Ravine Gardens Entry

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Ravine Gardens State Park was a Works Projects Administration (WPA) project completed in 1933. Located at 1600 Twigg St, Palatka, FL, this 152 acre park is a real gem. The park contains steep head ravines surrounding Whitewater Branch, a spring-fed stream that flows east into the Saint Johns River.

I did this sketch of the entry walkway after a long day of hiking on the Azalea trail. I was sweaty and exhausted and needed a rest so I sat down and sketched. I figured out the movement of the sun to be sure I would remain in the shade for the duration of the sketch.

The stone work on all these trellis columns is identical to the stone work on the front facade of the Yalaha Studio. There must be about 25 sets of columns on each side of the walkway because each section had a plaque with a state name and a place to hang the state flag. It must be an impressive sight when all the state flags are hung and they waved in the breeze.

There is a 60-foot obelisk dedicated to Franklin D. Roosevelt at the end of the Court of States walkway with three stone cone shapes fountains. Ravine Gardens is one of the nine New Deal-era state parks in Florida. On holiday weekends, the park displays among the stone and wood pillars the flags of the 48 states that were in the Union when the park was established.

Ravine Gardens State Park

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I had no obligations on Sunday, so I decided to drive north to Ravine Gardens State Park in Palatka Florida. It was a straight drive up 19. I went past the Umatilla Homestead. I loved that homestead but it felt larger than I needed. I had to follow my heart and let it slip away. After Umatilla, all signs of civilization disappeared as I drove through the Ocalla National Forest.

It was a glorious sunny day with the occasional white cumulus cloud. I was driving at 55 miles per hour and the clouds seemed to move at just about that speed moving north. When I drove into the shadow of a cloud it would ride along with me offering shade for the longest time. I raced many clouds on the drive north trying to stay in their shade for as long as possible.

Ravine Gardens was a WPA Project back in the 1930s. Hiking paths are meticulously maintained. Some roadside gullies are loosely covered in bricks which have lasted for close to 100 years.  There is an amphitheater which I didn’t recognize as such since the seating was composed of rocks on a hillside arranges in rows. The brilliant wildflowers made the theater a natural wonder.  There was a stage area at the base of the hillside. It would be amazing to see a theater production staged there. A sign showed photos of the amphitheater filled for a beauty pageant in the past. I think it would be amazing to see a Shakespeare in the Park production there.

I hiked the Azalea trail which was marked with red blazed on trees. When hiking in nature I often find it hard to decide when the time is right to take the sketchbook out and start creating. Every turn of the trail would reveal a more stunning view. Finding a concrete moment to draw takes a back seat to my desire to keep exploring. After walking the entirety of the azalea trail , I was sweaty and exhausted and finally plopped down next to this pond. The suspension bride I sketched is at the heart of the trail network. I managed to get turned around multiple times as I was trying to navigate out of the park. I crossed the suspension bridge like 5 times hoping to find the trail that lead back to the visitors center and parking. The heat must have gone to my head. I asked a woman for directions and she told me there was a second suspension bridge I had to look for. I didn’t believe her at the time, I had a pot of the trail maps on my phone and I only noticed one suspension bridge. Looking at the map again now, I can see she was right. The reason I was getting turned around is that I was at the wrong suspension bridge. I ultimately ended up hiking on a road to make my way back to the trailhead. I certainly got my exercise for the day.

One man had brought his German Shepherd to the park and the dog jumped into the pond and splashed around for a bit. Families and couples walked across he suspension bridge. The best view in the park, I decided, is on that bride looking down at the pond. The blue sky reflects off the water offering a fantastic play of light and color. Sketching offered me an excuse to slow down and catch my breath.

Creative Clash

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As part of UCF Celebrates the Arts, UCF students and alumni raced against the clock to create  large-format artworks. The twist was that the theme was revealed just seconds before the competition began. Contestants worked in black marker and half way through the one hour competition they were each assigned one color that could be used in their compositions.

The competitors closest to where I was seated were the first to have bold black lines on their panel. Large umbrellas held back the darkness above while the two figures had blue flames rising from their heads. Since I am a fan of flaming figures, I was rooting for them the whole time.

It was blazing hot in Seneff Square in front of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts (419 South Orange Avenue Orlando Florida). When I arrived the announcer had someone from the audience singing karaoke. She had a gorgeous voice and knew every lyric, so I was impressed. No one else from the audience was as daring as her. The announcer had a challenging time since watching artists sketch for an hour is about as interesting as watching grass grow unless of course you are an artist sketching yourself. I had one eye clamped closed the entire time I sketched to shut out the brilliance of direct sunlight in that eye. On occasion I had to wipe a tear away from my closed eye because of the bright light. The contestants must have experienced the same blinding light which would inspire them to darken the large panel as fast as they could before they went blind. Then for a glorious moment the sun disappeared behind a cloud. I worked quickly with both eyes wide open.

One aspect of the theme had to do with Exquisite Corpse which is a collaborative game where players take turns contributing to a drawing without seeing what the others have contributed. The game originated with the Surrealist movement and is meant to encourage creativity and surprise. After the one hour competition was over, the contestants had to drop their markers and step aside to allow the audience gathered to step forward and view their work. The judges voted for panel 2 which had two dark red figures facing one another. This panel was created by Luis Paruchio and Nathalia Trepanier. The winner of the audience choice award which was decided by the loudest clapping was panel 1 with the blue flaming heads created by Hal Smith and Katherine Pericas G.

History Center 150th Anniversary Exhibit

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The Orange County Regional History Center is in the process of mounting an exhibition to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding or Orlando. The exhibition will have 150 items from the museum’s collections on display.

Katie Kelly the curator of exhibitions gave the power point presentation. She emphasized often that the collection is built from many donations from people who realized that their collections have historical significance.

Katie explained that museum exhibits are usually designed to tell a story, and items are collected to help tell that story. This exhibit was turned on it’s head since the 150 items that will go on display were chosen before a story was established. The exhibition will not be a chronological history of Orlando. It is instead a collection of 150 objects that were curated by high ranking members of the community. Mayor Buddy Dyer and Mayor Jerry Demings both selected items for exhibit. Over all about 150 members of the community got invitations to curate items for the exhibit. The logistics of that process alone must have been daunting.

The exhibition will open on April 12, 2025 and run through  January 11, 2026. Orlando Collected will  offer a glimpse into some of the most fascinating and rarely seen items from the city’s history. Since its incorporation in 1875 with just 85 residents, Orlando grew into a vibrant and diverse community of over 300,000. Through the contributions of local historians, community organizations, and individuals, the complex stories of the community have been thoughtfully collected and preserved by the History Center. These curated memories, photographs, documents, and artifacts weave the intricate tapestry of Orlando’s past.

Experimental Painting

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After attending Ilenia Colón Mendoza‘s Talk titles, From Paret y Alcázar to Bad Bunny: The Puerto Rican Jíbaro, I went to the Visual Arts building to see a wall of student work assembled by Stella Arbelaez. She has been teaching an experimental painting class as a Graduate Teaching Assistant and the student work from her students was on display. Stella’s story is told in a heartfelt way in a documentary film titles, A Path to Healing which is now showing at the Latino Film Festival online.

What set this display of work off were articles written by the student that described their experiences in doing the assignments.  These descriptions set this display apart from the rest which were strictly paintings and drawings. Since I write articles each day about my experiences sketching I was intrigued.

For one class, tne assignment was Sumi painting using Chinese inks on rice paper. One student expressed how excited they were to try the technique. It was their first time using rice paper which is delicate requiring a gentle touch with the brush. Different values of ink application produced atmospheric perspective. The student found the use of the Chinese brushed to be calming. Another student found Sumi difficult however she loved the result and plans o use what was learned in future projects. Projects pushed students beyond their comfort zones and that is where progress is made.

In another class, students worked in watercolor out in the UCF meditation garden. For most students this was there first time working in water color plein-aire. In the visual arts building undergrads are set up in tiny cubicles where they are tasked to create their body of work. I always find getting out of the studio refreshing. Sometimes the big concept can take the back seat to simple direct observation. One student noted that working with watercolor was challenging to start. With practice she began to understand how the medium worked. She began to use delicate layering of washes. Allowing the white of the paper to shine through was the biggest challenge.  Though challenging, the time flew by and she found painting in watercolor to be therapeutic.

I loved reading all the students thoughts. It grounded me to the simple joy of what if feels like to create something, every single day.

In the sketch above, Stella was working on labels for the wall display. She gave me a quick tour of the undergrad painting studio area. There were some very talented painters working in that area. A critique was about to start so we had to get in and out fairly quickly. Then Stella got to work adding labels to her student wall just as I had to hit the road, so I would be available for my online students back at the Yalaha studio,

The Puerto Rican Jíbaro

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I went to UCF to attend a lecture by SVAD professor of art history Ilenia Colón Mendoza. She gave a talk about The Puerto Rican Jíbaro.” Which explored the jíbaro as a symbol of Puerto Rican identity, tracing its use by artists, political movements, and musicians.

In the context of Puerto Rico, “jíbaro” refers to a traditional, self-sufficient farmer or rural worker, often living in mountainous regions. Since I have been getting my hands dirty working the soil each day, my curiosity was piqued.

The lecture was at the UCF Nicholson School of Communication and Media (NSC), 12405 Aquarius Agora Dr, Orlando, FL but a room number was not noted. I noticed an older man walking towards the Nickelson school carrying a guitar case. Instinct told me that he was likely going to the lecture so I followed him and sure enough he lead me to an auditorium. I was a bit late so I set up in the back row and immediately started sketching.

Puerto Rico was under colonial rule of Spain for over 400 years and in 1898 it was handed over to United States colonial rule after the Spanish-American War. The colonial rulers liked to portray the jibaro as lazy but the opposite was true. They were educated and industrious working extremely hard to tame the land. Ilena showed many examples of the jibaro depicted in art. The straw hat would resemble a halo and the plantains harvested would be held as a large bundle of sometimes stand in as a mustache of even replace the head of the person depicted. The machete used to harvest was a symbol of power.

Paret y Alcázar has been recognized as the most accurate Spanish interpreter of French Rococo painting. After studying at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid, he was appointed painter at the Court of King Carlos III in 1762. He was banished to Puerto Rico for his bad behavior at the Court, he arrived on the island in 1775, where he remained until 1778. During the short period of his stay on the island he carried out commissions for the Mayor’s Office and played an important role in the education of painter, José Campeche, his only disciple. Among the works created in Puerto Rico his self-portrait, painted in 1776, stands out. Barefooted and dressed in the typical clothing of the Puerto Rican peasant, it was sent to King Carlos III so he would pity his situation and put an end to his exile. This image is held up as the standard of the jibaro living off the land. The self portrait is not of a peasant but of an accomplished court painter.

Images shown progresses to the modern day with the singing icon of Bad Bunny (Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio), who uses the imagery of the jabaro in how he presents himself. Bad Bunny, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, and record producer. Known as the “King of Latin Trap”, Bad Bunny is credited with helping Spanish-language rap music achieve mainstream popularity in the worldwide market.

Ilenia Colón Mendoza built her thesis around the art of Puerto Rico and her passion for the subject certainly was evident in this hour long presentation.  The musician I followed into the presentation turned out to be a musicologist who was quite familiar with the history of Puerto Rican music. I am glad this presentation was open to the public.

Second Harvest Food Bank

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I went to a volunteer work session at Second Harvest Food Bank. Volunteers gathered in the lobby and then came out to meet Sarah and Davie who coached them on how to handle the dry goods. Pallets of goods were first weighed and then distributed to the volunteers who sorted them. It was a fast paced chaotic scene.

One of the regular workers called me “young man” as he passes by, so he is now my bestie. Sarah and Davie approached the work with laughter and high energy. Davie was using a lift to push a skit and it kept getting stuck. From my vantage point, I could see a large splinter of wooden pallet wood was getting caught in the front wheel. Rather than struggle with it, she rushed off to another task. I decided I had to clear the wood away for her. When she got back she was surprised that there was no longer an obstruction. She was searching around for the wood that had caused the problem and I finally had to wave the wood which is now in my art bag.

Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida is a private, nonprofit organization that collects, stores and distributes donated food to more than 870 feeding partners in seven Central Florida counties: Brevard, Lake, Marion, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia. Last year, with the help of numerous donors, volunteers and a caring, committed community, the food bank distributed enough food for 76 million meals to partner programs such as food pantries, soup kitchens, women’s shelters, senior centers, day care centers and Kids Cafes.

If people are looking for food, they would be welcome to use Second Harveest’s Food Finder, which shows the more than 800 partner agencies Second Harvest distributes to, and they can find which is closest to them for easiest access.

There are so many ways to get involved- whether it be making a gift, volunteering, doing a food drive, attending an event, or becoming an Ambassador.

Root Ball Blaze

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Dan, my neighbor across the street from the Yalaha studio has been offering me advice on how to handle Hurricane Milton recovery efforts. Two large pine trees and a large part of a fallen pine next to the studio were removed.

The fallen pine left a huge 6 foot high root ball which Paul the tree service guy was going to grind down to the ground. Since the stump has not been ground down yet, I am chipping away at the mound myself. I decided to hand cut roots each day and then set a small fire in the fire pit to gradually remove the 6 foot high monolith. Progress was slow but steady.

With half of the roots cut away, there was a hobbit like hole under the dome of dirt. Dan suggested I set the root ball on fire and stand by with a hose. I finally decided his suggestion had merit. The smallest roots ignite like gun powder so having them exposed beside the studio was an ongoing hazard.

It rained hard the day I decided to try the root burn. I liked the idea that the outer shell of the mound would not go up in a blaze. I wanted to keep the fire contained on the inner hollow underneath the root ball.

I just used a couple of pieces of paper as kindling and then the smallest roots ignited in an instant blaze. I stood next to the air conditioner unit with a water hose in hand. Flames started licking out towards me so I decided to water the outer edges to keep the flames contained under the root ball.

The blaze became hot and steady and burned for several hours. Once mosquitoes started buzzing my ears I decided the blaze had gone on long enough. I wanted to get inside and get some rest. I hit the mount with a shovel and dirt fell into the increasing hollow. then I started throwing dirt on the remaining flames.

This would be a multi night controlled burn. Dan saw the smoke and came over to see how the burn was going. He seemed impressed with how contained and ferocious the fire was. He also suggested I place charcoal on the other two stumps to burn them out as well. That is a project for another day.

The monstrous pine root mound is waiting for another night of acting like a wood burning pizza oven. After the fire was out, I noticed heat lighting on the horizon. The tall bamboo creaked in the gentle breeze.

No Bites

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A rain storm knocked out the power at the Yalaha Studio, cutting me off from the online student I was instructing. A message from Duke energy said the power might not come on again until 10:30pm that night.

Rather than stick around the studio, I took the energy outage as an excuse too go out and search for a couple of sketch opportunities.

The sun was getting low on the horizon, but would likely not set for another hour or so. I went to Hickory Point Recreation park with the hope of sketching fisherman that Stella Arbelaez told me I might find there. I had gone to the park once before hoping to catch the fisherman but I got side tracked by all the boats being unloaded from the river.

This time I did find several fisherman. They had about a dozen fishing lines in the water between the two of them. They were fishing for Crappies, locally known as “Speckled Perch,” and were quick to point out that the crappies were not biting. They suspected that the fishing season had come to an end. Peak crappie fishing season is November through March, and this was March 31. The intrepid fishing couple packed up before my sketch was done. As I was finishing up the sketch, a large fish jumped out of the water and splashed back down to my left, sending out endless ripples. It might be nice to head out in a kayak and try to go fishing, even if it is just after peak season. Clearly this one large lone fish didn’t get the memo.

Yalaha Road

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While online teaching a student, a thunder storm rolled through Yalaha and took out the power. Since I need power to be on the internet, I called the student and suggested we add an hour to the next weeks class.

Suddenly I had time on my hands and I decided to drive to the neighborhood behind the Now abandoned General Store. Stella Arbelaez had given me a diving tour of several neighborhoods including this one, and I am glad she did.

This is a largely black neighborhood. Folks were sitting curb side and gathered as the sun set. There was a definite feeling of community. Maybe my sitting curb side to do the sketch helped me blend in. Two young boys were riding a small motorcycle up and down the street. I could sense they were curious about me since they kept buzzing by. The loud buzzing of the engine was distracting. Finally one boy stopped and asked me if I was taking a picture. I showed him the sketch and joked that I was taking a picture, just with my hands. He seemed to like my explanation and he buzzed off.

I was seated near a light pole. A knot of wires were hanging down from the top of the pole and splayed out on the ground. I considered leaning against the pole but decided I might get electrocuted, so I sat a short distance away from the knotted pile of hanging wires. I was probably sitting on someone’s lawn. A woman cane out to see what I was doing. Herr name was Mia Gandy,and she is an insurance agent. She sells medicare plans, Life insurance , dental and vision plans. She explained that the pick up truck belonged to her father in law who lived directly across the street. The building I was sketching was once a church. The steeple was lying on the ground next to the pick up. Vines covered more than half the front face of the building. the giant live oak had one of it’s branches leaning on the now slightly sagging roof. The church has a red door which is a sign of good luck.

The building right next to the church is a community center. It isn’t a large building in fact it only has one parking spot which my Prius now occupied and one handicap spot. Since there was a sign warning of a $500 fine, I didn’t park in the handicap spot. Mia explained that there was once a early start school where the community center now stood. It resembled the church I was sketching with old wood weathered with time. It was torn down to make room for the center. I explained to Mia that I liked the character of the old places in the neighborhood. She expressed that she hoped the neighborhood could remain the same but developments have been going up at an exponentially fast pace.We both knew that change was inevitable. My hope is that I can catch some of old Florida before it is all gone.

Duke energy had sent out a note saying power might be out until 10:30pm so I had plenty of time to finish the sketch. The sun had set however and it was getting dark. When several mosquitoes buzzed into my ears, I decided the sketch was done. When I got back to the Yalaha studio the lights were back on.