Welcome to Matteson: First Pass

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Welcome to Matteson by Inda Craig-Gavlán, featured two couples having dinner. One couple needed to look high healed and the other needed to look lower middle class. This was a challenge which would rely on clothing to set them apart. In this first pass at painting the poster I relied on warm colors for the wealthy couple and yellows for the less wealthy couple. Having everyone toasting seemed to be the most natural gesture to get them all to interact.

Matteston is a suburb of Chicago Illinois. The less wealthy couple had just moved to Matteson from the Cabrini-Green public housing projects in Chicago. Cabrini-Green had a reputation for being overrun with gangs and crime. Cabrini Green was being torn down and residents were relocated. This couple was relocated to Matteson. They were excited to move to this quiet suburb, but they missed the sense of community they had found in Cabrini.

The buildings I put in the sketch were from a typical Chicago neighborhood. I had just screened my film COVID Dystopia in Chicago and fell in love with the old brownstone neighborhoods. The trouble was that Cabrini-Green looks nothing like this. The housing complex is more like the rows of housing developments that went up in the big cities after World War II. They are not very picturesque. The idea of replacing the brownstones with a suburban home made the most sense, yet most suburban homes are rather bland. Maybe I could just paint a dining room, but again I wanted something that was not so ordinary.

Snow fills the night sky. I then put in a circular yellow arch behind the buildings. This was meant to reference a snow globe and it helped silhouette the upper spires against the night sky. It was just a way to add a spark of more color. The buildings would have to go and that circular arch would morph into a much larger feature in the next pass at the poster.

Welcome to Matteson ran at the Orlando Shakes through March 29, 2025.

Henry VI Part 2: She Wolf of France Final

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The final version of the poster for the Orlando Shakespeare Theater production of Henry VI Part 2: She Wolf of France just involved me repainting the face since I now knew that Roberta Emerson would be playing the part of Queen Margaret. Emerson was credited with an “ice cold” performance and was honored by the Orlando Sentinel for her role for her ruthless demeanor and moments of vulnerability.  It was a rare role where the female lead could demand and gain absolute power.

Queen Margaret was a foreign bride, newly married to Henry VI. Unlike her husband, who was a weak ruler, Margaret was proactive and ruthless, commanding armies and seeking to secure the crown for her son. She was powerful in her own right, defying gender norms to engage directly in political intrigue and warfare. She became a Machiavellian political force, serving as a catalyst for chaos.

She despised her  weak husband and dominated court politics, engineered the downfall of Duke Humphrey of Gloucester, and began to dominate the House of Lancaster, setting the stage for the Wars of the Roses.

This was a rare case where I found out during the painting of the poster who the actress would be for the play many months in the future. There was fabulous reference because she had performed in many other Shakespeare productions.

Henry VI Part 2: She Wolf of France, Second Pass

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In the second pass at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater poster for Henry VI Part 2: She Wolf of France, I removed the mail hood that made her had look cylindrical. If I wanted to make it clear this warrior was a woman, I needed to let her hair flow. The armor was changed to me nor angular and chiseled in look. Putting a sharp edge across the chest made it clear that a woman’s anatomy would fit and it also added a hint of pride.

I wanted to go in and start cleaning up and adding detail to the face and hair, but I had all the other poster changes to make as well. Sometimes I have a second sense about leaving well enough alone. In this approval meeting I learned that the lead actress who would be playing the part of Queen Margaret would be Roberta Emerson, who looked nothing like the woman I was depicting. Luckily she had performed in other Shakespeare productions and I was given some reference photos which were rather good. There was even one where she was shouting in the way I was depicting in this version of the poster.

Everything else was working. I had changed all aspects of the armor making it much shinier. I was glad I didn’t get caught up in the details of the face and hair. All that Information was on one layer in my digital painting program and I could just turn it off without affecting any other aspect of the painting. If I was working traditionally, I would have to start the whole painting over again.

In these versions of the poster I am showing I just flip on new layers and flip off old layers that needed changing. If a choice is made to go back to an older version, I always have that choice. I often borrow elements from rejected layers and incorporate them into the upper layer that is working better. This allows me to keep the painting constantly evolving and the best always rises to the surface.

I just needed to go back to the drawing board and put in Robeta Emerson as the Queen Margaret. I had abandoned the crown but started to feet that it was needed again.

Orlando Shakes performed “Bare Bard: Henry VI Part 2 – She Wolf of France” from January 8-19, 2025, at the Lowndes Shakespeare Center in Orlando. This “Bare Bard” production featured the, original-practices used in Shakespeare’s day with limited rehearsals and no director. Each actor would walk through the costume shop in turn and pick out their costume for the show.

 

Henry VI Part 2: She Wolf of France

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The first pass at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater poster for Henry VI Part 2: She Wolf of France by William Shakespeare focused on a female soldier and a white wolf howling in the woods. This was once again a play about the War of the Roses, so I included a white and red rose. I love painting roses, they are elegant and beautiful. Having worked on Mulan I have followed a story of a woman stepping onto the battlefield in a patriarchal society. She would have to be more of a warrior than any of the men.

I didn’t have to think about the Henry VI title treatment since I could lift it from the previous poster for consistency. It works. The expression was working but the pose itself felt static. I wanted something more chiseled and heroic. The crown fitting over the chain mail hood is something I found while researching. I imagine they must have designed a specific crown for that purpose. Visually when drawn it isn’t quite believable. I think it will need to fit more snug to the skull to work. To show the warrior was female I needed some long hair visible. I had it blow out form under the chain mail hood and into her face. This wasn’t an appealing or attractive choice but it hinted at the disheveled chaos of battle.

I started looking at heroic statues of warriors to figure out what else was needed to make the figure bolder. Straight lines would read better than the soft curves I was using in this rough sketch. I went back to the drawing board and I am pretty sure I submitted two passes of the idea at the first approval meeting. It is always good to have multiple versions of an idea or better yet multiple concepts to explore. I was following one path, but I was sure it needed improvement. That is what is so good about showing work in progress, people always have suggestions that send me down a new path and that is always exciting.

Henry VI Part 2: The She Wolf of France by William Shakespeare ran from January 8-19, 2025.

Becoming Othello: Final Poster

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The final version of the Orlando Shakespeare Theater poster for Becoming Othello focused on the actress, Debra Ann Byrd playing the male lead in the Shakespeare play. The poster became all about the bright white tunic against the dark background. I added gothic architecture in the background. Since the play is about the “Black Girl’s Journey”, I felt the need to show the actress as a woman, so an inset was added.

I went with a bolder title treatment which plays off the white tunic. What I like best about the image is how the shadows of the sword and dagger flow over the fabric and stone.

I am finding that the printing done for the posters tends to make the image darker than what I painted. When I paint the images I am looking at a screen which glows. Any printed image will not have that backlight. In the future I need to consider this and paint the image brighter overall. The sword has light blood red against the dark background and then it turns dark against the light tunic. The dagger does the same.

I usually make a creative choice that the character is either light against the dark background or dark against a light background. I made a different creative choice that the tunic would pop as the bright white and everything else would recede int0 the dark.

Becoming Othello ran at the Orlando Shakes from March 13 – 30, 2024.

Venus in Fur: Final Poster

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The final version of the Venus in Fur poster required a simple red glaze covering the whole image. This solution made the hair color indistinguishable and the flesh color could be anything in the deep red glow. Red also brings up thoughts of the red light district which I have never been to but have heard about.

The mail lead in Venus in Fur is Thomas, who is directing a play based on an 1870 novella Venus In Furs by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch about a man longing to be dominated and humiliated by the right woman. Masoch’s last name gave birth to the phrase masochism.

Thomas had spent the whole day auditioning ordinary actresses who just were not right for the part. He was about to go home in defeat when a woman bursts into the room out of the pouring rain.

She had a horrible time getting to the audition with some random man rubbing up against her in the subway and her high heals got caught in a grate. She was visibly annoyed but managed to change gears to apologize for being late and convince Thomas to stay for this audition because she knew she was perfect for the part.

Vanda quickly gets out of her disheveled wet garb into costume. The male actor who had been reading lines opposite the actresses auditioning that day had already left, so Thomas stood in and read that part which he knew by heart since he had written it.

What follows is an unexpected power play as the actress not only knew every line but she knew the directors fiancé from working out in the gym. She seduced the director who became visibly excited, but she then dominated every scene and him as well. Vanda first massaged his male ego and then stomped on it and Thomas yearned to be dominated. I was left wondering if the actress had gone off script as they played their roles all too realistically.

There were dozens of performances on YouTube by actresses performing Vanda monologues. It is no wonder actresses are attracted to this play where the woman is empowered, and takes control of every scene. I wonder how many men are on YouTube reading monologues from Thomas as he whimpers and yearns to be punished.

Venus in Fur ran at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater through March 3, 2024. The Orlando Shakespeare production starred Walter Kmiec and Tracie Lane. I was relieved to see that Tracie actually looked very much like the fair skinned actress whose chest and lips I had cast for the poster. Her hair was shorter and less curly, but you could not see those details in the red-light version of the poster.

Apartment Hunt: Lake Formosa

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I have been moving from AirBnB to AirBnB in downtown Orlando to get a feel for where I might set up my art studio again. I have been living out of my backpack ever since returning from Europe. I loved Thornton Park. I stayed in two places in Thornton Park, and my favorite was above a barber shop a few blocks from Lake Eola and right across the street from the Falcon Bar.  From the studio window I could look over Lake Eola toward the skyline in the west to see gorgeous sunsets.

Last week I stayed in Azalea Park. I thought Azalea Park was the neighborhood around Dickson Azalea Park which is lovely. I was wrong, Azalea Park is directly under flight path of planes landing at the Orlando Executive airport and the noise is overwhelming. Since that nightmare, I made a map that includes the noise levels from planes.

Today I moved to Livingston Street for several weeks. The place has a back yard with a fire pit and is just a several block walk to Lake Eola. It is so peaceful and quiet here. I am waiting for the shoe to drop, something unsettling is about to transpire. There are some flights that can be hears but they seem to be little prop planes. Honestly if this place had a long-term rental option or was for sale I would consider this a perfect studio location. Unfortunately, it is just an expensive AirBnB and I will need to move out at the end of May.

While sketching today, a woman mentioned that she had a place available in the house right next to the Maitland Art Center. She explained that the place was very small. She didn’t mention square footage. I wonder how small it is? I declined, but now I am thinking I should have at least looked at the place. The location would have been amazing.

Every day I wake up and wonder where I should call home. Should I stay in Orlando where I am familiar with the arts scene, or should I explore some new place? With no roots, I could go anywhere.

The sketch is from a duplex on Lake Formosa that I visited yesterday. It is just 700 square feet with a bedroom and living room which would be my studio. The view out of the sliding glass doors looks out over Lake Formosa. The car port is a plus. I drew a floor plan to see if my studio flat files and Disney desk could fit. It is tight but I can fit in the space. The duplex neighbor has a fiberglass Lizard in the front lawn which I rather like.

Whenever I am serious about a property I tend to sketch after viewing the interior. I find sketching helps me think and consider what it might be like to live in the place. People walked by with their dogs and quite a few bicyclists buzzed past. Several medical helicopters flew over the lake and the train tracks that run along the west bank of the lake are loud. I am trying to decide if the train horn blasts are endearing or annoying.

The location is amazing. A bike path begins right at the end of the street and I could walk to the Fringe, Shakes, OMA and the Mennello. I have been walking up and down Mills Avenue this week and all those restaurant choices and music venues would be walking distance from this spot.

Part of me wants to find a place right in downtown Orlando, but I don’t think those cramped high-rise apartments are for me. I was also walking through Eola Heights each evening and found quite a few homes for sale. I looked online and discovered that every one of them was well over a million dollars (WTF?!)  So, I shifted my gaze to rentals further north. That brought me to Lake Formosa.

I agonized for several days about this property and finally filled out an application form.  My application was denied because someone else snatched up the rental while I was debating. Back to square one.

Becoming Othello: First Pass

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The first pass at creating a poster for Becoming Othello for the Orlando Shakespeare Theater involved a simple split screen portrait. On the left the actress smiles in a warm inviting portrait and on the right she is depicted in a severe cold portrait as the murderous Othello. Debra Ann Byrd is a female actress who embraces playing the male lead in Shakespeare’s Othello. This play is about that journey. Debra wrote and performed this solo show.

Othello is a noble Moorish general whose life is destroyed by his ensign, Lago, who manipulates him into believing his wife, Desdemona, is unfaithful. Consumed by jealous rage, Othello murders Desdemona, only to learn of Iago’s deception. Consumed with grief Othello then commits suicide.

With such a dark story line, my portrait poster lacked any discernible action. I liked the classy serif typeface I had picked for the title but that might miss the mark as well for such a bold dark story line. This poser image left me feeling uneasy. I think it has to do with her smile on one side and serious neutral expression on the other. Perhaps a neutral expression across the board would have worked better but now is not the time for second guessing since this concept was not approved. The challenge was in making the two sides of the portrait the same yet dissimilar. It was a fine line to walk.

Since a verb would be needed, my mind turned to the moment of murderous rage in the play. That moment would end two lives in a pointless tragedy. If that moment could be captured then that would catch a viewer’s attention.

The Hantavirus Disembarks

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Yesterday was the first time I heard of the Hantavirus. Passengers on a cruise ship off the western coast of Africa are becoming infected. This triggers flashbacks to the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Dutch couple and a German have died due to the infection. The Dutch couple may have contracted the virus while bird watching at a landfill. The wife of the Dutch man who died flew with his body back home and she died upon arrival at the Johannesburg airport. That means everyone on the plane and anyone she came in contact with may have been infected. A stewardess was reported to be sick but then it was conformed that she did not have the Hantavirus infection. That is very good news.

The virus is known to spread through rat feces, urine and saliva. You do not need to touch the rat to become infected. The virus can get airborne when rummaging through trash. It was reported that it might be airborne and spread from human to human. One “expert” said the virus is droplet based. But a virus does not fall to the ground like rain drops. An airborne virus lingers in the air for hours like smoke or dust particles. Other experts are issuing reassurances that prolonged contact is required for infection. They are making it sound like you must be trapped on a cruise ship with an infected person to become infected yourself.

The cruise ship had 147 passengers. Eight so far are known to have been infected. There are 3 confirmed deaths. The first confirmed infection occurred on April 6, 2026. The passenger died on April 11, 2026. Forty passengers have disembarked the ship to return to their home countries all around the world. Three returned to America. The Centers of Disease Control in America has been gutted and the Secretary of health is an anti-VAXer.

The COVID-19 virus had a mortality rate of 3.4% at the height of the pandemic. It is estimated that over 7 million people have died so far due to COVID-19. The exact number may be far higher.

The Hantavirus has a mortality rate of 40%. The math doesn’t look good. If the virus is not contained through contact tracing, it is therefor possible that an outbreak of the Hantavirus could result in over 82 million deaths. It is being reported however that the virus does not spread easily but only with close contact. I have not been in close contact with anyone for years, so I am perfectly safe from any mouth breathing zombie.

The WHO considers the overall public health risk to be low. I hope they are right.

Venus in Fur: Second Pass

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For my second pass at the Venus in Fur poster, I decided to focus on the tight shiny leather glove as the dominatrix raised a finger to her lips to insist on silence. I imagined her saying Shhhh. I was thinking of a woman who might say, “Hey, I’m up here.” Meaning the guy is not looking where he should. Anyway, she is scolding the director.

I also did not know who would be cast as Vanda. I just needed to see her lips, so I avoided painting her nose on upwards. I case Vanda with flowing blonde hair and bright red lipstick. Most people would be looking at the outline of her tight black lace bra and her cleavage. That hidden valley punctuated by a small black bow was the star of the poster.

When John Singer Sargent painted a bare shoulder in his 1884 portrait, of Madame X, there was a major uproar in the Paris Salon. It was considered indecent, immoral, and a “slap in the face” to Parisian social standards. I had done a life sized copy of that Madam X painting for a New York City theater stage production so that painting was certainly on my mind.

In this poster I had one shoulder covered in rich black fur and the other was bare with the necessary strap to hold the black lace bra in place. Were that strap to slip, and it is dangerously close to doing so, then gravity would cause a wardrobe malfunction. I made sure to keep the bra strap in place so as not to upset Orlando High Society.

Anyway this concept hit the mark for a play about domination and masochism. I had darkened the flesh of the face so it receded into the darkness a bit, but the chest was painted a bright pasty white. I know that a viewer’s gaze will go to the brightest highlights and in this case that has to be the breasts.

In the approval meeting there was some discussion and concern because no one knew who might be cast as Vanda. At the Shakes any actress could get the part in the auditions. She could be any nationality or skin color. They were not looking specifically for a fair skinned blonde. She might be brunette. I had to show the actress and certainly I had to show plenty of flesh. It seemed like an impossible catch 22 conundrum. I needed to give it thought back at the studio and find some solution. I wasn’t sure a solution existed and I felt that this version of the poster was hitting the mark. I might have to paint the tools of the trade, like whips and other leather goods but I liked this in-your-face sexuality. Just don’t look her in the eyes. The flesh in this painting still needed some loving touches but I left it as it is to embrace change.