Key West: The Strand

Posted on by Thor

My friend wanted to entertain her niece so we took a trip down to Key West. Ironically I spent much of the time teaching virtual classes from the Air B&B we rented while they explored the island. I have been to key West before so I know many of the typical sites. I did get out in the evenings and they wanted to hit up a posh restaurant on Duval Street which thankfully had outdoor seating.

The main drag of shops were constantly crowded. It was like navigating busy Manhattan sidewalks. My friend and her niece have both had COVID and they are over it. They dropped all basic mitigations. At first I tried regulating my breathing but then I put on my N-95 mask and forgot about it. I might be the only person on the island in a mask, but that is fine with me.

The Strand Theater is gorgeous, but unfortunately it has been turned into a Walgreens. Entertainment venues might come and go, but people always need drugs.

Next to the Strand is a bar with tons of dollar bills hanging from the ceiling. Stickers covered every other surface. I didn’t try and sketch all that detail.

We ate at La Tratoria, a posh Italian Restaurant. They have flavored martinis, zuppa, antipasti, insalate, and of course lotsa pasta.

After diner, we walked to the west site of the island to watch the sunset with the rest of the crowd. Once the sun set, a bell was rung.

Memorial Day

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On Memorial Day a friend and I got away to the beach. I kind of miss beach days. Granted I spend most of the time under an umbrella with my legs covered with a towel. I am like a vampire, if the sun hit my skin it instantly burns. My friend can lay in the sun all day and not be effected in the least.

The couple to the left clearly did not wear sun screen. After several hours the guy was as red as a lobster. He was clearly a tourist and had no idea how strong the Florida sun is.

Being in the middle of the state of Florida, a drive to the beach is an hour in either direction. That drive is often enough of a hindrance to keep me from taking the trip.

The sound of the waves breaking on the shore is relaxing, but I never manage to relax. I always feel the need to sketch.

I am just noticing now that the book in this sketch looks like it is floating. I should have found a way to sketch in the far hand holding the book.

Eye Surgery

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I have been seeing double and no it is not because I had too much to drink. It has gotten to the point where I hesitate to drive at night because there are far too many lines on the road.

Going to a regular eye doctor, I was diagnosed with macular degeneration. What that means is that the retina inside my eyeball is swollen and therefor my vision is distorted in that eye. since one eye is unaffected, by binocular vision causes me to see two of everything. This is not an idea situation for a visual artist.

A friend drove me to The Orlando Ophthalmology  Surgery Center. It was scheduled for 6:30am but was thankfully rescheduled for 8am. The receptionist asked which eye need surgery, I said my left eye and pointed at it. He responded with Right Eye, and we had to correct him. There was the usual agonizing wait in the waiting room. I had sketched this waiting room before since I took another fried in for an eye surgery years ago. I felt less inclined to sketch but once I put a few lines on the page I was called in.

There is no HEPA air filtration system in the waiting room or in the pre-op gurney waiting area as far as I could see. I was intubated. pointing my toes in pain when the needle was shoved into a vein in my hand. An anesthesiologist and nurse who would control the drip both asked me a series of questions. I was asked multiple times which eye needed surgery and they pasted a sticky note above that eye. My surgeon came in and asked me again and he signed off on the sticky note. A clear eye shield was placed over my other eye.I wonder how many incorrect eyes they jabbed before they developed this stream of checks and balances.

As I lay on the gurney the lights blacked out and then flickered back on. A nurse joked that they really should pay the power bill In another passing conversation a nurse said she would marry for money rather than love. None of the nurses wore masks though the anesthesiologist wore hers as a chin strap. I had to take off my quality N-95 mask and wear the baggy yellow surgical mask they offered. I know it is worthless against an airborne virus and it is amazing that doctors and nurses do not. I had a brand new n-95 mask in my bag, but I could not use that either. I breathed as shallow as possible especially since one nurse was coughing up a lung. I felt like I was in a horrific third world emergency room. Doctors and nurses who are not required to wear masks refuse to wear them because the do not care about the health of their patients. They are actively promoting and encouraging infection. In the surgery room, everyone wore their surgial masks which offered me some form of relief.

I was awake but groggy for the surgery. My doctor told me most patients don’t remember a thing. I however remember seeing everything as it happened. A blue bag was taped over my head. I saw a purple pitchfork shoved inside inside my eyeball from the left and it stabbed a sheet of film which waved in the fluid like a flag. After the surgery a patch was taped over the eye. when I tilt my head a black fluid line separates the red on top which is light shining though my eyelid, and grey below which I was told is a large air pocket in the eye. tilting my head makes that air pocked move up and down. Shaking my head makes it slosh around like an ocean wave. Watching that air pocket sloshing around tends to make me sea sick. I did some painting the first day after surgery but got sick to my stomach and had to lie on the couch for the rest of the day.

This is day two and I can type, but I need to keep the wonky eye closed so it doesn’t distract me too much.

 

Longwood Ranch Farmers Market

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A friend and I went to a crowed Longqwood Ranch Farmers Market in near Bradenton, Florida. I stayed masked the whole time but my friend went mask less like most in the crowd. I tend to leave my mask off outside but in a crowded situation like this it stays on.

My friend found a tent that had all sorts of pickled items and multiple jars were purchased to add to the baby brain shelf of the refrigerator.

I do recall that it was a gorgeous spring day. We also went to the Rollins Art Museum and saw some huge Peter Paul Rubens paintings.

For diner the plan was to go to The Mullets Fish Camp. The line to get in was insanely long. There was an outdoor patio but that filled up, so we left and found another restaurant with outdoor seating across form Morton’s Gourmet Market. The market was small but good. The food at Libbie’s neighborhood Brassiere wasn’t memorable and the service sucked.

Maitland Art Center Demo 2

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The point of this lesson at the Maitland Art Center was that the center of interest doesn’t need to be in the center. I was also pointing out that the beams up above all relate to a common vanishing point and the horizontal bean is not horizontal in the sketch.

I knew this would be a rushed sketch since we were already an hour into the lesson. Most of my sketches take about two hours to complete and I am happy if there is even more time to refine the sketch.

This was a fun morning of sketching with warm sunshine and cool weather.

The Mayan courtyard at the Maitland Art Center is a great location for taking the time to observe intricate detail and balancing that against wide open spaces.

I enjoy these one on one sessions with students. Contact me if you ever want to join me on sketch outings to learn something new.

Baldwin Park Dog Park

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For the last class with my Crealde Urban Sketching students I often take them to Baldwin Park Dog Park. At Crealde I do an in depth lesson on how to draw dogs doing lots of sketched on the chalk board.

Once My students are warmed up and have enough dog sketches under their belts, we head over to Baldwin Park which is a short drive away.

Once in the dog park I do a quick demo showing that the dogs are not the biggest focus of the sketch. Instead the focus it the large trees and the far shore of the lake. People and dogs are scattered throughout but they are tiny compared to the expanse around them. On this day there was an orange utility fence blocking dogs access to the lake.

I work on the demo I sketch I started but walk around and share each stage of the sketch and offer each student thumbnails to show how I might tackle the scene they are sketching. By this class I know what level of finish each student will bring to their work I encourage them on their journey.

Hard to Port

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Hard to Port performed at a Cemetery Tour fundraiser. Large event tents were set up in the cemetery with circular tables for all the paying patrons. I do think I was the only soul in the cemetery that was wearing a mask. I did wear a mask while doing this sketch because people kept walking up to me to ask, “Did you do that right now?” I arranged to sit at the open end of one of the tents so there was at least air circulation.

This event involved a strange adjustment to pandemic risk assessment. The person I was with already had been infected with COVID and after multiple vaccines had relaxed their stance on basic precautions.

My precautions today consist of always masking indoors and removing the mask when outside. If there is a crowd outside or I am withing 22 feet of others, the mask goes back on outside.

This fundraiser was outside but the tents were an enclosed space. I remained masked most of the time but removed the mask long enough to wolf down the food and then exit the space. I hoped the open flaps nearby offered enough circulation. I dodged the bullet but didn’t feel great about removing the mask in the crowded tent area. My stupidity makes me want to double down in the future.

After diner, actors in turn of the century outfits took groups of guests on a tours around the cemetery. Each guest had a flashlight. We stopped at a tombstone and the actor spoke about the life of the person buried there. In our group one lady was too drunk to pay attention. At one headstone two actors performed, one as the husband and one as the wife buried side by side. It was an interesting way to lean about local history.

This sketch was done on the day Joe Biden lifted the COVID National Emergency declaration. The government will save money by not having to supply tests for COVID and offering vaccines for free.  A governments job isn’t to protect it’s citizens but to keep the economy ticking. It is a win win for Joe who tests anyone who gets close to him to be sure they do not have COVID. I know the declaration is meaningless. The pandemic is far from over.

Right now hospitalizations are down. COVID deaths are down to less then 600 people a week. That number at the start of the pandemic would have been horrifying, but now it is business as usual. About that many people die every week in auto accidents. I still drive, but I take basic precautions like wearing a seat belt. Others seem intent to drive into walls just to prove they can. If they get sick multiple times they want you to get sick as well.

Urban Sketching Classes Canceled

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In the Crealde School of Art Summer Urban Sketching classes we cover composition, perspective, drawing the figure, and watercolor. We start with a lesson plan where I discuss the day’s topic and do sketches on a chalk board. I tend to explain better with line rather than words.

Then students spend much of the class sketching. I sketch along with them and share each step of my process so they get a feel for how long each step takes.

I also do pencil thumbnail sketches for each student explaining what could be adjusted inn the sketch they are doing to help improve it.

At the end of class we all put down the favorite sketch and then they get to learn from each other, discussing what works best.

Unfortunately not enough students signed up, so the next series of classes were canceled.

Orlando Urban Sketchers: Arome Art Cafe

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Orlando Urban Sketchers hosted a drink and draw at Achillies Art Cafe, 2869 Wilshire Dr, Unit 103, Orlando, FL. It is tucked away in a typical little strip mall. Outside it just says Coffee Shop, but inside it is quite charming.

I took a look at the Cafe website and it looked quaint and hip. It is also just a block from the apartment complex I first lived in when I moved to Orlando back in 1994. This meet up was at 9am which I could do. Most Orlando Urban Sketch meet ups at held during times when I am teaching virtual courses. I was curious, so I headed out.

It turns out the Art Cafe had changed ownership in January of this year. The new name of the place is Arome Art Cafe. It looks the same as the photos I saw online. I noticed several people with sketchbooks as I entered.

I was rather intimidated looking at all the choices on the menu. I don’t know the difference between a cappocino, a latte or an affogoto, but I ordered a vanilla iced coffee which was REALLY good. I am glad I ordered the iced coffee because it came with a straw which made it easier to drink with my kn-95 mask.

Since several sketchers were seated at elevated circular tables against the wall, I thought I would sit opposite. I introduced myself to the sketchers since I realized I would likely be in their sketches. However when I sat in the low red velvet chair,  I found the table tops became flat and unrecognizable from the lower height. So I gently asked permission to sit with one of the sketchers, who it turns out is one of the organizers. She was already adding watercolor to her sketch, so I felt like I was behind the curve, and I started sketching frantically.

When I first hosted drink and draw events years ago, only a few artists showed up. Usually however no one showed up and I sketched alone. That was fine since I was in my happy place. But at this event just about every seat was filled with a sketcher. It gave me the warm fuzzies to see how far Orlando Urban Sketchers has come.

The owner came over to look at my sketch. “Oh, that’s cute!” she said. That response shocked me. For the past 4 years I have only sketched and painted human vulnerability, ignorance and horror. It is a real change of direction for my work to not insult and shock someone who is living like it is 2019. The art on the walls of the cafe, was all “cute”. The owner of Arome pointed out that the venue can be rented out for large events. They have wine glass painting parties, open mic nights, trivia nights, spoken word events and live music. It seems like a hip place with plenty of sketch opportunities. Check out their instagram @aromeartcafe for more information.

When the first Urban sketcher got ready to leave, everyone got up for a throw down to see everyone’s sketches. My sketch wasn’t finished but I put in the mix anyway. Then we all posed for a group photo.

Mennello Museum

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One evening, years ago, I sat on the edge of Lake Formosa near the Mennello Art Museum sipping drinks with a friend. When I wandered off to answer nature’s call, I was walking along the shore and felt like the burdens of life had lifted and that my artistic efforts had a purpose.

As small as I might be in the universe, meaning crept into my life moving forward. As fractured and disorienting as life might be, I felt a warm glow. Then on the walk back, as I tried to sit down, I stumbled on the embankment and the chair rocked forward, almost flipping me into the lake. Way to kick some reality back into my joy filled brain gravity.

This sculpture which I sketched as a demo for a student, is just as fractured and disorienting. We both joked about how it must represent a figure walking forward, but the exact orientation of limbs and organs gets a bit jumbled. That red protuberance around the hips of the sculpted figure really should be covered. I’ll have to see if this sketch gets flagged on social media.

This sketch is done much faster than most of my work since we did multiple sketches during our two hour session that day. I always have to adjust my timing on how long a student can focus on the subject.  I didn’t find a plaque near this sculpture So I can’t share its title or artist credit. If anyone knows, please shout it out.