NYC's Kailyn Kent Captures Live Bands In Gorgeous Color Sketches

YACHT at Santos Party House - by Kailyn Kent

Last spring Kailyn Kent wanted to draw more people. "But I hate asking people to hold still and pose," she says. At the time she was helping run The Cave, a music venue in Minnesota, and she soon found that the subjects she was looking for were right there on the stage. "I started drawing shows, and couldn't stop," she says. "I kept doing it when I moved here to NYC—I drew a show my first night here, actually."

Kent has been regularly sketching shows around the city ever since. Her work requires a good vantage point, but she hasn't had much problem getting close to the stage. "Being a small girl with a sketchbook helps," she says. "My favorite place is near the speakers, because you're close but not straight on—but I'm afraid I'm developing tinnitus." Once she's found her spot, she'll take out her crayons and knock out a few sketches over the course of a band's set. "One show sketch takes one to two songs, usually," she tells us.

What does Kent do when she's not sketching shows? "I go to shows and dance! I also draw other events. Surreally, Maurizio Cattelan saw me sketching at 285 Kent, and invited me to draw at his gallery Family Business, which was a thrill. I'm also cartooning over a series of very long scrolls—10 to 30 feet each."

Some of her favorite bands to sketch include Brooklyn groups The Babies and Dinosaur Feathers and Portland electropop band YACHT (see above). "And I was very starstruck drawing James Murphy and Pat Mahoney of Special Disco Version last fall," she tells us.

Hit the jump to see more of those sketches. Then check Kent's show sketches archive or Tumblr blog for more, and keep an eye out for her the next time you're at a show. "I love the various scenarios and connections I share with people," she says. "If you spot me at me at a show, I'd love for you to say hi! I might draw you."

Dinosaur Feathers at Tammany Hall - by Kailyn Kent

Special Disco Version at House of Vans - by Kailyn Kent

Ducktails at Glasslands - by Kailyn Kent

At Family Business Gallery - by Kailyn Kent

INC at Glasslands - by Kailyn Kent

-- John Ruscher