Ford-iFy the Arts Groundbreaking

Posted on by Thor

I went to the groundbreaking ceremony at City Arts in Downtown Orlando. I arrive rather early and set up across the street to sketch the courtyard and Kean building. the event was held just days after the Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis vetoes all funding for the arts.

A new gate had been added to the entry of the courtyard with two swans and surprise and delight written in the clouds. People gradually started to gather at the gate to kibitz and schmooze.

The new yet to be fully constructed courtyard will be named in honor of Ford Kiene, the former owner who donated the historic green of the green Rogers Klein building. He donated the building to the city of Orlando.

Ford-ify the Arts is a fundraising event organized with the intentions of raising capital to construct a courtyard on the north-side space adjacent to the Rogers Kiene Building (home to CityArts). The vision is to create a beautiful public space in the heart of Downtown Orlando, which complements Orlando’s oldest commercial structure, built in 1886. This space will be used for diverse, inclusive, and creative arts engagement, as well as private gallery-related and specialty events. Interstruct, Inc. created the concept and design of the courtyard.

The design seems to consist of a clear arched canopy that looks like it might blow away in a hurricane or high wind. Murals already exist though they might be planning to change them, and there are benches for the homeless to lounge on. In the promotional image a couple walks hand in hand towards the back wall of a parking garage as if strolling on the beach.

As I was sketching a guy walked past me twice with a hand truck stacked with cases of beer. He pointed out to me that the Rogers Kean building was  donated by the guy who stated the beer distribution company he worked for. Its a small world.

Orlando Urban Sketchers: Baldwin Perk

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Orlando Urban Sketchers held a morning sketch outing at Baldwin Perk Caffè, 4833 New Broad Street Baldwin Park Florida. I ordered a iced caramel latte and it was delicious. I was super pleased that Baldwin Perk Caffè has a state of the art HEPA air filter running. I sat next to the filter. I am always pleased find establishments that offer clean air for their patrons. I debated about removing my mask but it was just as easy to leave it on. Masking indoors is my new normal. I have had a cough for the past week and wanted to keep everyone else safe.

I am so pleased with how strong the Orlando Chapter or Urban Sketchers has grown. The coffee hose was full of sketchers. It was like a sketching flash mob.

Gay reminded me of the times I used to host drink and draw events. She was one of the few artists who showed up in the early days and she is still sketching, Well on this day she was on her laptop working remote, but she often sketches at these outings. Noga who did an amazing job of building the group has been able to hand over many of the responsibilities to a new generation of artists.

One of my former students was sketching. I glanced at her several times convinced I must have met her before, but I couldn’t put 2 an 2 together. I don’t math in the morning, especially without caffeine.  Anyway she was one of my former Crealdè School of Art students. She showed me her sketchbook, full of my thumbnail notes. I had done a sketch of her in class, when we were going over sketching people on location. Meeting he absolutely made me glow. I have always said that if I can convince one student that sketching on location is an inspiring way to live life, then I would have done my job as an instructor. She convinced me I had done my job right for once.

I would gladly return to Baldwin Perk. I might stop in when I am teaching a class at Crealde again on Sundays. Urban sketching is my religion.

Disney Internship: Harbor House

Posted on by Thor

With my jump animation assignment finished I took time off on the weekend to explore Disney MGM Studio. This was essentially where I worked but I was in a trailer inn the back lot parking lot and never saw the park while busy sketching at my desk.

I felt that many of the rids at MGM were rather corny but I guess that is what people want. Some of the attractions were worth the effort of standing in line. MGM can be seen in a single day. The larger theme parks might take more time to explore and sketch.

Columbia Harbor House is in the Magic Kingdom. It is an American seafood counter restaurant which mostly served fish and chips style meals. It is seafood with a serious slathering of breading and oil, along with fries and slaw.

After a while I decided to go back to my desk in the animation studio and do three more inbetweens on my assignment to slow down the ending of the scene. The scene was of a locust jumping and i had him perform on the animation desk which was new to me and therefor worth sketching as a background.

The internship was not a 9 to 5 work situation. Some artists never left their desks but I tried to keep to a set schedule to stay sane. The experience was a pressure cooker to see who thrived and who crumbled under the pressure. I paced myself and one steam valve was the ability to go into the parks and sketch on location. It calmed my nerves.

To this day, I still sit at my Disney Animation desk all day long and then, when I can, I venture out to sketch in the real world.

Disney Internship: The Stocks

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As a Disney Feature Animation intern, I enjoyed having free reign of the Disney Theme parks on the weekend to sketch.

On the week this was done, Barry Cook came to the Disney’s MGM Studios and pitched the idea for the next feature animated film which was called at the time China Doll, or FaMulan.

There was one section of the animation building which had a tall soundproof glass wall behind which tourists could watch the animation artists at work. Barry stood on a desk and told us the story of a daughter who joined the Chinese army as a man to save her father from conscription. Barry had a knack for storytelling and I was fully engrossed and hoped that one day I might work on the film which would later be called Mulan.

I also learned that as an intern I would have a chance to do some production drawings for the film the studio was now working on called The Lion King. The story of Lion King was built around the themes of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

Disney Internship: Merry-Go-Round

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I spent a solid day exploring Disney World and sketching. This was a merry-go-round at Disney World. Late in the internship I would use a merry-go-round as inspiration for some story boarding I did.

I had already finished the second animation assignment which was a jump. I was feeling guilty that I finished so fast. So I started a second jump but abandoned it since I like the first animation better.

For some reason I had been given a Snow White poster and I wanted to give it to my niece Nikki. I was also given an Aladdin tape and I probably still have that packed away in some box somewhere.

24 at the Renaissance

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24 is set in a 1920s speakeasy. An email arrived that gave the secret password to be given at the door. I met Seth and Genevieve in the line to get in. They didn’t get the email, so I filled them in on the Latin password. Genevieve memorized the password immediately but I forgot it the second I told them.

Security is tight at the Renaissance Theater Company, 415 E Princeton St, Orlando, FL . I didn’t bring my art bag since bags are not allowed. I just brought my iPad. Getting through the metal detector with all my change, pencils, phone, keys, wallet and iPad took some time. We were all issued bright green arm bands.

Once inside I masked up. I was one of two who did. At the foot of a tall staircase we were introduced to the mantra of mother. A woman complained bitterly about the religious fervor of mother and the endless debauchery we were about to experience. Then we entered a laundry. The man behind the counter lamented the recent violence in the city. I was in his line of sight and he called me over. He asked if I wished to place an order. Since I didn’t know what he was talking about I said “no.” He told me to step aside and asked the next guest the same question. That person said “no” and was told to stand beside me. Finally the third person said “yes” and whispered the secret password in the mans ear. They were let into the venue through a beaded curtain. The laundry machines were actually doors to back rooms. I had to scan a code with my phone to get more words of wisdom from mother.

I was allowed in and sat at a table in the corner which was marked with my name. The woman seated beside me looked stunning in her vintage flapper dress. Quite a few woman had taken the trouble to dig out their flapper dresses and bejeweled headbands. A six piece band provided the music though I never caught sight of them. The singing was stellar. The show itself featured some fast paced dancing mixed with dark undertones. The dancers were in constant motion so I only ventures to capture a few fast gestures. Detail had to be lost. I switched my attention to the large vagina scrawled on the wall. Though celebrating sensuality there were was also resistance and counter protest.

Overall it was a mysterious and jubilant evening. A group of people tried to exit the way we came in. It turns out that lead to a backstage maze. The actual exit was at the back of the venue.

Disney Internship: Mad Hatters Tea Cups

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With the third animation assignment finished for the Disney Feature Animation Internship, I decided to spend the day at Walt Disney World sketching. This was the third sketch for the day.

Of course the challenge with this sketch is that those tea cups just keep spinning, making it a challenge to sketch any detail.

As I recall that darn door mouse kept popping up and down out of the tea pot as well. Despite that challenges of sketching in a park setting, it felt good to just sketch from life rather than getting Disney characters to move.

Disney Feature Animation Internship: Tiki Room

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I had a full day off from animating in the Disney Feature Animation Internship. Some of the interns pretty much chained themselves to their desks to keep animating. There was so much on the line if the assignments sucked then it was very possible you might not get hired. I had finished my assignment and felt my mental health was just as important as cranking out drawings. so I went to Disney World as an employee.

This is a third sketch done on the same day in Disney World. This is the Tiki Room or, Sunshine Tree Terrace. Years later I would sketch one of the Tiki birds on display at the Orange County Regional History Center. All the birds inner gears and gyros lay open and exposed. I think I was just so excited to get away from the animation desk where I was sketching Mickey and Goofy. Having a solid day to just sketch on location felt like a real vacation. Some of the early animation assignments just felt silly and it was nice to get a dose of sketching from reality back into my blood.

Well I suppose sketching in Disney World as far from reality but it was a fair recreation of an exotic and new location to sketch. All these sketches were done as post cards. I would mail one off each night. The advantage is that they are all post marked which further verifies the dates.

COVID Dystopia is Heading to Iowa

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My short film, COVID Dystopia, is an official selection at the Iowa Independent Film Festival in Mason City, Iowa. When looking up the city on Google, the first image I saw was of a grain silo. How cool would it be to project COVID Dystopia on the side of a grain silo? That dream might not happen since Mason City does have a Community Theater. The city even have an airport but I have to figure out if an airline from Orlando flies there.The airport might only be for crop dusters.

The Film Festival ruins from September 5-7, 2024. I have to figure out what day my film is screening. This film festival has been running for 17 years so they must know what they are doing. Now you might be saying to yourself that Mason City in Iowa is in the middle of nowhere. If by nowhere, you mean America then you are absolutely correct. The primary reason I submitted to the Iowa International Film Festival is that Chris P. Chicken is one of their board members. I had a chuckle when I saw his pointy beaked expression and knew I needed to show my film there.

The meandering Winnebago River winds right through Mason City, which is the River City referred to in The Music Man, the hit 1957  by Meredith Wilson.

The Music Man Square is right next door to the Community Theater and has an indoor recreation of the 1912 main street featured in the musical. It has an ice cream parlor and a gift shop. The gift shop even  had a Trouble themed face mask. It is cloth rather than an N-95 so I will pass on picking one up. But clearly the folks of Mason have a sense of humor. I plan to take a sketch selfie at the entrance to the River City High School!  A large Victorian home on the property is the boyhood home of Meredith Wilson who wrote the book, music and lyrics for the Music Man. The home is gorgeous and another great sketch opportunity.

I envision COVID Dystopia sweeping into River City just like Henry Hill and trying to save the quite hamlet from the denial, indifference and gas lighting that has caused them to press the reality of the past 4 years into the back of their minds, about a virus that has caused, and continues to cause, a whole lotta trouble, trouble, trouble. All those innocent boys and girls who got their flutes, trumpets and trombones in 1912 would come to face a whole lot more trouble when WWI rolled around, along with the Spanish Flu epidemic which would kill more Americans than the battle front. There was far more denial in those days about the death toll since a country at war does not want to appear weak. A politicians only way to look strong in the face of a pandemic is to peel off their mask and insist you do the same.

 

Disney Feature Animation Internship: Walk in the Park 2

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This is another sketch done in Disney World on a day off from animating. I had finished a third animation assignment and just wanted to walk and sketch to clear my head.There is nothing like direct observation to calm the nerves and clear the head.

This is the entrance to the Pirates of the Caribbean. I did go inside and sail around the attraction before deciding to do this sketch. I do believe the Tiki Room was right behind me. I loved the Tiki Room. Those animatronic parrots are so simply animated, but the experience was magical.

Flash forward to today and OUC: The Incompetence One, turned off my power after I had paid the bill two weeks ago. On April Fools Day when I moved in to this studio, they also cut off my power even though I had signed up online and in person. They mailed my checks to an address I was at 8 years ago. When they sent me a bill I paid it immediately. Dealing with the phone robots is an infuriating experience they have no sense of humor and put me on hold for well over an hour. I think the OUC robots simply do not understand anything that is not digital like a check. I have decided I have to get out of Orlando just to get away from OUC. Dealing with power company robots is my idea of absolute hell. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!