Accidental Historian

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I was sent to several locations in Orlando to sketch scenes that had been photographed back in the 1920s. In this scene Many trees had been added over the years and the old bandshell was replaced by the now rainbow colored Disney Amphitheater. The original bandshell in the historic photo was designed by Frank Loyd Wright’s secretary, Isabella Roberts who was an architect in her own right.  She also designed several buildings in  the Orlando area. I found it fascinating that many of the same shadows cut across the scene, 100 years later.

This is the Sperry Fountain which is actually the second fountain on this site. Having sketched this from life and comparing it to the original, I can say it is a fairly close replica. The duck on top of the fountain has a slightly different pose in the original sculpture, and today the green patina  had some purple paint stains perhaps from pride day.  The original is now
located in Greenwood Cemetery. The fountain is made of wrought iron and
has a duck base and water flows from the duck’s beaks and an acanthus leaf.

In 1883, wealthy Orlando resident Jacob Summerlin the owner of the Summerlin Hotel,
the first City Council president, and financial lender for the
construction of Orlando’s courthouse in the 1870s—donated a large tract
of land to establish a park in Orlando. In 1883, Summerlin came to a
city council meeting and offered the land around the lake on the
condition that it be beautified and turned into a park. He also required
that the city plant trees and put a “driveway” around the lake. To ensure that the city followed through with the stipulations of the
donation, Summerlin put reverter clauses in the contract to allow his
heirs to reclaim the property if the city failed in its obligations. Several years later, his sons threatened to exercise the reverter
clause if the city did not make good on its promise. Today, the park is
still maintained according to his requirement that it be kept
beautiful.

These sketches were done as part of Accidental Historian at the Orange County Regional History Center (65 E Central Blvd, Orlando, FL 32801). The premise of the show is that any one today might be a historian without even realizing it. That could certainly
true of many bloggers, urban sketchers, photographers, and more. In this
engaging exhibition, created at the History Center, patrons can learn how
individuals who are absorbed in documenting the world of today
accidentally become some of Central Florida’s finest historians for the
future. The show offers a glimpse into some of the museum’s favorite collections that were
created for the now, more than 100 years ago. Put it on your calendar, The Accidental Historian runs from September 21, 2019 to January 19, 2020. Work from Orlando Urban Sketchers will be on display along with historic and contemporary photos and journals.

Apollo 13

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In June there was a free screening of Apollo 13 starring Tom Hanks at Winter Park‘s Central Park. I saw the film when it first came out in 1995 on the big screen. It was about the third attempt to land men on the moon. The one thing I remember form that showing was that I was seated in a front row of the theater and the film gave me a huge headache. At the time I was working at Disney Feature Animation and we had a box lunch session in which producers of the film showed us how it was made. The film was directed by Ron Howard of The Andy Griffith Show fame. Some scenes in the film featured astronauts in weightlessness. Back then there was no Digital Effects to recreate that effect so they actually got permission to build a set inside a plane known as the Vomit Comet or KC-135 airplane. It got that illustrious name because it would fly extremely high and then nose dive towards the earth creating a momentary weightlessness inside the fuselage. The remaining scenes in the capsule were usually close ups and to get the effect of weightlessness in those shots the actors would be on sea saws which would gently rock them up and down. Watching the film again I couldn’t help but wonder which scenes featured those rocking horses or sea saws.

I sketched as people set up their blankets on the Central Park Lawn. As it grew darker I made my painting darker as well. Twice the film had to be stopped as an Amtrak Train roared by. I finished my sketch about half way through the film as Tom Hanks announced, “Houston we have a problem.” An on-board explosion deprives their spacecraft of most of its oxygen supply and electric power, forcing NASA’s flight controllers to abort the Moon landing, and turned the mission into a struggle to get the three men home safely.
What followed were very exciting solutions to very difficult problems. Oxygen was being vented into space, and the astronauts had to move into the lunar landing vessel which acted as their life raft. With CO2 levels rising they realized that the filter could not keep up with the CO2 they were exhaling. The filter form the capsule they abandoned could not be used because it was round rather than square. On the ground engineers were tasked with finding a way to use the wrong shaped filter. It involved ripping the cover off a manual, some tape and tubing. When reconstructed with step by step instructions the astronauts held their breath hoping the filter would work and it did.

When the aborted mission returned to earth, the astronauts had to go back inside the capsule and jettison their life raft into space. When re entering the earths atmosphere they had to hope that the heat shield on the bottom of the capsule had not been damaged in the explosion which had been caused when they stirred the oxygen tanks. As the capsule was engulfed in flames as it dropped towards the earth everyone in the audience saw a shooting star streak above the movie screen. Apollo 13 was an amazing film about perseverance hope and steely eyes determination in the face of seemingly insurmountable life and death decisions. It was a nail biting ride from launch to splashdown. And watching it under a shooting star shower was and ethereal experience.

Kiss My Art

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Boris Douglas Garbe and Marla E. Smith were live at Maxine’s on Shine (337 North Shine Avenue Orlando FL). Boris and Marla joined forces to host a syndicated talk show called Kiss My Art, and this was a live taping of that show. Their guest for the evening was Chris Fioravantti. Chris was sporting a signature jacket that was given to him by commissioner Patty Sheehan. It was covered with day of the dead skulls. Before taking to the stage he vogued in it for admirers in the audience. Chris is a podcaster himself so he is used to conducting interviews with local guests.


Boris and Marla sat on opposite sides of Chris and each asked him questions in turn. Boris confided that he had experienced bullying as a kid so he was interested in a traumatic story from Chris’s past. Chris related that he kept to himself in school. On a trip on his bike he noticed several kids bullying a gay fellow student. He knew of him but they were not particularly close. He decided he had to act so he shouted out for the bullies to stop. When they didn’t he hopped off his bike and got into the middle of the fight. He started getting blows to his head and had to close his eyes. When he opened his eyes, he was on thee ground and he found that the kid he had come to help, had joined the bullies in hitting and kicking him while he was down. In hind sight he didn’t blame the kid. It was his way to survive the incident.


Chris also found out later in life that he was adopted. His adopted family was in the audience and there were some ties between the father who abandoned him and his adopted family which made his telling of this story all the more brave. Today Chris works as a Dog groomer which he loves, but someday he hopes that the podcasts he creates can lift him up so he can live a financially stable existence. After the interview was over, I found a card on my table that announced that The Experience will be coming this February.  

As Chris stated, “At my core I am an artist. I play the guitar, the ukulele, and the
piano. At one point I studied audio engineering, but podcasting is my
true passion. When I was approached by Kyle Eagle and Boris Garbe in
late 2018 to start my own podcast I jumped at the chance!!!” So, be sure to put, The Experience on your radar. It is now on mine.

The Accidental Historian

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The Orange County Regional History Center (65 E. Central Blvd. Orlando, Florida 32801) is creating an exhibit that will run from September 21, 2019 through January 19, 2020 called The Accidental Historian. The premise is that every day citizens could be historians without even realizing it! That’s certainly true of many bloggers, urban sketchers, photographers, and more. In this engaging exhibition, patrons can learn how individuals who are absorbed in documenting the world of today accidentally become some of Central Florida’s finest historians for the future. Catch a glimpse into some of the museum’s favorite collections that were created for the now – more than 100 years ago.

I was  invited to contribute to this exhibit. The above sketch was done in front of the History Center in the exact spot a historical photo was shot back in the 1920s.  It was fascinating to see what has changed and what has not changed. The 55 West building is certainly new but many of the buildings on this street look exactly the way they did 100 years ago. If you go to the History Center web site you will see that this sketch was married to the old photo from the past creating a unique split screen view of this intersection at two separate points on the timeline. A larger than life framed version of this split screen is being created so that people who go to the exhibit can walk inside my sketch for a family photo opportunity. Anyone on the black and white photo side will be shown in black and white and anyone on my sketch side off the scene will be in vibrant color. I cant wait to see how this turn out in practice.

Besides my contributions to the show, other members of Orlando Urban Sketchers will have their work on display since the artists of today will be each leaving behind a unique view of what it is like to live in Orlando. So put September 21, 2019 on your calendar and come to see the history being recorded in unique ways every day right here in Orlando.

Weekend Top 6 Picks for July 20 and 21, 2019

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Saturday July 20, 2019

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.

10am to 4pm Free. Commander’s Call. Museum of Military History 5210 West Irlo Bronson Hwy Kissimmee FL 34746. This
ongoing program is held on the 3rd Sat of each month is designed to
appeal to families, military memorabilia collectors, history buffs,
re-enactors and others interested in military history. In addition,
persons interested in displaying, trading or selling their military
items such as honor coins, swords, photographs, military buttons, scale
model boats & planes, military art, uniforms or other equipment
register in advance by calling the museum to reserve a spot. Re-enactors
& veterans are welcome to come in uniform to add to the history
& authenticity of the military experience. Non-military booths such
as healthcare providers, home improvement, local attractions or other
businesses are invited to be vendors for minimal donation.

4pm to 8pm Free. Cruisin’ Downtown DeLand Car Show! East Indiana Ave Downtown DeLand, Deland FL. Classic cars and rods. Live DJ, giveaways, shopping & dining. Fun for the family! Every 3rd Saturday night!

Sunday July 21, 2019

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 3pm Donation based. Music at the Casa. Ola Szelag. Casa Feliz Historic Home Museum, 656 N Park Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789. Members
of the public are invited to visit our historic home museum on a Sunday
afternoon from 12 to 3 pm, listen to live music and take a tour of our
historic home museum and the James Gamble Rogers II Studio by trained
docents. 

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.

Purple Rain

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In March of 2019 John Hurst celebrated his 50th birthday along with his twin sister Alecia at the Abbey (100 S Eola Drive, Suite 100, Orlando, Florida 32801). The party was actually a surprise orchestrated by John wife Chimene Pindar Hurst. As she said, “
I have done what any self-respecting wife of John would do, and hired
an amazing Prince impersonator (Sir Jac) with his full band, horn section, sexy
backup dancers, the whole shebang. We have seen him perform and it’s
really fun. I booked The Abbey (100 S Eola Dr #100, Orlando, FL 32801) for the night, a cool venue around the
corner from us where they will play and we can do it up all night! Full
bar, projector, stage, [and a] great sound system.”

When Pam and I arrived there was a thong around John and the venue was packed. I decided to slip through the crowd and find a seat on the sidelines with a view of the stage. I sketched the stage as the band set up. Once they began to perform I placed each performer into the scene in turn. One of the back up performers was a performer and model I had sketched at other events. She had a great voice but was limited in her dancing moves by a pair of very high platform shoes. The prince impersonator (Joey Colon) himself was full of energy. He performed non stop for the duration of the evening. He has been performing as Prince in The U.S.A. for over 10 years. There is an uncanny resemblance, with every body movement sound being like the Purple Legend.

Orlando seems to be a hub for impersonators perhaps because of the theme parks. Anyway the band was great and I tried to capture a fraction of the high energy performance. AS they performed Purple Rain, I covered the sketch in Purple washes. John found me hard at work and introduced me to his twin sister. Back in high school in Tenafly, New Jersey, I studied American History with John’s dad. As extra credit for that class I built a scale model of a dutch settlement home out of sandstone blocks that I cut using a tile saw. When John and I worked together at Disney we discovered that one degree of separation. The world is a small place.

John really is a Prince fanatic. John resisted social media for the longest time. After the party I began noticing that he posts some Prince related trivia every day on Twitter. He was on the dance floor throughout the night and when he was asked to get on stage. He held his own playing guitar and singing. John works for the animation industry as a storyboard artist but he might have missed his calling as a rock and roll star. The birthday cake was shaped as a purple frosted guitar. Drinks flowed and by the end of the evening Pam and I were dancing as well. It was a fun night and I got to see a side of John that I had never seen before.

First Thursdays at OMA

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Noga Grossman arranged for Orlando Urban Sketchers to have a table for First Thursdays at the Orlando Museum of Art (OMA). As part of  our presentation, I agreed to do a sketch on my iPad, which was connected to one of the large screen TVs above our table. With that arrangement people could see my sketch progress in real time. Getting the connections right was a challenge, so we arranged to get things ironed out the week before. My possible sketch opportunities were limited to my view from the table since I was tethered to the screen. Pam helped me with a new wireless connection that worked great, which might mean sketching from anywhere in a venue without worrying about wires. It is a brave new world.

The Orlando Urban Sketcher’s table was adorned with a roll of paper, allowing anyone the chance to add to a sketch that developed over the course of the event. It was a popular spot for artists to come and relax with a sketch. Each Orlando Urban Sketcher was asked to bring in a sketchbook. My sketchbook had sketches of the strip in Las Vegas from a recent trip. What is great about having Urban Sketchers exploring an event is that each artist has their unique way of seeing and interpreting  the scene.

The theme for this First Thursday event was Art and Architecture. This show is a discovery into how art informs the built environment.
Artists were encouraged to submit all types of media, from photography
to 3D models, to showcase the beauty found in the built world. First Thursday is an opportunity for patrons to discover local artists, listen to live music, and mingle with an eclectic mix of people. There are cash bars serving wine, beer, soft drinks, and water, and cafe offerings from area restaurants. 

A giant pink sculpture by Carlos Betancourt dominated the back gallery area, while The Smoking Jackets performed live near the Chihuly sculpture in the atrium. Trevor Fraser was telling me a story of a reporter asking Chihuly what the hardest lesson was that he had learned as an artist. The two were walking through the artist’s glass-making workshop and an apprentice was finishing up a gorgeous piece of glass. Chihuly took it from him and threw it violently against the wall. It shattered into thousands of pieces. “Nothing lasts,” he said.

The next First Thurday is June 6, 2019. The theme for the evening will be Indigenous Futurism, which will will focus on the indigenous and tribal origins of art. From Africa,
Australia, North, South and Central America, and beyond. They
will explore the influence and fusion of tribal art from the past and
into the future. Admission is $15.

Fiddler on the Phone

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For two weeks this past spring, D.C.-based performance artist Brian Feldman was back in Orlando to celebrate 15 years of his performance based art with a series of new and returning projects. Brian did a series of performances while he was in Orlando. Brian did a series of performances while he was in Orlando. At one of the performances called Knives Out, Brian asked me if I knew of any pay phones in Central Florida where he could stage his new pay phone musical. Sounds crazy right? Pay phones are a dying breed in this digital world, but after searching for days, Brian did find one, only a few block from where he used to live in Orlando outside of the Sunco Gas station at the corner of Edgewater and Fairbanks.

Brain explained that, in the spirit of Fiddler on the Roof,  he would begin his performance right at sunset.  I was working on the Ivanhoe Brewery mural at the time. Pam Schwartz and I ordered some food from a food truck and it slowly became clear that the people inside were new to the job. My dish came out but Pam’s was held up and people who had ordered before us were still waiting. She told me to drive up to the pay phone booth since the sun was quickly setting. Luckily Brain was a few minutes late as well which is actually rather a tradition when it comes to his perfomances.

The pay phone was at a 7-11 convenience store. Brian set up a music stand and several LED light strips inside the phone booth so he could see the script from Fiddler. His idea was to sing the entire show over the pay phone to people who had signed up in advance for a call. Pam had signed up for a call, but joined me as I went to the pay phone to sketch. This  is where the real theatrical magic happened, as noisy trucks and motorcycles buzzed by on the crowded roadway. This was the third time I sketched Brian at a gas station, and knowing him, I’m sure it will not be the last. Brian is infamously known for not having a car.

Several people didn’t pick up their phones, perhaps forgetting they had signed up and thinking the call might be a telemarketer. Brian then called Pam, even though she was 10 feet away. We both could hear the performance live and she heard it from her cell phone, perhaps creating a unique stereo effect. Brian’s performance was lighthearted and fun. He would read the parts for every character leading up to each musical number.

At the same time, the Broadway tour of Fiddler on the Roof was playing five miles away at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

Funny Launch Party

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We Bring the Funny hosted a Funny Launch Party at Theatre South Playhouse (The Marketplace at Dr. Phillips, 7601 Della Dr. Suite 15, Orlando, FL 32819). The event was a way to introduce people to their new company which brings comedy solutions to corporate meeting and events. The  idea is that they would apply the tenants of improvisation to the workplace by training staff and executives. As they put it, “Even Eric from purchasing can do it.” They also offer customized written materials like sketches, jokes, commercials, and top 10 lists.

Pam offered ideas for one one the improv sketches, having the comedians work with her home town of Maquoketa, Iowa. I was impressed. The comedian must have been in the hallway researching the small Iowa town, because little known facts about the region were brought up in the comedy sketch, though he couldn’t quite pronounce the name itself. The bottom line is that this was a fun and inspired evening of comedy.

The three players in We Bring the Funny were: Steve Purnick, writer, actor, improviser, and corporate entertainer; Mary Thompson Hunt, actress, improviser comedian, teacher, corporate facilitator trainer, and host; and Jake Lockwood, a freelance writer, director, educator, and actor.  With a combined 12,000 years of
experience in corporate entertainment, the team is, smart, clean,
professional, and (on most occasions), funny. They are dedicated to bringing laughter, fun, and
energy to live meetings and events. I can vouch for the fact that I laughed all night.

Infusion Tea

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I had an event on my calendar called Cafe Night Open Mic at Infusion Tea (1600 Edgewater Drive College Park, Florida.) I had been working on the Ivanhoe Park Brewery mural earlier in the day from noon to 2:30 pm, so I was sweaty and grimy from railroad dust. Regardless, I wanted to get a sketch done for the day, so I headed to Infusion with Pam to experience the Cafe Night Open Mic.

We ordered tea and sat, waiting for the event to unfold. There was no Cafe Night Open Mic. I kept sketching anyway. The ladies across from us had ordered a three tiered finger sandwich and tea platter. There was lots of lettuce on the top tier. It must have been a special occasion. They chatted and joked… when they were not lost in their phones. Behind them was the Arts Co-op with funky dishes, jewelry, and t-shirts. One blanket said, “Live by the sun, love by the moon.”