Lake Eola Farmers Market

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The Lake Eola Farmers Market is open every Sunday from 10 Am to 4PM. There were perhaps 30 or so tents set up with fresh produce and and assortment of holistic goods. One vendor had chilled coconuts which he would slice open and then insert a straw. After walking up and down the line of tents I decided my best bet for a sketch was to sit in this circular area which is shaded by large magnificent live oaks. In front of me was a whole table of women who seemed to get together every weekend. “I think I always tell you this but I love your hand bag.” There were toy sized dogs to be found everywhere. Orlando Brewing Company had a tent and many people were sipping beer as they relaxed.

I was inspired by the massive diagonals the tree trunks created as they sliced up toward then sky. Out of the bark sprouted ferns. Lazy Spanish Moss hung down from the thick branches. On the horizon dark clouds rolled in and thunder could be heard. However where we were it remained sunny. A guitar player in front of me was playing “Let the sun shine in” along with other Beetles songs. Children were seated in small green chairs watching him. Someone mentioned that he plays every weekend. Behind me I could hear a parrot’s shrill scream.

When I was done with the sketch, I walked around the lake scouting out restaurants and cafes for the up coming 23rd International Sketch Crawl. I am mapping a route so artists can join the crawl at any point during the day.

Letters to God

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I got a tip that a feature length film is being shot in Winter Garden. I drove through the downtown district and didn’t notice anything. I figured I had missed the action. I parked and walked around and decided to head down a side street figuring I would get more shade. Within a block I ran into this Methodist church. It is here that the film crew was set up. There were spot lights for each of the stained glass windows and a large camera lift parked out back.
The film is called “Letters to God”and is directed by David Nixon. It is the story of a little boy who gets cancer and from his bed he writes letters each night asking god to help other sick people he has met. The mailman who collects the letters doesn’t have the heart to throw them out so he researches and finds the people mentioned in the letters and delivers the letters to them. In the end the boy dies, but his letters inspire all who read them. The film is based on a true story, and was written by Patrick Dowdey who’s son had cancer. Filming is also being done at Arnold Palmer Hospital.
While working on this sketch, the parking lot gradually filled up. It seems filming is being done at night perhaps because it is easier to control the lighting on the stained glass windows. I wish I had the time to stay and do a second sketch inside but I had to get to the night shift at work. One fellow drove in front of me rolled down his window and asked if I was that religious calender artist. I explained that I wasn’t and asked what the calender artists name is. He didn’t know.

The End of Analog

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We interrupt today’s blog post to bring an important announcement: Analog TV is ending TODAY. At 3 AM in the morning I sat with Brian Feldman waiting for the end of Analog TV as we know it. There are an estimated 20 million TVs that use rabbit ears to pick up analog TV via the airwaves. Brian joked that the best place to watch this conversion to digital would be in the retirement villages of South Florida. I can imagine the panic caused as hundreds of TVs flicker to static, people are screaming in the streets and TVs being thrown out windows. The Digital conversion is not happening all at once but each station is switching over sometime today. You have been warned. Every station seemed to have a banner scrolling warning viewers about the conversion.
Brian sat eating some tomato soup straight out of the can and texting or tweeting on his iPhone. A police car drove by and a block later turned around to pass by a second time. He stopped rolled down the window and stared. I tensed up waiting for what might happen next. He just watched the TVs for a few minutes and then rolled up beside me to see what I was up to and then drove off without saying a word.
If you wish to watch in horror as TV signals are lost go to Frames Forever and Art Gallery 941 Orange Avenue in Winter Park 407 622-6358. The installation remains in place till midnight tonight.

Live and Let Live

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The next day I went to Black Chapel Tattoo to see if I could sketch inside. Quite honestly it is difficult to find as it sits on top of a sandwich shop and the only access is by an unmarked wooden staircase. I went in the early afternoon but business was slow and the receptionist suggested I come back at night. I returned later that night and walked in. I introduced myself and both the artist, Ric DaSilva, and the patron didn’t mind me sitting down and sketching.
This young girl remained calm and motionless for the duration of the work. She tended to stare apathetically at a point in space. I was told by Ric that he would be finished within the hour so I started putting lines down fast. The girls boyfriend was seated just off the page to the right. I guess he was there for moral support. Once and a while he and the girl would talk and laugh. When the tattoo was finished Ric wiped it down and showed it to the girl for the first time. It read: “Live and Let Live” in a decorative banner. She loved it. Then came the bandaging and an explanation of how to take care of it for the next few days. I kept applying watercolor washes to the sketch after the girl and her boyfriend left.
I asked Fish, one of the artists why they did not have the Hearse parked up front of the new shop and I was told that the city of Orlando wanted to charge them extra taxes in order to park the car up front. The city claimed the car was a billboard and thus must be taxed accordingly. Fish said he usually doesn’t mind greasing some palms in order to do business, but these taxes were just to steep. So for now the Hearse sits guard in front of a deserted building in Winter Park.

The Hearse

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Anytime I drive down Fairbanks this Funeral Hearse covered with graffiti always catches my eye. I finally decided to stop and do a sketch. The Hearse acts as a sort of billboard for Black Chapel Tattoo in Winter Park.
It was painted by Ken Deft from Pittsburg in about 4 hours. I found out that Black Chapel had moved however to downtown Orlando. The owner of Black Chapel Tattoo, Eli Tobias, accused Winter Park officials of running him out of town. After harassment for nearly a year from Winter Park Police, Tobias decided to move the shop to downtown Orlando.
As I sat doing this sketch a few people wandered by on the sidewalk that I was sitting on. Everyone seemed a bit down and out yet they seemed to appreciate what I was doing. One couple asked “Hey, are you a tattoo artist?” I shouted, “No”over the roar of traffic. A rather disheveled man in a red shirt and a beard who looked homeless, placed his hand on my shoulder, then subtly patted several times and smiled down at me. Without saying a word, he quietly walked away.

Gateway to Hell

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I have been to hell and it is a theme park. I had the brilliant plan to spend an day at Disney For Gay Days on Saturday to do some sketching. Terry wanted to come along because she said she could go shopping. When we got to the entrance to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. We found out after a cell phone call that we would have to wait an extra hour to get into the park. Terry got annoyed and I took it as an opportunity to sketch.
The line at the guest relations window was always long. Children cried and parents yelled at the kids and each other. “Why are you giving the kids grapes? I told you they were thirsty and all you keep carrying on about is those damn grapes!” “It always has to be about you doesn’t it?” The few that got past guest relations then had to face the turnstiles. Above them storm troopers repeated the same tinny recorded dialogue over and over. The troopers made fun of the parents calling them the children’s servants and questioning their taste in clothes. They brandished their plastic weapons and threatened to shoot if people didn’t move along.
Terry went to Epcot and I followed after I finished this sketch. We were to meet at France. As soon as I got to France it began to pour. I took shelter under the awning to a perfume shop. I sat on my stool and watched an amazing lightning display for the next half hour. I only saw one female couple holding hands and wearing red tee shirts. That was the only hint that it might be gay days at Disney. All the people I saw were anything but gay, they were annoyed, short tempered and wet. That mood quickly soaked into me as well. When Terry met me we decided to get out. As we quickly walked back toward the parking lot, a woman asked me “Would you mind taking our picture?” I shouted out “Yes!” and stormed off. The woman was perplexed.

Orlando Police Department Mounted Unit

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Karen Cali is a volunteer for the OPD mounted unit. Volunteers have to pass a horse riding test, a lie detector test, and a background check before being allowed to train the horses. She allowed me to sketch her as she got ready to take Peanut out for a training ride. Security at the barn is tight. Peanut came to Orlando from the police horse breeding program at Angola Prison Farm in Louisiana. Peanut has a brand that reads L267. The police horses are huge. When KC rode out to the dressage area, she showed me an obstacle course which is used to get the horses used to objects in the urban environment. She rode Peanut around newspaper boxes, tires, garbage cans, over mattresses, a narrow foot bridge, and near a 4 foot alligator from a parade float. KC rode him up and over a seesaw, then just like a football lineman Peanut pushed a huge sled forward with his powerful chest. The horses also receive training in tolerating fireworks and gunfire at close proximity.
I sat on a park bench beside the riding area and watched as Karen effortlessly cantered Peanut around the dirt field. I took the time to apply more washes to this sketch and I was surprised when all the horses who had been eating grass became curious and wandered over to look at what I was doing. A small crowd of horses surrounded me. Karen said this was very odd since the horses typically ignore people when working and might be slightly more curious when loose, but they were very interested in me. Even Denise an old time veteran and the units groom in the barn was surprised. He claimed I might be something of a horse whisperer. I think the horses just like to see equestrian art.
KC said that the city of Orlando may be considering selling off the plot of land next to the Citrus Bowl that the Mounted Unit barn is located on. Several plans have been put forth before with no results. With tightening city budgets the entire future of the mounted unit may be at stake.

Meg Kat Studio

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Over the weekend I went to sketch the studio of Megan Lee Katauskas. Megan left a comment on my blog stating that she had grown up with many of the landmarks I have been sketching around town and that seeing the sketches has bought back fond memories. I found out she has a fantastic blog called “Imperrfections” which chronicles life here in Orlando. She paints bold images of Hollywood stars that I really like, so I asked if she wouldn’t mind if I sat in and sketch while she worked on one of those paintings. She was working on a commissioned portrait the day I stopped by. Rather than use an easel, she simply sits cross legged on the floor on some puzzle piece foam mats. Megan is in constant motion while she works. She wrestles the canvas turning it constantly. Megan often posts vlogs on her blog and she was shooting video and photos of me as I sketched her. You can see the video camera on a large box by the window. The camera is right at the vanishing point in the drawing.
Two weeks ago Megan and her husband, Mathew, had their identities stolen and every last cent was withdrawn from their bank account with Wachovia. Right now Wachovia or Walk-all-over-you, has been saying there is nothing the bank can do to help the couple. They were left with a balance of negative $170 and this morning Mathew had to sell his Wii video game console to help pay the rent. I dropped my computer off at Mathew’s Radio Shack on Orange Avenue south of downtown and the tech, Don, has been really helpful. Megan has prints of her Hollywood stars for as little as $25. Quite a good buy.

Tess Adamski

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I met Tess at a writers workshop being held at the Keouac house. Tess designed the tattoo on her back herself and I found out that her tattoo artist in Toronto was named Thor, which happens to be my nickname. The tattoo consists of the last paragraph from Jack’s novel, “On the Road.” On the wall were photos of Jack writing in this very room. The center photo was the photo she used as reference for her tattoo. The red and green color scheme was far to perfect, there had to be a greater force at work here. There was something surreal about the whole experience. Tess refereed to it as Kerouacendipity.
“Like most people I read On The Road at age 17…and Jack answered and validated a lot of internal questions and thoughts that had me in a teenage turmoil. Growing up in an idyllic childhood in a small town…I always wanted out, feeling I should be somewhere else-so unlike my friends and family and wondering what is wrong with me? Why do I feel so unhappy? Jack let me know I wasn’t crazy and it was alright to see myself on the road out of my hometown. That was the pivotal point in my life.
Then it was a sweet progression into his works and life. With a background in classic literature, I spent my time with London, Fitzgerald etc…then comes Kerouac…whose writing touched me so deeply on a personal level from the honest passion that he created with the same 26 letters offered to everyone. Yet he created such a unique voice…I developed a real familiarity that was very comforting…like finding the perfect lover without all the mortal complications.
The more I delved into his personal life, I found myself becoming very protective of TiJean, sympathizing with the bombardment of misunderstanding that plagued his life and legacy of work. And so now, I am at a point in my life where I can devote my time to constant study of
Kerouac…working on a book to promote a further understanding of his writing genius. His voice is still an important voice to be heard and like hearing a great piece of music…reading Kerouac
once, is not enough. I’ve always thought that Kerouac could give sight to a blind man…the true historian of mankind…no one has documented the minuteness of sights, sounds and feeling of man like Jack… and he makes everyone of those details so poetic and soulfully important that it makes you glad you’re alive and a part of it.
Jack once said…Life is my art. And now I ink myself with his art-his words…. an eternal
canvas of the purest poetry of life….and it’s kinda nice to know that Jack always has my back.”
-Tess Adamski