New year, nude dude? New-to-Dallas company hosts 'artful' bachelorette parties

Nude male models and wine. That was all it took to sell three of the GuideLive ladies on attending a press junket for The Artful Bachelorette.

You read that right. Nude male models and wine. 

The press release promised a two-hour party featuring live figure drawing of a naked man paired with some social lubricant (and snacks of course) thrown into the mix.

After some discussion, Tiney Ricciardi, Brentney Hamilton and myself decided to throw caution to the wind and go to a seemingly random studio space off Regal Row to see what The Artful Bachelorette was all about.

We are all in committed relationships and felt we should check in with our significant others to let them know that we would be potentially looking at another man's stuff ... for journalism. My boyfriend's reaction: "People end up naked one way or another all the time. Go do your journalism."

My fellow artists had equally as supportive partners. "I can't really imagine being with a partner threatened by cheese plates, Champagne and a strange willie," Hamilton said.

The skinny

Essentially, The Artful Bachelorette is a more adult version of Painting with a Twist or any other group art class. At its core, it is a live figure drawing class. There is a model. There is an instructor to guide you through some exercises and at the end you have your own works of art.

The idea comes to the Lone Star State from the Land Down Under. 

Founder Fleur Childs, a native of Australia, said that when she moved to the United States her American friends were struggling to decide what to do for their bachelorette parties besides going to a strip club.

Childs asked why the women weren't celebrating their "hen parties" by drawing the naked men at art studios. Faced by their confusion, she hatched a business idea.

The Artful Bachelorette offers two-hour long private parties for bachelorettes, bachelors, divorcées, birthdays and more. There's a minimum of 12 participants needed for each party.

Included in the $75 per person cost is a trained female art teacher, a nude male model, art materials and a topless waiter to make sure your glass is never empty.

"When you drink more, you draw better!" Childs reminded our group throughout the event.

Taking off the towel

The crowd was all female, all slightly nervous looking and all sipping wine while trying not to giggle at the fact that we were in a room filled with strangers about to draw a naked man.

None of us possess an exceptional artistic ability. We did not expect to return to the GuideLive office with the next sketch of "The David."

Out walked Kenny, our model, lower torso wrapped in black fabric. 

Kenny said he was a fitness model as well as a personal trainer. Does he have a girlfriend? No; she didn't approve of his work and so they are no longer together.

A willing participant was selected from the crowd for the big reveal. (Normally, this would be the guest of honor's job.) A staged dramatic photograph was taken before the towel was off; no more photography would be allowed sans towel, for modesty's sake.

A little tug on the fabric and a graceful spin move later, and Kenny's goods were exposed to 20 wide-eyed women.

Childs led the group through a number of exercises. First, we drew Kenny as a stick figure; then a we tried a blind contour drawing. Depending on the angle of our seats, we ended up drawing more (or less) of Kenny; everyone's were unique.

At the end of each round, the men picked their favorite drawing and awarded the artist with a kiss -- a chocolate kiss, that is.

The final round was the most fun. We drew Kenny for 1 minute, then moved one chair to the left and continued on our neighbor's drawing. By the time we arrived back at our own drawing, some creative license had been taken on poor Kenny — curves accentuated, tattoos added, some areas became more heavily endowed.

The results

In the end, it was ridiculously fun and not awkward.

The art portion became the most nerve-wracking part. No one wants their work to be judged. The atmosphere, though, was the complete opposite of a critical art class.

"The Artful Bachelorette -- while offering a legitimate mini-drawing workshop -- doesn't take itself too seriously, and that's one of its best qualities," GuideLive staffer Hamilton said. "I came in as a total beginner and felt like I learned about a side of myself, ahem, that had never been, um, stroked. The side that likes drawing, that is."

Tiney Ricciardi said that having the teacher guide the group through short exercises helped to give her work intention and leveled the playing field for those less artistically-inclined.

Would we do it again?

Sure. The price per person comes out to about what we imagined ourselves spending on a nice dinner and going to a strip club for a bachelorette party.

Find more info at The Artful Bachelorette website. In Texas, parties are available in Dallas and Austin. Childs said the company might negotiate travel rates in other cities such as San Antonio and Houston.

If you're still looking for some sort of endorsement for rising to the occasion to drawing a nude dude, Brentney Hamilton has maybe the best one:

"The Artful Bachelorette was one of my last hurrahs before finding out I was pregnant. So, ladies, treat every penis party like it's your last ... For nine months, at least."