Ka Malinalli in Blue Box 14.

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Ka Malinalli performed in Blue Box 14 which is on the corner of East Central Boulevard and South Garland Avenue with the I-4 looming nearby. There are 27 Blue Boxes painted on the sidewalks of downtown Orlando. They are the only places where begging, or busking is allowed. Street performers have been  told that they must use the blue boxes. Very few people know where the boxes are, and the boxes are located in areas with very little foot traffic. It is a Machiavellian concept to box in artists. I am documenting each box by having Orlando’s most talented performers utilize each box while I sketch.

It was a windy day. Very windy. Kay braced herself and sang facing the wind. At times she was blown backwards and had to lean in to stand up straight. My baseball cap blew off my head, and I chased it before it landed in a puddle. Two gentlemen caught it just in time and gave it to me. The cap to my water bottle also blew away and landed in the puddle.I left it there until the sketch was completed.

Ka sang lyrical Spanish songs she wrote herself. The wind blew her voice away. Even being just a few feet away, I couldn’t hear her clearly. Her skirt fluttered like a flag. A few cars honked their approval, but I’m certain that no one heard the performance. The two guys who helped retrieve my hat were the only people who walked by. Simply put, this is not an ideal place for a performer to showcase their talents. Of course there were no tips for her wonderful performance. When each song was complete, I would clap and make a gentle sound in my throat like the roar of a huge audience. That roar couldn’t be heard over the wind. Ka bowed to the imagined throngs.

F.C. Belt in Blue Box 16.

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There are 27 blue boxes painted on the sidewalks of downtown Orlando. These are the only places where panhandling or busking is allowed. Some performers have been told that they must use the blue boxes, thus being a performer equals being a beggar in the City Beautiful. According to this statute, I could be considered a performer. To test these blue boxes, I am sketching 27 separate performances in each of the blue boxes. The performers should be legally protected, but I might be breaking the law by sketching as the audience. Being outside the box in Orlando could have repercussions.

F. C. Belt performed acoustic guitar in the blue box right next to the Orlando Library‘s downtown branch, and across the street from the Orlando Regional History Center. He arrived right on time, set up his chair, music stand, a tiny foot stool and opened his guitar case. The case remained open in case anyone wanted to add tips.

It was a lyrical concert, unexpected for the few people who frequent the park across the street. On man was transfixed. He asked detailed questions about the guitar which is quite rare from what I overheard. The man stood and listened for the longest time. Then he moved to the planter retaining wall and sat for the entirety of the performance.

I was seated in a tiny grass median that separated a bus lane from the main road. Luckily a bus never roared by. It was perfect day for a pop up concert and the gentle music added culture to the otherwise drab bus stop in the intersection, and the park across the street.

A large group of school children were laughing and playing in the park after getting out of the History Center where they must have been on a field trip. The children didn’t notice the music, they were too busily screaming and laughing.

Belts guitar case never collected a bill. This corner of the city is surprisingly unoccupied on a work day. Everyone is in their offices removed from the clutter on the streets.

I probably sketched for an hour and a half which is longer that most musical solo sets. F. C. Belt went back to the beginning of his play set towards the end of the performance. I must say, that if such classical performances were a regular occurrence in Orlando the city would be a much more civilized place to live.

Mardi Gras at The Orlando Museum of Art

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From 6-9 pm on the first Thursday of each month, Central Florida has an opportunity 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 café offerings from area restaurants. The event is hosted by the Associates of the Orlando Museum of Art (2416 N. Mills Ave Orlando, Florida). The museum refers to the event as “Orlando’s original art party”.

The February First Thursday’s theme was Mardi Gras. I arrived rather late and settled on sketching the band before they broke down for the night. High-spirited guests were dancing to the music. There was a drag show in the front gallery, but when I walked in they were walking out. I seemed to be one step behind every performance that night. There were plenty of golden masks and opulent dresses. I just didn’t manage to capture any in the one quick sketch I did. Maxine of Maxine’s on Shine offered some gumbo at the end of the night and it was absolutely delicious. It had just enough kick.The taste brought back vivid memories of the crowded Bourbon Street in New Orleans in which you need to learn how to navigate the flow of the crowd not through annoyance and avoidance, but by accepting the weaving and constant contact. It’s glorious when you are in the moment.

Weekend Top 6 Picks for April 1st and 2nd.

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Saturday April 1, 2017 (April Fools Day)

1pm to Midnight Donations. Relay for Life. Dr. Phillips High School, 6500 Turkey Lake Road, Orlando, FL. 1 in 3 women and 1 in 2 men in the U.S. will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime.
One of those people could be you or someone you love. That’s why we Relay. When you join a Relay For Life event,
you’re helping the American Cancer Society fund groundbreaking research, crucial patient care programs, and education
and prevention information. When you Relay, you help save lives.

4:30pmto 6:30pm Free. Market2Park. Shady Park Hannibal Square New England and Pennsylvania Ave. Winter Park FL.

7pm to 10pm Free. Then There Were 4. Gator Grill 9 North Central Ave, Umatilla, Florida 32784. Join The musicians on April Fool’s Day at Gator Grill in scenic downtown Umatilla, TTW4 is coming to Lake County!

A special guest Clyde will be sitting in.

There’s a wine event going on from 5-8pm for $25, and we start at 7pm.. So taste some wine, and/or check out their menu and have dinner, then spend some time with TTW4!

Sunday April 2, 2017

Noon to 5pm. Fresh Squeezed. Morean Arts Center 719 Central Avenue St. Petersburg, FL 33701. Performance art you can drink with a straw! March 11 – April 30, 2017 (140 hours over 23 days)As part of the six-artist exhibition “Fresh Squeezed: Emerging Artists in Florida” at the Morean Arts Center in St. Petersburg, award-winning performance artist Brian Feldman will be presenting a juicy new project of the same name; his first in Tampa Bay.

“Fresh Squeezed” will be the longest performance art piece in Pinellas County history, as well as of Brian’s career, at 140 hours over 23 days.

During each weekend of the exhibition, Brian Feldman will be in the gallery window meticulously making and serving 100% fresh squeezed Florida orange juice in compostable cups for gallery goers to enjoy, and all for the price of a drawing.Draw him a picture of an orange for a small!

A picture of a glass of orange juice gets you a medium!

Or you can draw Brian making your orange juice and receive a large!

Oranges provided by Maxwell Groves est. 1935.

Colored pencils, crayons, markers, watercolor paint sets and card stock paper will all be provided.

The gallery walls surrounding Brian are envisioned to be filled with over a thousand drawings by the end of the exhibition.

The performance will be live streamed in its entirety at periscope.tv/BrianFeldman.

“Fresh Squeezed” references [1] both parts of the exhibition’s name (literally “Fresh Squeezed,” and “Emerging” [newly created, i.e. orange juice]); [2] the once-proud citrus industry in Pinellas County, 90 years removed from its heyday*; [3] Brian’s lifelong love of fresh squeezed Florida orange juice (that you can chew!), thanks to his grandfather’s daily act of making it for him as a child; and [4] his career-long exploration of durational and participatory performance art.

presented as part of

Fresh Squeezed: Emerging Artists in Florida

Amanda Cooper, Curator of Exhibitions

Kelsey Nagy, Assistant Curator of Exhibitions

But that’s not all! Every weekend during the month of April, when not making 100% fresh squeezed orange Florida juice at the Morean, Brian will be presenting the St. Pete Tour of his acclaimed Pulitzer Prize-submitted “Dishwasher (St. Pete Tour)” performance. Tickets are available at http://dwstp.eventbrite.com/

Friday & Saturdays: 10am-5pm (7 hours)

Sundays: 12-5pm (5 hours)

No performance Friday, March 31 due to The Skill Crane Kid (Gasp! The Gasparilla Fringe Festival 2017).

Modified hours on Saturday, April 1: 1-5pm (4 hours)

*Bonus* Pre-Gallery Talk Day: Thursday, April 6: 2-6pm (4 hours)

Second Saturday Art Walk, April 8: 5-9pm (4 hours)

 2pm to 4pm Free. Colleen Oakley. Writer’s Block Bookstore 124 E Welbourne Ave, Winter Park, Florida 32789. Join Colleen Oakley at Writer’s Block Bookstore on Sunday, April 2nd as she discusses her latest book “Close Enough to Touch,” an evocative, poignant, and heartrending exploration of the power and possibilities of the human heart, perfect for fans of the emotional novels of Jojo Moyes and Jodi Picoult.

4pm to 6pm Free. Outdoor Concert. Rotary Plaza at art and history center 231 Packwood Ave Maitland Fl. Maitland Stage Band.

Soul Function at Dexter’s.

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I used to hang out at Dexter’s (558 W New England Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789) to hear the musicians who would perform there. It was a good way to unwind at the end of the week. Soul Function kept the energy up all night. The male lead singer was joined by two gorgeous female singers and they worked the harmonies. Before long couples got up to dance.

Soul Funktion is a diverse commercial dance band based in Orlando, FL. Fred Badalli, the band leader, has been a professional drummer for
over 30 years. Throughout his career, he has played in the orchestras of
18 different cruise ships and played numerous musical styles including:
Rock, Funk, Soul, Jazz, Blues, Country and Broadway.

The band performed a fun and energetic set primarily of covers. The primary colored stage lights divided up the band members into blue and red groupings. Several female singers joined front man Travis in delivering the vocals. it was a fun night, with the music adding life to the lines and values. I am slowly learning to let go.

The Inbetween Series, David Vassalotti.

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The Inbetween Series, (The Gallery At Avalon Island, 39 S Magnolia Ave, Orlando, FL) hosted David Vassalotti. The Inbetween Series happens once a month when one art show is removed from the gallery walls, and another show goes up. Unique musicians use the venue as a small concert hall. Several simple lamps acted as stage lights. A skull was on the floor with the brain cavity open.

David’s music was hard edged and seemingly improvised. At times he would get on his knees to play, while electronic reverb pulsed through the foot-switch console. The friend I was with didn’t much like the music, feeling it was “masturbatory.” I let my mind wander as the lines danced on the page, and the electronic music helped keep the flow spontaneous.

Mark your calendar. On March 22, The Gallery at Avalon Island screened Fargo in the upstairs screening room. Fargo is the original Coen Brothers classic about “Homespun murder.” The plot centers on an ill-fated plan of greed, kidnapping, extortion, and a trusty wood chipper. Doors open at 6pm, film rolled at 7pm.

Pop Up Art Sale in Winter Park

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Winter Park has adopted an ordinance that makes it illegal to create art on the merchant side of Park Avenue. If you were found creating or performing on Park Avenue, an artist could face a $500 fine and or 30 days in jail. Winter Park’s Central Park, however, is considered exempt from the ordinance. It allows freedom of expression. Every day a religious group has brochures on display in the park, presumably to convert passengers getting off the Sun Rail. I decided to test the ordinance by setting up a small art pop up shop on the Central Park lawn. I used a red sheet as the base for the shop, and put out a few square and circular canvases and matted prints of Analog Artist Digital World sketches. I didn’t put out any price tags, so that sales were considered a donation. One sketchbook was put out for anyone to flip through, but no one touched it.



Several artists joined me and sketched while sitting on brick planters. The art was officially in the park, since it was on the grass. The artists, myself included, however, were on the sidewalk and thus might be breaking the law by sketching. I never noticed a police officer that day. It was a perfect day for an art sale. I only sold one drawing that day, which was a figure drawing.



An old man and his caretaker sat on the park bench next to the art pop up shop. The old man smiled at all the young ladies who passed by and he asked how they were. He was good for business, he slowed people down, who then looked at the art. Late in the day, I decided to test the ordinance a bit further. I put several dollar bills in my baseball cap and layed it on the carpet. Within minutes, a golf cart pulled up and a park sanitation worker got out. He frowned at the hat with several bills in it and said I wasn’t allowed to exhibit art in the park. I politely explained that it wasn’t his job to make that call. He decided to let the situation slide, and he drove off in the cart to collect more garbage. He didn’t point out that sketching was illegal, his sole concern was the hat with money in it. I put the hat back on my head to avoid escalating the situation. I was sure the sanitation worker would think twice, and come back. He never did.

I will keep testing this ordinance that limits freedom of expression. On April 4th, I am hosting ODD 22 the Illegal Edition. ODD stands for Orlando Drink and Draw. This sketch outing, will be at The Wine Room on Park Avenue (270 S Park Ave, Winter Park, Florida 32789). We hope to sit at an outdoor table at the Wine Room and quietly sketch while sipping wine. This will be civilized civil disobedience.

Artists
are lumped in with performers which means to engage in any of the
following activities: acting; singing; playing musical instruments;
puppetry; pantomiming, miming; performing
or demonstrating magic or acts of illusion; dancing; juggling; or the
public display of and composition or creation of crafts, sculpture,
artistry, writings, or compositions, including the application of brush,
pastel, crayon, pencil, or other similar objects applied to paper,
cardboard, canvas, cloth or to other similar medium. 

Prohibited
public area means the pedestrian accessed public areas of the Central
Business and Hannibal Square Districts along Park Avenue from Fairbanks
Avenue to Swoope Avenue, and along New England Avenue from Park Avenue
to Pennsylvania Avenue including the area within fifty (50) feet of the
public right-of-way of Park Avenue and New England Avenue on the public
lanes, streets, thoroughfares and ways, including the Winter Park train
station and the public property at what is known as the Winter Park
Farmer’s Market and the Winter Park Historical Association located at
200 West New England Avenue.

So, if you find this anti-art ordinance to be ridiculous, stop out with a sketchbook and pencil, and let’s break the law. If anyone wants a digital “Winter Park Illegal Art” logo for their sketch, just let me know.

The Bloody Jug Band at the Florida Music Festival

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The Florida Music Festival at (Wall Street Plaza II Stage, 266 Wall Street, Orlando, Florida) boasted over 125 individual showcases and promoted the community of music. Each night, the fesival invited individuals, artists and all music enthusiasts to come together to celebrate an artist or band that defines their genre. Over a dozen stages took over Downtown Orlando from Thursday, April 21 to Sunday, April 23 rocking all genres from Pop, Hip Hop and Alternative Rock to Country and Blue Grass. All participating showcase venues had free admission.

I stopped to sketch the Bloody Jug Band, a local group whose hard edged rockabilly music is always a blast to hear. The band draws inspiration from historic jug bands of the 1920’s and 30’s as well as the darker side of
Blues and Rock n’ Roll.  The band carves out its own niche in a genre of music that has
never seen such a bloody incarnation.

I wedged myself up against a palm tree and started drawing. There was a crowd down Wall Street, but, not much of a crowd right in front of the stage. A young girl shot photos of the band. This sketch was done just using bright primary colors to cover the page as fast as possible. Since blood is in the bands name, I decided that all the band members would be blood red.

When the sketch was done, a local female singer talked to me for a while and gave me her card. We became Facebook friends, but I still haven’t sketched one of her performances. Sometimes it is hard to keep track of so much talent. I got a wrist band when I entered in the fenced off Festival venue area, but I never did get a drink. When the bloody Jug Band set was done, I just kept adding color to my sketch.  The next band had set up and was playing as I walked through the History Center Plaza towards my car to drive back home.

Blue Box Zombies.

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Downtown Orlando has 27 blue boxes painted on sidewalks which are the only places where begging or panhandling is allowed. The blue boxes can only be occupied during day light hours. They tend to be at intersections where there is very little foot traffic. I have been documenting each of these blue boxes by sketching Orlando Performers using them as a stage. Some musicians who busk, or perform outside have been told that they can only perform in a blue box.

I am big fan of “The Walking Dead”. I have documented zombie walks on International drive and started to think, that zombies would be a perfect fit for a blue box.

Denna Beena, who helps at the annual Spooky Empire Zombie walks offered to gather some zombies for a blue box. This blue box is across from the new Amway Center.

The skull zombie holding the brains sign is actually a professional who works on International Drive. Zombies gathered gradually as the sketch progressed. Some were fresh, without much rotten flesh but others were rip, with loose flaps of flesh and plenty of dirt. One had a tin can for collecting donations. Several cars honked their approval but no coins dropped into the can. A car full of tourists stopped and shot some photos out their car window. They got a taste of a typical downtown Orlando scene.

There were yellow construction posts with yellow and white ribbons between them. The zombies presses up against the ribbons but didn’t leave the box. One ribbon snapped and we put it back in place once the sketch was done. One zombie had a bum leg and a very distinctive limp. Deena is the zombie with the bright pink hair. There were gallons of blood just in case a zombie wasn’t bloody enough. If there were zombies in every blue box in Orlando, then perhaps people would become aware of what they are, why they are there and how ridiculous they make our city seem.

Dance Theatre of Orlando presents Change

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I went to a rehearsal for Change at ME Theatre (Marshall Ellis Theatre)
1300 La Quinta Drive #3, Orlando, Florida 32809. The choreography was by Marshall Ellis, and the show featured the popular hard hitting music of Bon Jovi. I recognized every tune. Many of the stage lights pointed right out at the audience, so my baseball hat was critical in blocking my eyes from the direct light. Light mist made the rays visible.

No more excuses. No more magical thinking. No more self-sabotage. You
know it won’t be easy, but so what? You’re committed to the goal. Love
is the only thing that can make a change in your life. The story line was supported by original video sequences, many of which were shot in the neighborhood. The story followed,a young man who was breaking out and starting life on his own. He lived loud and spiraled as he frequented dance halls. He eventually found true love which is how his life got back on track. The most beautiful dance sequence feature the female lead. Her performance was powerful and lyrical, truly inspired.

There are two more performances of Change.

Tickets are available.

Tonight, Saturday March 25 at 8:30pm.

Sunday March 26 at 8:30pm.