAD’s annual Drawing Marathon running Jan. 19

Participants won’t hear the crack of a starter’s pistol and won’t be worried about time splits or shin splints. But they will get in a zone and focus on form. Some may even go the distance or strive for a personal best.

The sounds of charcoal scratching on paper, paint gliding across canvas and tools shaping clay will fill Delaware College of Art and Design’s second floor when the 2019 DCAD Drawing Marathon runs there from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Jan. 19. No race bibs, timing chips or gel packs will be needed, but stamina, focus and art supplies are required.

This will be the 15th year that DCAD has hosted dozens of participants of all ages and experience levels for a marathon experience. This year’s nine-hour event will feature nude and costumed male and female models in various poses and vignettes in an 8,000-square-foot studio space. As always, amateur and professional creators from the Wilmington community and beyond will sketch, paint and sculpt side-by-side with DCAD students, alumni, faculty and staff.

DCAD’s event is inspired by the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting & Sculpture, which founded its drawing marathon more than 20 years ago on the belief that drawing can be the basis of understanding one’s experience of the world. All such events, which have become part of a worldwide trend, are designed to allow participants to develop their artistic visions and sharpen their skills while engaging in a large-scale studio experience.

All participants will be invited to exhibit their completed works in DCAD’s 2019 Continuing Education Exhibition. The show will be held in the College’s Toni & Stuart B. Young Gallery in June.

DCAD is located at 600 N. Market St. in Wilmington, Del. Easels and light refreshments will be provided, but attendees must bring their own art supplies. Participants may attend as many hours of the event as they like. Cost is $30 per person in advance or $35 at the door.

Anyone unable to attend this year’s Drawing Marathon is invited to take part in one or more of DCAD’s Open Figure Studio sessions that will be offered from Feb. 20 to May 8. Each of these 12 Tuesday-night sessions runs from 6 to 9 p.m. and features a life-drawing model striking a series of short and long poses. There is no formal instruction, but a DCAD faculty member will be in the studio to coordinate the models and answer student questions. Cost is $10 per session attended, and artists must bring their own materials. Participants of all skill levels are welcome.