The John Wesley Dutton House is undergoing some major restoration.

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The plan was to drive up to Deland Florida to sketch an antique car show. After parking my car, I started walking downtown and stopped in front of this skeletal structure. Capitals and bases of the front porch columns were stripped away. The plaster columns themselves were hollowed out exposing the four by four posts that actually support the porch. The upper floor railings were replaced with two by fours and the inner wood structure was exposed on the second floor balconies. I couldn’t resist the temptation to sketch this once grand estate which was now in a desolate part of town.

In 1993 the DeLand City Commission voted to demolish the John Wesley
Dutton House, an architecturally significant site that local historic
buffs had been fighting to save for more than two years. The
demolition ball was poised to strike until Peter Warrick, a publishing executive from Fort Lauderdale became the new owner. He formed a nonprofit organization that would help to restore the large
house, which needs repairs. Complete restoration, which Warrick
estimated would take at least five years, will return the house to its
original charm and allow opening it to the public as a historic
showcase. Twenty two years later, the restorations are still not complete.

Built in 1910 for $25,000 by turpentine magnate John Wesley Dutton,
the stately two-story house at 332 W. New York Ave., was once ”the talk
of the town,” said Sidney Johnston, president of Historic DeLand, Inc., a group of local citizens who tried to purchase the house in 1992. Dutton
lived in the house with his wife and seven children until 1911. It
changed hands several times, including stints as a meeting hall, a
funeral parlor and a rooming house called the Colonial Arms Apartments.
It then went vacant for years. Warrick estimated that repair on the house will cost him from $150,000 to $225,000 or more. H would seem that the funds dried up before the restoration could be completed. The historic restoration fund now depends on grants from private donations. ECHO Funds of $234,800 in 2006 secured the outer envelope of the structure to reduce further interior damage. Once re-opened the historic structure will be used as a cultural center.

Paranormal investigators have wandered the buildings dark rooms to see if ghosts reside inside. Investigators found cold spots in certain rooms, heard banging noises and saw floating orbs. Is this conclusive evidence? That depends on what you believe. Dark storm clouds rolled in as I sketched and lightning flashed on the horizon. I rushed to complete the sketch before becoming a statistic. A group of African American girls walked by and one looked over me shoulder. “Did you do that here?” she asked. Sigh. “Yes.” She is an artist, so I encourage her to keep sketching. They made their way downtown full of energy. Perhaps someday I will return to sketch the building in all it’s former glory. The economy of the surrounding neighborhood however implies that the restoration might take a couple of more decades.

Kattya Graham performed in Blue Box #5.

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27 Blue Boxes are painted on sidewalks in Downtown Orlando. These boxes
are for panhandlers and buskers. Busking is possible only during day
light hours. Although set up for panhandlers, police often insist street
performers must use the blue boxes. If a police officer receives a complaint or witnesses a street
performer asking for money, that officer can “take the appropriate
action related to that issue, a warning is an option, but so is arrest.” said Sgt. Barb Jones of the Orlando Police Department. Performing outside the boxes can
result in 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. In 2002, former Orlando Mayor Glenda Hood killed a proposal to allow
street performers in downtown Orlando, saying that would be
“inconsistent” with the city’s ordinances that ban panhandling.

Kattya Graham volunteered to perform in Blue Box #5 on the Corner of Amelia Street and Orange Avenue. This corner is near the Court House parking garage. As I arrived on foot, I searched for the now familiar blue dotted lines that delineate a box about 5 by 15 feet. For the first time the were no blue lines. There were red lines and orange lines that surveyors put down as they plan where to dig for electric and plumbing pipes. I checked the City Hall issued Blue Box map and this it was the right spot. The blue lines must have been power spray washed away. There was a small blue plate above the street drainage. It said, “No dumping, all water drains into lakes.”  The spray washed blue paint must now be in Lake Eola.  The blue plate became our Blue Box.

Kattya arrived and unpacked her guitar and set up her music stand. At first she put her collection pan right on the blue plate and then she decided it made more sense to put it out behind her for pedestrians to see. As a joke she stood on her tip toes on top of the blue plate. There weren’t many pedestrians, at most three people walked by in the two hours we were on that street corner. There were however plenty of cars that had to stop at the stoplight as they waited to drive West across Orange Avenue. Kattya got to watch drivers reactions. Many drivers smiled through their closed car windows. Three women rolled down their windows to listen better while men did the opposite, by rolling up their windows. Perhaps they feared she would rush up to them and squeegee clean their windows and demand money. Only one pedestrian glanced over his shoulder at Kattya as he was waiting to cross over Orange Avenue. No one ever dropped an money in her tip pan. She has just recorded a new album of original songs and several covers at the Timucua White House. Benoit Glasier is now polishing the sound mix.

Kattya grew up in Mexico City which is the largest city in the world. She started busked in Mexico City when she was 18 years old. Crime was rampant, but she never had an incident as she performed. Here in Orlando for the past 15 years, she feels safe, but performing on a city street corner didn’t, seem appropriate. She performed beautiful Mexican ballads in Spanish. After one song, she said me, “I’m glad most people don’t understand the lyrics, the last song was about being a drunk.” I laughed. The music was soothing and lyrical, at times being drowned out by honking horns, or the sound of the Sun Rail train roaring by a block away. Her brightly embroidered blouse was the only bright note of color on the otherwise grey street corner. Had she performed on block south, closer to the entrance to the court house, there would have been a constant stream of lawyers and jurors who would pass her on their way to find lunch. There is no blue box one block south however.

The Tin Roof is a new live music venue on International Drive.

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Event Planners from around the country descended on the Orland Convention Center for an event planner’s conference. I was invited to sketch at a lunch time event of some of the countries top planners. The event was to take place at The Tin Roof (8371 International Dr, Orlando, FL). Stacey Paul Barbie was the event planner who asked me to help out. She asked me to join her for lunch at the Tin Roof in order to make plans. 

We were offered a sampler of the restaurant’s best appetizers. I was told that the chief had whipped together a new macaroni and cheese dish that had chicken and a crumble crust. I ordered that and it was amazing. I also sampled some raw tuna which was quite good as a lite bite. 

The Tin Roof has a down home country feel to it. Antique signs from the 1950s adorn the walls and the furniture feels like it was lifted straight out of a 1950s diner. I had to meet in with the venue’s tech guy and we set it up so that I could sketch on my tablet and the image would appear on every TV screen in the venue. On the day of the event, my logo flashed on the screens as an event sponsor. That was a proud moment.

After the meeting, I relaxed and sketched the venue. Being right next to the Orlando Eye Ferris wheel, there was a light crowd of tourists who would stop in for lunch. The venue probably gets much more crowded at night when live music acts hit the stage. I need to get on their mail in list so that I can return sketch some performances.

Golden Body Painting at Nude Nite.

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If you missed Nude Nite here in Orlando this Valentines Day, keep in mind that it will also be happening on March 3-5 in Tampa Florida. The sketch opportunities are clearly limitless. On my second night going to the venue, I decided to focus on Base Orlando body painters. I know Lori Babson Jessup, the body painter in the foreground from sketching dancers in town. Spiraling filigree were painted in Lori’s cleavage making it hard not to look there. Base Orlando is a group of Body painters who gather regularly and paint their models with a given theme. A recent Base Orlando event had a steampunk theme. It was clear the steampunk inspired Lori’s body painting on this Nude Nite. The model had golden chain mail on her shoulders and breasts and gears interconnected on her  legs.

Lori had an assistant to help with the work. Photographers would move in for their shots and the disperse like waves crashing against the shore. Some couples were concerned about the paint, perhaps because of the scene in Goldfinger in which a gorgeous woman died because she was painted head to toe in gold paint. Lori would reassure people that the paint water based theater paint that. completely non-toxic. Lori would at times stand on the platform with the model and other times she stood below on the floor. One time she was on the platform and so focused on her painting, that g almost tumbled off the platform. She laughed and then curtsied to the assembled crowd. “Thanks folks, I’ll be here all night.” As if the slip was all part of the act.

With my sketch done, to was tempted to try another, but I was exhausted. t had been teaching an Urban sketching Workshop all day with Kelly Medford at the Mennello Museum. We had 14 students and it was such a gorgeous day. Nudc Nite was the icing on the cake of a perfect day.

Nude Nite offers three evenings of sensual art and performance.

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Nude Nite swept in to Artegon, (5250 International Dr, Orlando, FL) on February 11th to 13th. Nude
Nite is a dazzling art and entertainment event celebrating the beauty
of the nude. The show brings together hundreds of artists for three
evenings of visual art, performance and a cast of characters both in
costume and out. Show was 21+.

I parked near the Cinemark Theater but when I walked inside, a guard was closing up the mall. H turns out that Nude Nite is on the opposite end of the mall, and I had to walk around on the outside to get there. One small sign on the mall lawn pointed towards “The Art Show”. There was a line near the Nude Nite entrance. I was surprised that the woman at the ticket table knew my name and ushered me in. I was given a NN hand stamp. Why was a hand stamp needed? Perhaps some couples might go out to their car for a quickly, and then return inside for more entertainment.

Art was everywhere. Chairs and umbrellas hung from the high industrial ceilings. Some paintings had been sold. Bernie Martin had a red dot on a nude watercolor selling for $350. A burlesque dancer was performing on the main stage, and the crowd was so dense that I abandoned any notion of sketching any performance on stage. Instead, I explored the outer edges of the venue.

I focused on this sensual dancer who vogued and gyrated all evening.  Her sensual swimsuit was painted on along with her ruffled collar. No pasties hid her nipples. She was popular as a photo opportunity with couples posing near the cage, pursing their lips like Zoolander. A sign advised patrons to respect the performer, and Do Not Touch! That sign was common throughout the venue. The dancer took a break just as I was starting to apply color to the sketch. There is no door to the cage, so she had to squeeze through the bars. That in itself was a sensual act of liberation. I patiently painted the background until she returned.

I was standing near a sculpture that resembled a male phallus with spikes sticking out of it. I kept getting asked if I was the sculptor. A photo of nude women posing and intertwining formed the image of a human skill. A gaping open mouthed facade lead patrons in to a hall of mirrors. Several artists asked about my tablet which seems a liability, because no one ever asked what type of sketchbook I was using.

Angel Jones in Blue Box Number 3.

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27 Blue Boxes are painted on sidewalks in Downtown Orlando. These
boxes are for panhandlers and buskers. Back when they were painted, they were referred to as beggars boxes. Panhandling is possible only during
day light hours. Although set up for panhandlers, police often insist
street performers must use the blue boxes. If you loiter on the sidewalk, you are suspect. Performing outside the boxes
can result in 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. I have started a series of 27 sketches in which performers utilize
these Blue Boxes. These Boxes represent the only places downtown where
theoretically there is complete freedom of expression.

Angel Jones is a Fashion designer, stylist, model, writer, and artist from Melbourne Florida. Angel has spearheaded a Facebook group called, “Artists Unite! A group formed to protect all artists and our freedom” This page unites artists from around the state as cities like Winter Park and Saint Augustine create unconstitutional laws limiting freedom of expression. Orlando doesn’t have an ordinance specifically banning artistic freedom of expression, but the police do not see the difference between creative expression and panhandling. 

Finding these blue boxes is a bit of a treasury hunt. I arrived at the intersection of Amelia and Hughey and found a complex jumble of spray painted marks. Surveyors are marking up the sidewalks probably to keep track of electrical and plumbing lines. A block a way the “Creative Village” is now a desert of sand and dirt. Sidewalks and pavement are all being ripped up for whatever is to come. There are several Blue Boxes in this construction zone which may no longer exist. 

Angel was a bright splash of color on an otherwise drab and grey downtown street corner. She created handmade Victorian cupcake dress herself with countless hours spent sewing the brightly patterned fabrics. Her wig was bright pink an her necklace had every color of the rainbow. Angel’s Insanity and Bazaar Bazaar the clothing line, features her unique handmade creations. She chatted about her army brat upbringing and leaving home at the age of 15. Although considered the black sheep by her family, she clearly made the right choice to pursue an art inspired life. At protests she is the most exuberant champion for artistic freedom of expression.. She is a dynamic force who you definitely want on your side.

Students from Orlando Tech were the most common pedestrians. They would often stop to chat with Angel to find out what we were up to. A father and daughter on bike stopped to watch me sketch for bit. She is an artist and wanted to know how I sketch so fast. My advice was to loosen up and accept the imperfections. A sketch by definition is incomplete. A bright pink Lynx bus rushed by accentuating the pinks in Angel’s hair and dress for a moment. 

I never saw a police patrol car.  The police station is several blocks to the south of this Blue Box. Angel didn’t have an open case, or tip jar and if she did, I doubt any bills would have been dropped in. Once again the blue box was far removed from businesses where executives in suits might wander out during their lunch hour. They were safe from the threat of art. If you know someone who might want to join the Blue Box Initiative, send them to the group page which is where these sketch sessions are scheduled once a week.

Orlando Story Club – Resolution!

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The Downtown Arts District and The Abbey (100 S Eola Dr, Orlando, Florida) presented the first Orlando Story Club event of 2016: Resolution! Admission was $5 at the door.  Producer/Director Robin Cowie, produces the unique and fun series, in which anyone who wishes
to tell a personal story is invited to put their name in a hat, and
selected individuals are chosen at random to showcase their story
telling for the enrichment of the Orlando community.  Judges award
prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners.  A guest story teller
headlines every show, which has its own theme, and food, drinks and
laughter are available in abundance.  The January Orlando Story Club theme was
“Resolution,” and the benefiting charity was the Boys and Girls Clubs of
Central Florida, which provide safe places to learn and grow for nearly
14,000 at-risk children in the local community every year.

The word resolution has two great meanings for stories:
1. a firm decision to do or not to do something.
2. the action of solving a problem, dispute, or contentious matter

Cowie formed Orlando Story Club and held the first event in March of 2014 after returning to Orlando from Los Angeles where he participated in a similar story telling group.  “It’s important to talk about the value of sharing your story,” says Cowie, alumni of the University of Central Florida.  “There is a reason why in a hectic, intense, media bombarded world the simple act of standing up and sharing your story is so enjoyable.  Anyone can put their name in a hat to tell a story.  This process is almost therapeutic for both the audience and the tellers.”  He continues, “I believe storytelling has more power to unite and build community than any other activity.  By sharing our raw life experiences with complete strangers we build incredibly strong bonds.  Besides, it’s always a truly hilarious and entertaining experience, and the proceeds benefit great local causes.”

 Banks Helfrich and Tisse Mallon from Living room Theater gave brief performances between storytellers based on audience prompts which were in a pink plastic storage container.  Robin acted as the MC, picking names from a hat and introducing the storytellers. My vote for the funniest Resolution story was told is Mike Calvo. He had a seeing eye dog who sat next to me to watch his masters story. Mike was assisted on the stage and stepped up to the microphone. He told a story a bout go, drinking with several buddies who ended up having to many drinks. There were smart enough to realize that they shouldn’t drive in their condition. Mike however was sober. The only problem was that Mike didn’t have a drivers license and he is blind. Where there is a will there is away, and his friends resolved to teach Mike how to drive. He got behind the wheel and slowly did loops around the parking lot with his friends shouting guidance. A policeman noticed the uncertain driving and he flashed his lights. He asked for Mikes license and registration which wasn’t available. Then he asked Mike to step out of the vehicle. Mike did so and unfurled his fold up tapping cane which snapped to attention. “You have got to be kidding me.” the officer responded. He called for back up just to share the experience because no one would believe him back at the station.

Mark tour Calendar! The next Orlando Story Club is March 2. Doors open at 6pm for food and drink. Show, laughter, and awe starts at 7pm. The March theme is “Body“. Like it or lump it we are all born with our bodies. It seems much of our life is spent just taking care of them. Join us as the Orlando Story Club explores our topsy turvey relationship with them. Every part will be explored! Anyone who wants to tell a story can put their name in the hat. Bring friends!

The Mardi Gras Soiree at Dexter’s of Winter Park.

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I got to Dexter’s of Winter Park (558 W New England Ave, Winter Park, Florida) fairly early to get a table with a decent view of the band. I explained that I needed to sketch and the Maitra d’ set me up front and center.  Fat Tuesday was being celebrated in grand style with a fantastic celebration of life and music. The Brown Bag Brass Band was already playing New Orleans standards loud and proud. I had received a text from Frankie Messina earlier in the day about the Mardi Gras Soiree. A friend from my past who I worked with over 30 years ago at Zip Mailing, is snow birding in Winter Park for several months. I told her about the Soiree and she had to weight her options between a Condo Association meeting or Mardi Gras. She arrived as I was finishing up my first sketch.

One of the patrons at the table next to me had a decibel reading app on his smart phone. He pointed it out to me and the needle kept spiking to over 103 decibels. The woman with him liked my sketch and I typed my site URL onto her smart phone. She said she could set me up with new clients. I really should always carry business cards A woman seated next to my friend shouted in her ear. The two of them were the first to get up to dance as I kept sketching.

The second act was Louisianna’s own Beth McKee and the Local Brass Band Heroes.  Fat Tire Beer was offering specials all night, so that is what I drank to loosen up the line work. Beth’s band got everyone in Dexter’s on their feet. With my second sketch done, I had to get up and dance as well to “When the Saints Go Marching In“. Beth asked the Brown Bag Brass Band to join in and we were all dancing only inches from the musicians. Frankie got on the dance floor and gave me a high five.

When all the festivities died down, my friend and I got a chance to talk at length. Catching up on 30 plus years of history takes time. I had no idea that she had become an artist since the last time I saw her, and I scrolled through her art on my cell phone. She creates intricate worlds with flowing volumetric forms. Some feel like intimate looks inside of living organisms. Colors were vibrant and though abstract, the work seemed familiar and alive. Round canvases give some of the paintings a calming appeal. At Zip Mail in Tenafly NJ, we were trained to become machines who collated, tied and moved a constant stream of junk mail. From that industrial crucible it is amazing that art managed to take root and thrive.

Do Good Date Night at Quantum Leap Winery

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Happy Valentines Day. 

Kristen Walmsley-Manieri, founder of Orlando Date Night Guide, has organized a wonderful series of “Do Good Date Nights“.  This sold out evening, right before Valentines Day had couples putting together sanitation. kits for Clean the World. The event was held at Quantum Leap Winery (1312 Wilfred Drive Orland FL).  A core value of Quantum Leap’s business
plan is to find an environmentally friendly solution for transporting
wine to markets and ultimately the consumer. They have reinvented the wine-to-market delivery process. They search for good quality, sustainable grown wine, wherever they are around the world but transport it in large vessels to the Orlando winery.
It is in this facility where wine is stored, finished, blended and
packaged. This process substantially reduces the
carbon footprint associated with traditional wine production.

Clean the World gathers soap, shampoo and other disguarded items from thousands of hotels world wide and recycles them to create clean hygiene kits for third world countries. Most hotel guests stay for just one night and all those bars of soap used to go to landfills. Now that soap saves lives. They recycle soap and create hope. Nearly one in 5 child deaths in third world countries is due to diarrhea, about 1.5 million lives lost every year. Diarrheal diseases also contribute to malnutrition, stunted growth, burden in healthcare costs and time lost at school or work. Research studies have demonstrated that the risk of diarrhea can be reduced 44-47% through hand washing interventions. Promotion of hand washing with soap has been shown to reduce the risk of acute respiratory infection in children below the age of 5 by half. Handwashing promotion campaigns are increasingly being implemented as part of an effort to improve child survival.

The couples gathered at long tables topped with hygiene products. The person standing at the wine barrels started the production line by grabbing a plastic bag and putting a bar of soap in. The bag was then passed down the line where other items were put in the bags. The stakes were heightened when it was announced that this was a race, with prizes. Laughter and competitive joking ensued as everyone raced to do good. The first full box of packaged goods brought a cheer from the leading team. Other teams rushed to catch up, while the foreground team seemed more concerned with pristine and neat kits. Full boxes were stacked on a skit beside me and before you knew it, that skit was full.

After the Clean the World packaging was complete, everyone was given a tour of the winery. I listened in as I continued to splash watercolors on the page. Several couples admired my sketch. One woman thought she was pictured in the sketch, although it wasn’t her, I placed black striped on her shirt in the sketch to match what she was wearing as she spoke to me. That delighted her and she called her husband over. One of the Clean the World marketing people came over and he said to me, “How does it feel to make people happy everyday.” I don’t actually think many people notice what I do daily, but his comment certainly warmed my heart.

After the tour, couples went in the front of the winery where tables were set up to create a perfect blend of wine. The winery’s best wine is named after a co-owners rescue dog named Kaley. This perfect blend of wines was developed over many months. The couples were given samples of the wines that were used to create this magical blend. The table that came closest to matching the blends taste would get a prize. There was another prize for the table that created their own delicious and unique blend. One person had to be the mixer and measurer and the most important member of the team had to be good at math to calculate the percentages used. Crackers and cheese were also on each table to cleans the palette. The excitement in the room bubbled up even as the rules were explained. The expert wine tasters would remix the blends based on the percentages couples gave them. The race was on to discover the perfect blend of tastes. Taste and smell are my weaker senses. On top of that I’m not exactly a math wiz. I left as the room buzzed with excitement. I know I’ll be back however to get a bottle of that magic blend.

Fairvilla Megastore presented 5 Senses of Sexy: A Valentine’s Party.

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I followed the 104.1 talk radio station truck into the parking lot of Fairvilla Megastore (1740 North Orange Blossom Trail, Orlando, Florida). Two lovely ladies at the entrance gave me a pink wrist band, two drink tickets, and a card that listed all the vendors I should visit during the course of the night. I’ve never been inside the adult store before, so I was a bit nervous and excited. I explored the store before deciding what to sketch. There were two floors of every imaginable sex toy, lotion, lingerie and leather. Several employees knew about AADW and soon I was being given a  tour.

The senses included:

Taste: Complimentary cocktails, sweets and treats.

Touch: Pug Kissing Booth, Presented by Pug Rescue of Florida.

Sight: A performance by Big Bang Boom! Cabaret
Hear, and The Poetry Vending Machine

Smell: Pheremone perfumes and massage candles.

Nikki Meir showed me a vibrator from the Rabbit Company. The company had black T-Shirts with what looked like a pink human nose on it. It turned out the nose was actually the company logo which features Rabbit ears. The vibrator I was shown was small, fitting neatly in the palm of my hand. It comes apart and resembles a thumb drive for a computer. This small USB plug is how the device is quickly recharged. It was purple and had the shape of a goats hoof, or as I later realized, small rabbit ears. Those vibrating ears could be slipped like two fingers around any sensitive spots. I immediately saw its appeal.

Upstairs there was a bed set up with restraints. Couples could try out the restraint system to see if it suited their needs. There was a game called “Pin the cock on the jock” which featured a bold bulls eye right where you would expect it. I decided to sketch the more refined and subtle Poetry Vending Machine. The vending machine is featured at the International Fringe Festival each year. Tod Caviness explained that the poems written at Fringe get most interesting late at night when patrons have been drinking too many beers at the beer tent. They give the poets several words to act as inspiration and late at night all those words become deprived and filthy. That is why the Poetry Vending Machine fit right in at Fairvilla. Some of Orlando’s best poets came out for the event. Actually, perhaps all of Orlando’s male poets came out for the night. A Haiku was just $2 and a custom poem was $5. At the end of the evening, Todd, who is now a dad, walked away with multiple red whips and eye masks. They were some mighty fine spoils for an evening of writing poetry.