Easter at Lake Eola

Posted on by Thor

I had to check out of an Air B&B at 10AM in Thornton Park Florida, and the check-in at the next Air B&B which was near the Falcon Bar and Gallery wasn’t until 3PM, so I found myself rather homeless for the day. I decided to take a walk to Lake Eola and just relax on the lawn and sketch. The weekly weekend farmers market was happening, so there were plenty of merchant tents set up. I didn’t feel the need to document any particular tent, so I found a shady spot under a Live Oak tree and sketched the historic home that sits on the south east corner of the park.

Many other people has the same idea as I did and they relaxed with their babies and dogs, just soaking up the daylight. People came and went in the time I was working on the sketch. There were so many beautiful people enjoying a beautiful day. I was felling like a tumbleweed, not sure if I should stay or if I should go. The one thing keeping me in Orlando Florida was the prospect of sketching the Fringe Festival in May. I had been invited to document the festival with sketches and the idea of sketching as many plays as is humanly possible was enticing. Several instances of people ordering work and not paying for it and having my work lifted offline and used to sell tickets to shows have disillusioned me to the pace of the deep south.

While sketching on the lawn, I felt myself slow down and relax into the day. I might feel uncertain about my future, but I felt certain about what I was meant to be doing in the moment. Life never holds still but by sketching I could capture a moment and feel grounded to a place. I wondered about the single people I saw. They seemed comfortable checking their phones or relaxing with their pets. I am always on edge needing to create in order to feel whole. Some day I might find someone who likes to share such quiet moments between the rush of keeping up with the demands of life.

History Center: Tales of the RMS Titanic

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I went to a Lunch and Learn at the Orange County Regional History Center. The them of the presentation was the Titanic. Some folks seated in front of me were sharing conspiracy theories about the Pandemic. They didn’t die so the pandemic to them was a nothing-burger.

The Titanic sailed into infamy when it struck an iceberg and sank on its maiden voyage in April 1912. It has been 114 years since the sinking and we are still talking about it. Author Emily Coughton decided to find out what happened to the survivors after the media frenzy died down. Emily also found connections to Central Florida among the survivors.

At 20 minutes to midnight on April 14, a lookout reported an iceberg straight ahead. The order was issued for hard to starboard. At 11:40pm the ship hits the iceberg. At 11:46pm the ships engines are put to stop. Water rushed into hold 1. At12:12am the first life boats were swung out and passengers are told to put life jackets on. Many believe the request is a hoax since the Titanic was believed to be unsinkable. At 12:40am the first lifeboat was launched on the starboard side forward.

1500 passengers of the Titanic died from the freezing waters that night. About 491 passengers survived.

Gerturde Mabelle Thorne was a first class passenger who survived. She was born with the last name of McMinn in San Francisco in 1875. In 1899 Gertrude married Harry Thorne. When she boarded the Titanic, she was the mistress of George Rosenshine. To hide the affair they boarded under the assumed names of George and Gertrude Thorne. George perished in the tragedy. Gertrude escaped in the last life boat. She sent a message from the Carpathia after being rescued, “Am safe – pray God George was rescued by another boat with the rest of the men.”

In 1913 Mabelle returned to the site of the sinking with two other widows. They threw Baskets of flowers into the water. A Chaplin conducted a short service.

In 1913, Gertrude married Richard Yanke in Stanford Connecticut. In the 1920 census they were listed as living together with a maid in Manhattan. Richard and Gertrude traveled extensively. Later in life they settled in Paris. Mabelle died in 1947 in Nice France. She would have lived 72 years having survived the sinking of the Titanic and WWII in German occupied France.

Grazie Modern Italian

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I had gone to Audubon Park to sketch Night Owl First Thurday. Exactly what the event was supposed to be, I am not sure, but I assumed there might be live music. Walking around I didn’t find anything going on worth sketching. The Night Owl event must have been canceled. Then again, it was still light, so maybe the night owls come out much later at night.

As an older single guy, I need to get used to dining out alone. I walked past Gazie Modern Italian (3101 Corrine Dr, Orlando, FL ) and decided to stop and eat dinner on the outdoor patio. It was threatening to rain, so the cover was appreciated as I blocked out a sketch. I ordered a Pasta Alfredo. By the time the dish came out I was close to finishing the sketch but I kept adding watercolor washes.

An older lady sat alone and nursed her cup of wine. I empathized with her. Other tables filled up with adults and teens. An after-school program must have just ended, and the parents were taking their daughters out for a bite to eat.

I did this sketch before I started my series of sketches of Orlando’s best plant-based restaurants. The pasta I ate at Gazie would have eggs in it, and the creamy Alfredo sauce, although delicious, had dairy which I am trying to avoid now. The outdoor dining experience wasn’t ideal since traffic roared by at a loud and fast pace. A large table was set up for a large party. Unfortunately, that party didn’t arrive while I was sketching. Sometimes I start a sketch hoping for something dynamic to happen.

The pasta was decent, but my roommate reminded me that I could have had just as good a meal with store bought pasta and sauce for a fraction of the cost. Dining out isn’t always about the food, it is also about the sketching opportunities. I don’t know if I would return to Grazi for a meal. I am more tempted by the East End Market dining options one block away. Looking at the web site, the pizza options look tasty at Grazi but pizza falls outside the limits of my plant based diet plans.

April Fools Day Story Club

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On April 1, 2026 I went to the City Arts Factory, Rogers Building (39 South Magnolia Avenue, Orlando Florida) to sketch Orlando Story Club. The theme for the evening was Gotcha! Orlando Story Club is a unique gem of an event where people put their names in a hat and then the names are drawn so people can get up and tell a personal story. It is framed as a competition, but the real joy comes from so many unique, heartfelt, and honest stories. 10 names were drawn at random, and the names went up on the white board. The first story tellers for this night were Julia, JJ, Greg, Jack and Taylor. Story tellers then had 5 minutes to share their story. For the competition aspect, three random people were picked in the audience to vote between 1 and 10 for their favorite stories.

Bobby Wesley and Danielle Ziss were the hosts for the evening. They keep the evening moving with humorous takes and fast transitions between storytellers. If a storyteller ran long, Bobby politely rang a bell to remind the storyteller to wrap it up. Maybe it wasn’t a bell it might have been one of those slider whistles. Anyway, he didn’t need to use it very often.

I love these evenings. Hearing from so many different people helps me feel that I am part of a thriving community in Orlando. Another Urban Sketchers Orlando, artist, Joy Choi, or, poorly_drawn_plans, frequents the Story Club as a magnificent storyteller. She also does sketches of all the storyteller’s lined up across her sketch page.  I had never considered doing that, so I admire her approach. Her story on this evening also ranked way up on the score card. Joy gives her sketches away, which is quite unique in our consumer society.

I try and get to as many Story Club evenings as I can. It is a good chance to catch up on what is being exhibited in City Arts Factory and to listen to some truly inspiring stories.

The Boxer: Newsprint is Always Worth Fighting For

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After finishing a sketch backstage at Brian Feldman‘s The Boxer, I fumbled my way through the black curtains and decided to get a sketch out front. I was quickly distracted by some beautiful woman dressed as playing cards. The ace of hearts smiled at me and I felt I needed to get a sketch of her. They quickly left the scene even before I could  get my sketch pad out.

Brian’s mother and father were there to show their support for Brian. His mom was dancing, which was great to see. Brian’s dad kept bringing me food. I guess he felt I was a starving artist and he felt the need to keep me nourished while I sketched. There was a cake made in the shape of a Newspaper distribution box. There had been talks of Brian using the cake for his performance but he told the organizers that he wasn’t that kind of performance artist. Anyway Brian’s dad brought me a huge chunk of cake and I later saw that it matched the size of a huge chunk that had been carved out of the cake box sculpture.

The cover band on stage would have been fine for a wedding, but they lacked the energy needed to get the whole crowd on the dance floor. Hannah noted that the white female singer trying to match the energy of Tina Turner missed the mark.

I walked around the venue with Hannah Miller. She convinced me that I had to try hitting a golf ball in one of those virtual projection screen scenarios. I knew I would likely make a fool of myself but decided to give it a try. I had to give away all my personal information on a form before someone asked me which club I would like to used for the 250-yard swing. I had no idea, and just took whatever club I was handed. My first swing was actually impressive, the camera followed my golf ball, and it landed just short of the mark but bounced down into a ravine. I thought I might hit the mark with my second swing. Hannah had her camera out and was shooting footage as my club bounced off the carpet and the ball sputtered along the fake green. If you see any footage of me taking an awful swing at a golf ball, you can ignore it, it is fake news. My first swing was glorious.

After my humiliation, decided to return to the Boxer to sketch. The lights on the arch made the scene look like a vaudeville set. People’s eyes would light up when they saw Brian, and they would quickly approach to take the paper. I thought the fact that the newspaper box was in a back corner of the venue would be a problem, but it wasn’t. People constantly approached and Brian gave away over a skid of papers that night. He certainly gave away more papers than he ever did at the Orlando Events.

At 9:30pm the lights in the venue flickered and the performance was over. Lee started taking down the black curtains and packed them away in a suitcase. Brian’s girlfriend posed for a quick photo in the Box before everything was broken down. Brian suggested we all meet to see a movie called Digger, but the film was starting in 5 minutes. It took me about half an hour circling around the block to find the hotel parking lot, so I never made it to the movie.

I laughed, I cried and newspapers were handed out. It was a good night.

The Boxer: Back Stage

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I have sketched Brain Feldnan’s, The Boxer twice in Orlando Florida. The first time was on a sidewalk outside the Orlando Weekly Best of Awards Ceremony. At that performance I was asked to move along by police. I persisted and still got the sketch. I sketched The Boxer 15 years later at the Plaza Theater where once again it was part of the Orlando Weekly Best of festivities.

Brian then brought The Boxer to Saint Petersburg Florida where it would be part of the Creative Loafing Newspaper’s  Best of the Bay 2026 Party. Brian offered me a rare opportunity to sketch his performance piece from backstage. The premise of The Boxer is that Brian is inside a tiny street newspaper distribution box and he hands out copies of the newspaper. It is a rare case of adding a human touch to keeping newsprint alive.

Since Saint Petersburg is such a long drive, Brian offered me a hotel room as well. I decided to ask his former wife, Hannah Miller to join me on the trip to Saint Petersburg. In 2010, Brian had a performance where he would marry anybody. He spun a bottle in the Orlando City Hall to pick his bride. The point was that a heterosexual could marry a stranger while a gay couple who had been in love for years were not allowed to marry. The spin of the bottle pointed at Hannah, and they were married soon after in a strange informal ceremony where one person was wearing a wrestling mask. Hannah was a consummate spokesperson to explain to the media why she had married a longtime friend but romantic stranger. Brian was so happy to see Hannah in the Saint Petersburg Coliseum (535 4th Ave N, St Petersburg, FL) and her gave her a warm hug before he got in the box.

Brian’s staging area was filled with piles of Creative Loafing newspapers. There were about two skids of papers that he would be distributing. The larger skid I left out of my sketch since including it would have made Brian way too small in my sketch. Production manager Lee Soule rifled through papers on Brian’s behalf.

Brain lay prone on the floor with his face in the newspaper box window. He extended his hand out so people could see that he had newspapers to give away. I thought Brain had his hips on a foam pad, but Hannah informed me that he just had a cardboard box under his butt. He would have to back out occasionally to grab more papers. He let out a groan multiple times making it clear his positioning wasn’t comfortable. Twinkling lights viewable above the black curtains hinted at a magical event happening just beyond the staging area. Red lights were shining on the red box and light streamed through a narrow gap in the curtain to illuminate a short pile of newspapers.

People were so gracious and grateful each time they got a paper from Brian. I am certain there were plenty of selfies taken although I couldn’t see them being taken from where I sat. One lady said Brian had the best seat in the house as she took her paper. When my sketch was complete, I went out front and picked up a paper for myself from Brian. I leafed through it briefly, looking for the Saint Petersburg events calendar, and tried to give it back, but Brian refused to take it. I walked around to various food vendors with Hannah with the paper under my arm. There were some delicious vegetarian options. I had trouble handling all the tiny paper plates and utensils that came with the food. I “misplaced” the paper when Hannah and I ate at one of the standing tables.

Pulse Torn Down

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On June 12, 2016, a gunman shot and killed 49 people and injured 58 others who were enjoying a night out dancing on Latin Night at Pulse Nightclub. Pulse was a cherished LGBTQIA+ nightclub which was safe and inclusive. It symbolized the power of community and of a chosen family.  At the time the shooting was the largest mass murder in America. Americans have a love affair with guns and mass murdering one another.

The onePulse Foundation put out a call for architect firms to create a memorial at the site. There were 68 international submissions. The Orange County History Center showed models of the submissions and a winner was picked. The winning submission was beautiful. Unfortunately, the onePulse Foundation did not have the funds needed to create the memorial and a planned museum. The foundation folded and the City of Orlando stepped in, purchased the property and spearheaded a new plan for the memorial.

All the early plans for memorials had preserved the Pulse building and incorporated it into the memorial plans. The City of Orlando decided instead to tear down the building. The budget for the planned Pulse memorial is 12.6 million dollars. The Orlando City Council is scheduled to vote on October 12, 2026 to approve construction with Gomez Construction Company.

The plans approved by the One Pulse Foundation were abandoned. The new plans were designed by Borrelli and Parteners and Gomez Construction. The design milestones were set with an advisory committee and community feedback. The new memorial seems to mimic many aspects of the features of the winning design. The memorial is slated to open in the second half of 2027.

The memorial will feature a water wall featuring the names of the 49 victims. There will be a reflections pool positioned over a portion of the original nightclub dance floor. There will be an Obelisk using a salvaged breach wall of the club and recycled concrete from the original building. There will be a walkway with canopy columns honoring each of the 49 victims.

I sketched at Pulse shortly after it was torn down. The cranes were still working moving the rubble. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis insisted that the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) had to paint over a rainbow crosswalk that was established at the nightclub site.  When that happened Orlando citizens decided to chalk the rainbow back in place. It is not illegal to place chalk on pavement since it is not permanent. Each time the crosswalk was chalked, FDOT would wash or paint away the chalk. On the day I sketched it was day 223 of the battle to keep the rainbow on the crosswalk. Since the Nightclub was being demolished and the memorial has yet to be built, this is the only memorial that remains for the 49 lives lost. Petty politics continued to railroad the Orlando communities grief.

Bear Box, Shenandoah National Park

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Stella P. Alberaéz Tascón was hiking northbound over 107 miles along the Appalachian Trail going through Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. I joined her for the final 13 miles after I returned from the 75th Infantry Division Reunion in Texas. I was hiking with her when she reached the northern terminus of the park.

Stella and I stopped at Bear Fence Hut to camp for the night. This camping site had a stone and wood hut with a wooden floor and roof. This is luxury living on the Appalachian Trail. The other luxury that the site has is a steel bear box and a pole with hooks to store food and toiletry supplies. Bears have a keen sense of smell and they know that humans carry delicious food staples. The last thing you want is a bear rummaging through your backpack at 2am.

The bear pole had a long steel pole which allows a camper to place their food back suspended about 18 feet in the air. I tried it out. I have a bear proof bag with smell proof bags inside but I still wanted to take every precaution. Hooking the bag way up high takes practice but it is doable. Ultimately, I decided to keep the bag in the steel box since it was easier to access and I had to get into my supplies multiple times while making dinner. I had Mountain House prepackaged meals. They are not set to expire until 2056. These remind me of WWII K-Rations which had all processed and dried foods which in theory could be eaten to this day over 80 years later. I wouldn’t put that stuff in my mouth however.

Stella and I had a restful night’s sleep in the shelter. Early in the night, I thought I heard a bear rummaging around, but I think that was all in my head. The woods are full of noises throughout the night. In the morning, Stella and I set about doing a painting. We sat at the picnic table and painted the view of the woods. As we were painting, clouds rolled in and the woods disappeared into a cloudy mist. It is amazing to be inside a cloud. Stella got a really good painting, while I consider this one only marginally successful. I find painting the deep woods a real challenge. I am so used to sketching and painting man made objects. The woods offer nothing but chaos and organic shapes. Trees and branches flow in all angles. The bear box in my painting stands out as being entirely separate from the organic chaos all around it.

I am so happy Stella invited me on this hiking adventure. This is something I hope to do more often in the future. Perhaps I will branch off and do a long solo hike someday with the plan of documenting every step with sketches and paintings.

Big Meadows, Shenandoah National Park

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Stella Arbelaéz Tascón was hiking northbound over 107 miles along the Appalachian Trail going through Shenandoah State Park in Virginia. I joined her for the final 13 miles after I returned from the 75th Infantry Reunion in Texas. I was hiking with her when she reached the northern terminus of the park.

At the end of a log day of painting, Stella and I stopped at Big Meadows, which is a lodge which has a cafeteria. In turns we each ordered some dinner and ate outside at the picnic tables. While Stella was inside ordering, I noticed a big crow in a gnarly tree and I started sketching. There was a couple seated at one of the tables.

Once Stella got back, I went inside and ordered a sandwich as well. By the time I got back the couple had left. They were replaced by an Indian family. Two of the boys started playing Frisbee. The Frisbee was illuminated. That would have been fun to sketch but I would have needed my iPad to catch the glowing light. The mom was taking care of the needs of the other two children at the table and preparing the food, while dad sat and looked at his phone.

I quickly lost light and gave up on the sketch when it got too dark out. Cars drove by on the road behind the dying tree with their headlight blazing. At the time, I wasn’t eating a vegetarian diet, so I probably had a processed meat sandwich. Stella’s healthy diet while hiking lead to her loosing weight and felling more energized. She shared research which showed that eating healthy could control high blood pressure and after this trip, I switched to an all plant-based diet. In my sketch the dying tree to the right is me eating meat and the lush tree to the left is me eating a plant-based diet.

In my Eola Heights Art Studio, I am building my pantry and cooking plant based recipes every day, and I am loving it. It turns out that giving up salt, sweets and processed food is not a sacrifice but a chance to live more creatively in the kitchen.

Compton Gap, Shenandoah National Park

Posted on by Thor

Stella Arbelaéz Tascón was hiking northbound over 107 miles along the Appalachian Trail going through Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. I joined her for the final 13 miles after I returned from the 75th Infantry Division Reunion in Texas. I was hiking with her when she reached the northern terminus of the park.

After passing out of the Shenandoah park we decided to return to spots along the trail that she had felt would make good paintings. She had taken mental notes but didn’t take the time to paint. We would drive to a parking spot near each location and then hike in. When the paintings were done, we would drive to a nice campground or cabins. We were glamping and I had no complaints.

We decided to paint this trail almost immediately after walking a short way from the parking spot. We both liked the way the light played on the warm trail. It is rare to see a wide trail like this on the Appalachian Trail. Most of the trails are narrow and can be lost if you stop looking for the trail blazes painted on the trees. There is one white trail blaze in this picture on a tree on the left.

Quite a few people walked past us as we painted at this location since they were just starting out on their walks. One guy joked that we should add him to our paintings, but he was I a rush to get wherever he was going. We were not in a rush; we lingered and watched the light change as we painted. My little palette that I had set up was running out of paint, but I still managed to cover the page. If I ran out of a color, I would compensate by using more of another color.

My favorite aspect of this painting is the red dirt trail. I used transparent washed to start and then painted the shadows with more opaque paint. Previous paintings had all used thick impasto. This thin and thick application came about since I was running out of paint, but I think it is a more natural way for me to work. I look forward to experimenting more with gouache.