The Eola Wine Company

I sketched at the  Lake Eola Wine Company (430 E Central Blvd, Orlando, FL 32801) during a private workshop I hosted for with an undisclosed artist from NYC. On the subject of mysterious artists, I enjoyed watching the a painting being sold at auction of a girl releasing a heart shaped balloon by Banksy at a Sotherby’s. It sold for 1.4 million dollars. As soon as the gavel went down, the painting self destructed. The artist had built a shredder into the frame and he must have been in the auction house and pressed the self destruct button. On Instagram, he posted an image of shocked auction goers with the caption going going, gone. IT was a brilliant stroke of genius. I has not been reported yet what the auction house will do for the person who purchased the now shredded art.

Orlando Drink and Draw at Thai Island

Orlando Drink and Draw  (ODD) ventures to a new bar or restaurant each month to sample
beers and sketch. There is no model fee and no instruction. This is just
a chance to get out, meet fellow artists and draw. I’m hoping to sketch
in Central Florida’s best dive bars, so suggestions are always welcome.

Wendy Wallenberg suggested we go to Thai Island (2522 S Semoran Blvd, Orlando, FL 32822. Thai Island is a casual spot for familiar and country-style regional Thai dishes in a quaint setting. About four artists showed up and sketched while sampling the dishes. I had a spring roll with the accompanying sauces on the table was good but didn’t  order a full meal. 

Artist Orit Reuben stopped out and worked in pastels which was a colorful alternative the watercolor sketches I do each day.

Weekend Top 6 Picks for September 29 and 30, 2018

Saturday September 29, 2018

8am to 1pm Free. Parramore Farmers Market. The east side of the Orlando City Stadium, across from City View. Purchase quality, fresh and healthy food grown in your own
neighborhood by local farmers, including Fleet Farming, Growing Orlando,
and other community growers.

7pm to 11pm Free. Ybor City Art Walk. 7th Ave Ybor Tampa, Florida 33605. 
Here are the participating locations:

The Bricks of Ybor
Bloodline Tattoo
Ybor Arts Colony
Hot Wax
Wandering Eye Art Gallery
Dysfunctional Grace
Moon Over Havana Arts Gallery
Live Arts Labs

10:30pm to 12:30am Free but get food and drink. Son Flamenco.  Ceviche Tapas Orlando, 125 W Church St, Orlando, FL. 


Sunday September 30, 2018

9am to 4pm Donation based. Shampooch 2018! Lambs Eat Ivy Salon 804 E Washington St, Orlando, Florida 32801. ALL PAWS ON DECK! BRING YOUR DOG(s), A FRIEND’S DOG, A
FAMILY DOG, AN Exes DOG, ADOPT A DOG, <>DOG TO THORNTON
PARK for a dog washing block party to raise
money for Rescue Me Orlando!
•DOG WASH
•NAIL GRINDING
•PHOTO BOOTH
•LIVE MUSIC
•DOG POOLS
•DUNK TANK
•STREET MISTERS
•DJ
•FOOD TRUCKS
•DRINKS
•VENDORS
•APPLE WATCH/FITBIT RAFFLE
•ADOPTIONS
Washing paws for a good cause.
Bring em dirty!

1pm to 4pm. $60. 10 X 10 Workshop: The Frankenstein Effect. East End Market and Domu (Upper balcony) 3201 Corrine Dr. Orlando FL 32803. With instructor Thomas Thorspecken.

For the second year, Urban Sketchers Orlando is taking part in
10×10, the worldwide initiative to offer educational workshops wherever
sketchers live. Launched in celebration of Urban Sketchers’ 10th
anniversary in 2017, the program brings a variety of courses on urban
sketching techniques taught by talented local instructors in their home
cities. In 2017, cities around the world began offering 10×10, a series
of 10 courses telling the stories of our places. For 2018, Urban
Sketchers have a new creative plan of long term workshops.

DESCRIPTION:

When sketching events on location it is sometimes helpful to
search for the high ground to get an overview of the scene. From above
people are less likely to block your view. This class will discuss how
to place figures in the scene as viewed from above. We will discuss
perspective, sighting to find angles, human proportions and gesture.

When people move you can piece together individuals from
multiple people in the crowd. I often track an individual adding detail
to the location where I placed them initially in the sketch. This is a
way to “Frankenstein” the scene together. If we were sketching a scene
in a movie, this would be the establishing shot. The goal is to utilize
the course material to finish one sketch in a two hour time frame.

SUPPLIES:

A sketchbook of your choice, HB pencil, Micron pen or fountain pen
with waterproof ink, Pentel waterbrush, travel watercolor palette, brown
and black colored pencils, a rag and small water supply. A camping stool
is a great addition but not 100% necessary.

Thomas Thorspecken is a correspondent for the Urban Sketchers organization
since 2009 and has been an official Urban Sketching instructor for two
years. An illustrator and journalist he is working in and around Central
Florida and has been documenting arts and entertainment for eight years
in one sketch a day for his online news site, Analog Artist Digital World.
Thorspecken was an animation artist for Disney for 10 years and has
taught courses at Full Sail University and Elite Animation Academy. USk Correspondent.

10pm to Midnight Free but get a coffee. Comedy Open Mic. Austin’s Coffee, 929 W Fairbanks Ave, Winter Park, FL.  Free comedy show! Come out & laugh, or give it a try yourself.

DRIP Date Night

DRIP Date Night was held around Valentines day at the former grunge bar on International Drive. The black lighting in the venue was a challenge, since I couldn’t judge values or color. It was a grand experiment to sketch that night. DRIP has unfortunately closed so the colored beer bar is a thing of the past.

The evening featured interactive stations, gorgeous performers, a full DRIP show with dancers performing in paint, flying water, colored sand, a live rock band, and a Miracle Berry after party, experimental taste testings, dancing, and a 10 foot paint shower.

The Interactive Stations included:

BLUE STATION: A new twist on Paint and Take. You could be your own artist and show off what you got.

RED STATION: Guests were blindfolded and relaxed as they experienced the touch of your partner. Can it get spicy? Maybe….

YELLOW STATION: Word smiths helped guests refine and express their thoughts and affections. We make it easy.

KISSING BOOTH: A photo booth filled with X’s and O’s was set up for selfies and group shots.

CREATE YOUR OWN VALENTINE: Guests use up cycled materials to craft their own special valentine.

T-SHIRT PULL WALL: Guests could take their chances by picking a crop top to see if they could win the grand prize.

FULL THEATRICAL SHOW: 

The show featured a sordid love story with dancers performing in paint, flying water, and sand to a LIVE rock band. It’s a standing room experience.

THE COLOR BAR: Guests cold enjoy drinks by the color! DRIP’s Color Bar had Red, Blue, Orange and Yellow beer, cocktails, shots, wine and non alcoholic beverages for sale. On Valentine’s Day, a special flight of shots was added that would shock taste buds.

DRIP added some real grit and color to the Orlando night life. It was a shame to see it go.

Faith Arts Village Orlando

On the first Friday of each month, a former motel (221 E Colonial Dr, Orlando, FL 32801) comes alive as a vibrant open studio for local Orlando Artists. The Park Lake Presbyterian Church across the street purchased the motel and has been converting it into active artists studios. Faith Arts Village or FAVO is a good place to check out what is happening locally in the visual arts.

As I was doing this sketch, a local band was performing in the parking lot. hey were singing the opening song from a Muppet movie called the rainbow connection. Almost everywhere I sketch in Orlando there is a rainbow to be seen. In this case a large rainbow heart decorated the entry to a studio that had flower headed mannequins. I had a commission on my mind that involved a small antique carousel. I ultimately called the piece “The Rainbow Connection” and put in prints of all rainbow themed decorations I had sketching since the Pulse Massacre.

The next FAVO showcase is October 5, 2018 starting at 5pm. I always find something unexpected and inspiring.

Magic Beyond the Mouse

In
May of 1989, The Walt Disney Company added an
animation studio in Central Florida.  Spearheaded by animation industry
expert, Max Howard, the Florida studio grew from a crew of 40 to more
than 400 in the mid-90s, before closing in January 2004.

The studio was responsible for the box office hits: Mulan (1998), Lilo and Stitch (2002) and Brother Bear (2003) and contributed substantially to films such as, The Little Mermaid (1989), Rescuers Down Under (1990), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), The Lion King (1994), and many more, reinvigorating the animation industry and The Walt Disney Company.

The
artists and staff at the Florida studio fostered an atmosphere that
bottled a type of magic that is hard to put in words, but anyone
familiar with the facility can attest that working together, this team
created a family that no other Disney environment has.

I teach an Urban Sketching class at Elite Animation Academy (8933 Conroy Windermere Rd, Orlando, FL 32835). The primary goal of the class is to introduce young students to the idea of carrying a sketchbook everywhere they go. Elite was formed by a former Disney Feature Animation artist and its mission of delivering traditional and digital art courses remains true to this day. It is a place where students can build a portfolio of work should they choose to pursue a career in movie making or game design.

A few blocks away from Elite, is Art of Fitness (5154 Dr Phillips BlvdOrlando, FL) which was also formed by a former Disney Feature Animation employee named Ron Beta. Ron decided to mount an exhibit by former Disney Artists showcasing their art since the Disney Feature Animation Studio closed in 2004. In 2004, the Orlando Disney Studio was  just starting production on a new project tentatively called My Peoples or A few Good Ghosts that was about a folk artist living in Appalachia that made puppets out of re purposed parts. For instance Abe Lincoln was made from an old broom. I was slated to do the key drawings for a villainous possum and I was gearing up to find the final look of the character.

I invited my Urban Sketch students to sketch the installation of the exhibit. In my sketch you can see a full wall of wildlife paintings by Aaron Blaise and some mermaid watercolor paintings by Ronnie Willford lined up at the base of the mirrored wall. I had simply framed one of my Urban Sketches to add to the show. In all, twenty one former Disney Artists exhibited work in the show. When the Disney Studio closed, these artists proved that there is magic and meaning to life after the Mouse. Hopefully my students took away the lesson that working for any particular a studio isn’t always the crowning moment of an art career. Every artist who remains curious is always evolving.

Uprising: Pulse to Parkland

Pam Schwartz and I attended two screenings at the Global Peace Film Festival. The screenings were at the Bush Auditorium on the Rollins College Campus. The first film was “Lessons from a School Shooting: Notes from Dunblane“. It was produced by Kim A. Snyder the same documentary film maker that made “Newtown“. Father Bob Weiss was featured in Newtown. In the days following the Sandy Hook Massacre that took the lives of 26 children and teachers on December 12, 2012, he was tasked with burying 8 of those children. Interviewed in this film he broke down as he said that it was an honor to be able to do this for the families. After the tragedy he was still needing to heal himself while having to answer parishioners questions and grief.

He received a letter from Father Basil O’Sullivan from Dunblane, Scotland where in 1996 sixteen school children were gunned down by a gunman. Through a series of letters, the two forged a bond sharing their similar experiences in having to deal with the trauma and recovery. Father Basil agreed to fly to Newtown for the one year remembrance. One year after such a tragedy can be re-traumatizing and he decided to go in solidarity to offer his support. My favorite scene had the Father reading the same sermon he presented in Dunblane after that tragedy. The audio of that sermon from the past cross-dissolved with the present audio. At the Dunblane sermon, Charles Prince of Wales was in the congregation. After Pulse, I’ve seen members of our community reach out when others face the same kind of tragedy.

The second film, Uprising: Pulse to Parkland was about two Florida Communities united by grief and anger from deadly mass shootings. After 49 lives were taken at Pulse, gun legislation was proposed and quickly died in Tallahassee. Part of the problem was that the legislature wasn’t in session at the time. When 17 lives were taken at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School  the movement for sane gun legislation once again ignited. March for Our Lives swept up the peninsula and marched into the Nation’s Capitol. The Stoneman Douglas Students demanded an end to assault weapons and a stop to gun violence in America. The NRA however is a strong force in America with many politicians paid off and in their pockets. The battle for gun legislation is a long and continuing battle. Other countries around the world are shocked by America’s murderous obsession with guns.

Billy Collins Reads at Rollins College

Billy Collins was appointed as Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001 to
2003 was New York State Poet Laureate from 2004-2006. In 2016 he retired from his position as a Distinguished
Professor at Lehman College of the City University of New York after
teaching there almost 50 years.

He read a selection of his poems at Rollins College, Tiedeke Concert Hall. His poems about everyday occurrences are witty and direct yet they often unveil something sublime and profound. Humor and insight mix in fun and unexpected ways.

I have had the pleasure of having dinner with Billy and Suzannah Gilman on several occasions. They both inspire me to want to continue to create every day. That is a rare gift from a friend or acquaintance. Billy has published 10 collections of poetry and they have garnered an amazing following. His work speaks for itself, go pick up one of his books and enjoy. His latest publications include Ballistics, Horoscopes for the Dead, Aimless Love, and The Rain in Portugal. I had Billy sign my sketch since they both will be worth something someday.

Billy’s next reading will be, What Poets Talk About When They Talk About Love, in the Tiedeke Concert Hall on February 17, 2019 at 2pm. Tickets are $25.

Weekend Top 6 Picks for September 22 and 23, 2018

Saturday September 22, 2018

8am to 3pm Free. Orlando Super Kids Classic. Special soap box derby races with special needs children. Manheim Central Florida 9800 Bachman Road South Orlando Fl. sunshinestatesuperkids.com

7pm to 9 pm Free. Brewery Tour. Orlando Brewing, 1301 Atlanta Ave, Orlando, FL.

8:30pm to 10:30pm Free but get a drink. Amy Watkins and Open Mic. The Geek Easy 114 S. Semoran Blvd Suite #6, Winter Park, Florida 32792. Open to all: Musicians-Lyricists-Artists-and Poets of all kinds. Bring out the cape and have some fun.

Sunday September 23, 2018

10am to noon. Free. Heartfulness Relaxation and Meditation Class. University, 5200 Vineland Rd, Orlando, FL 32811. The Method of Heartfulness A simple and practical way to experience the heart’s unlimited resources.

Noon to 2pm Free but get food and drink. Florida Gospel Jam. Fish on Fire 7937 Daetwyler Drive Belle Isle FL. Every 2nd and 4th Sunday.

Noon to 3pm. Donation based. Music at the Casa, Guitarist, Vocalist Jorge Mendoza. Casa Feliz Historic Home Museum, 656 N Park Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789. Listen to live music and take a tour of our historic home museum and the James Gamble Rogers II Studio by trained docents.