ODD7 was held at Maxine’s on Shine.

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On January 7th we held the first Orlando Drink and Draw (ODD) event of the new year at Maxine’s on Shine (337 N Shine Ave, Orlando, Florida). Several tables were pushed together in front of the stage and amazingly eight artists filled every single seat. Two couples had heard about the event thanks to the Orlando Weekly. Actually all the artists were new to the experience except Audrey Zinder who runs the Sunday open figure drawing sessions at Crealde. I keep saying I wan to go each week for figure drawing but I’ve made a commitment to keep Sundays “Sketch free” so that I ha a day of rest. the only thing I do on Sundays is put together the week end Top 6 Picks.

I took the waitresses advice on a red wine and ordered muscles as an appetizer and then a full seafood stew. The food was amazing, and, since I was sketching the stage the dinner lingered for hours. I tend to get lost in the sketch for a while and then surface to play host for a bit. I have an ongoing project which is an eternal accordion sketchbook. It is often 2 good way to get new artists a chance to sketch something silly and small. I was quite happy that two writers joined the ODD group on this sketch outing. Janet Benge in a high heel respected author and she has just started doing watercolors. Her charming sketches might someday work their way into a children book. Logan Anderson is y poet who I see quite often at  events in town. He reminds me of an Urban Sketcher because he always has a leather satchel over his shoulder in which he carries his writing supplies. Where I catch a scene using lines and washes, he digs deep into the scene with his words.

Since there were three couples, I suggested that artists face each other and do five minute ruthless portraits of each other. The energy at the table multiplied as they worked, and then there was plenty of laughter when the five minute were up. This is a great was for artists to break the ice. Conversations blossomed. I learned where to find some real talented tattoo artists. I’ve sketched tattoo artists at work before and I am fascinated by the long labor of love. One artist had tried to be a tattoo artist, but the constant buzz of the electric needle caused his hand to go numb. It is sort of like wanting to be a sea captain but finding out you get sea sick.

Nick Landess performed for well over two hours on piano and guitar. I often feel like I’m the only person in a room who truly focuses on the talent that plays live background music in a bar, restaurant or at an event. I’m convinced that I become invisible when I’m sketching. I admire a performer who can work despite all the conversations going on in a room. Once my sketch ass done, I shouted to be heard at the vibrant conversation be the artists at the table. I had more red wines than I should have. A song on the radio on the drive home caused me to pause and remember a  Disney Feature Animation friend, Christine Lawrence Finney, who had died unexpectedly at the age of 47. The evenings frivolity turned to sadness. “Something touched me deep inside, the day the music died.”

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Twisted Tuesday at the Red Lion Pub.

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Twisted Tuesday is a weekly event every Tuesday held at the Red Lion Pub (3784 Howell Branch Rd, Winter Park, Florida). It features a free home-cooked meal every Tuesday but of course donations are greatly appreciated. Rahoe Productions and Representation provides Live Music from 7:30pm-10:30pm every Tuesday and the Red Lion Pub provides a DJ thereafter alongside a friendly environment to showcase talents such as hula-hooping, fire-arts, LED-arts, juggling, stilt-walking and much more.

I went to the Red Lion Pub in December to meet Andy Matchett who wanted to buy a print for the holidays. He was at the end of the bar when I arrived. He had pulled together a successful Kickstarter to create vinyl albums of the soundtrack to his very successful Fringe play, The Key of E. He wrote all the music for this apocalyptic rock musical. All though there was enough money raised to cut the albums, he still needs more money for the packaging.

When Andy left, I took his bar stool and sketched down the length of the bar. There was free food by the front windows, but unfortunately I had already eaten. I ordered a beer from the tap that looked like a fish. Rosmarie Ryan the pub’s owner looked over my shoulder and rather liked the sketch. She offered me another beer which I gladly accepted from her daughter, Mikayla, working the taps. The place gradually got more crowded as the evening progressed.

Outside, someone was playing an old upright piano with its innards exposed. Vendors had blankets set up to sell crystals and some local art. I chatted with a fellow that called himself, Dali Lama, about art for a while. I want to return here some Twisted Tuesday to sketch the fire spinners and hula hoopers in the parking lot. I need to arrive later which is when these activities heat up. There is a warm inviting atmosphere to the pub, like these people get to reunite every Tuesday.

When I got home, Terry told me to take off my clothes and take a shower. I’m lucky in that I have a weak sense of smell, but apparently I reeked of cigarette smoke. Even my skin sponged up the smell.  Next time I sketch at Twisted Tuesdays, I’ll spend far more time outside where there is plenty of vibrant local culture and a breeze.

Florida is Not a Vacation: a Poetry Reading.

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The Kerouac House (1418 Clouser Ave, Orlando, Florida) hosts a resident author about every four months. Authors are picked by a committee that reads through over 300 submissions. Resident authors do not need to worry about room and board. They get time to strictly focus on their writing. I had sketched Kerouac House resident Ciara Shuttleworth hard at work as she crafted her poetry in the back of the Kerouac House. Besides being one of the more prolific writers, she was also one of the most social writers. She would hold court late into the night on the front porch of the bungalow with local authors and artists.

The reading on March 25, 2015 was Ciara’s chance to share her poetry with Orlando literati. Visit in a authors are often surprised by Orlando’s vibrant literary community. She decided to share the limelight with Florida poets that were dear friends, Sandra Simonds, and Erin Hoover. Ciara created fictionalized biographies for her friends that combined myth and heroism. These histories were worth the price of admission alone. Two more tame biographies follow.

Erin Hoover is a poet living in Tallahassee, Florida, with work published in Prairie Schooner, Gargoyle, Redivider, and Sugar House Review, and anthologized in Best New Poets 2013. Erin edits The Southeast Review in addition to volunteering for VIDA: Women in Literary Arts and is a PhD candidate in Florida State University’s Creative Writing Program. Before moving to Florida, she worked as a communications director in New York City and co-founded Late Night Library, a nonprofit organization dedicated to sustaining book culture and supporting authors early in their careers. Her Twitter is @ErinHoover.

Ciara Shuttleworth was born in San Francisco and grew up in Nebraska, Nevada, and Washington state. Her poetry has been published in journals and anthologies, including Alaska Quarterly Review, Confrontation, The New Yorker, The Norton Introduction to Literature 11e, and The Southern Review. Shuttleworth received an MFA in poetry from University of Idaho, a BFA in painting/drawing from the San Francisco Art Institute, and a BA in studio art from Gustavus Adolphus College.

Lake Eola at night.

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I did This sketch before the Orlando Drink and Draw (ODD) at Falcon Bar and Gallery (819 E Washington St, Orlando, FL). I got to Falcon Bar early and it wasn’t open yet. So, with an hour to kill, I walked to Lake Eola to do a nocturnal sketch. The park had Christmas light decorations up and the loud speakers were blaring sappy holiday tunes. I wonder how these ducks, swans, geese and grebes can stand listen to the mall music all day. They must feel like disgruntled store employees who have to listen to the same music over and over again during the holidays.

A lone man with a backpack was feeding the ducks, so he became my reason to stop and sketch. There are signs all around the lake that stress that the ducks and swans are on a very strict diet. Feeding them bread is harmful their health. That doesn’t stop well meaning people who perhaps can’t red or don’t care.

In 2010 about nine swans were stolen from Lake Eola. Four swans were recovered from an exotic-animal
rescue in Lake Butler, a small town about 30 miles north of Gainesville. The birds had been purchased for $700. The owner of the animal rescue was in shock. He was not a suspect in the theft. The birds were easy to identify because they each have an embedded micro chip. One of the birds, a blind black Australian swan named Bruno, has lived at Lake Eola for years. That same year, two suspects stole two docile black swans by corralling them into their car. These two swans were recovered and returned to the lake.

In 2011 Goeffre Peter Smart, 24, stole a large white swan. A witness saw him walk in down Robinson street with the swan. A trail of fed the lead the police straight to the suspects home  in the Eola Heights neighborhood at 1023 Ridgewood Street about three blocks from Lake Eola. The swan was in Smart’s backyard unharmed. It is safe to say Smart wasn’t that smart. He faced charges of grand theft, grand theft of a commercially
farmed animal, being in a park after hours and animal cruelty. His bail was set at $3,050.

In 2012 Another man, John Wynne, waded into the lake and sieved a black swan named Ruffles by the neck and pulled it to shore. He held the bird hanging by its neck and said to passers by, “Hey look at this.” He was charged with animal cruelty and grand theft with a $1,000 bond.  He was about to face trial when a key witness backed out, and Wynne walked free. In 2013, Lawrence Labonte, 51, was accused of deliberately allowing his dog to attack one of the iconic swans at Lake Eola Park, named Joe, who later had to be euthanized. He unleashed his Dachshund and encouraged it to attack. A witness took photos of the attack and Lawrence’s face. So what is the penalty for cruelty to animals in Orlando? From my quick research, it is just a $5000 fine.  In none of the above cases, did I read about a conviction.

In researching the history of abuse and theft it becomes clear that the captive Lake Eola swans face danger every day from the citizens of Orlando. This is animal abuse or par with keeping Killer Whales in captivity at Sea World. About 40 swans have been kept at Lake Eola since the 1920s. Does this history of cruelty date that far back? I bet it does. If swans attack, they have every reason to defend themselves. The swans have had their wings clipped, an amputation that prevents them from flying and escaping from danger. If the swans had all their flight feathers, they certainly wouldn’t stay at Lake Eola.

Ibex Puppetry brings Earth Day to life.

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Earth Day at Lake Eola fell on the same day as the World Wide Sketch Crawl. The Earth Day organizers were kind enough to let me have a tent set up where local artists could meet for the Sketch Crawl. The Analog Artist Digital World tent was right next to the Ibex Puppetry tent. Artists really had plenty to draw right from the tent. After lunch, I did this sketch of the Music Garden set up by Ibex Puppetry. Martin Wolf Murphy and Mark DeMaio supervised any children who wanted to beat the drums.

Another tent was set up in the Ibex camp where kids could do crafts. They could create the own miniature world or create a kite. The animal puppets that can be seen in the background of this sketch came to life for a parade every few hours. The sea turtle would glide gracefully and the Florida Panther would pounce forward with ferocity. The drummers would join in setting the beat of the procession.

The urban sketchers did explore the rest o the Earth Dan festivities, so the tent was just used when a sketcher wanted a break from the sun. About 5 artists showed this day and sketched together. Sometimes an artist will miss the group, and just sketch on their own. There is so much to see and sketch. It is nice I no longer be an outsider looking in, but to be an active participant in the festivities.

Weekend Top 6 Picks for January 23rd and 24th.

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Saturday January 23, 2016 

 9am to 5pm Free. Steampunk Industrial Show. Renningers Mount Dora Flea Market and Antique Center 20651 US-441, Mount Dora, Florida. A weekend of fantasy and hard core industrial including
great original art in all media such as clothing, jewelry, Victorian
hats, shoes, antiques of all types. Live music. Call 352-383-8393. http://www.renningers.net

10am to 4pm Free. Sanford Farmers Market. Sanford at First and Magnolia. A small farmer’s market in the heart of Historic Sanford.

7pm to 9pm Free. Brewery Tour. Orlando Brewing, 1301 Atlanta Ave, Orlando, FL.



Sunday January 24, 2016 

9am to 5pm Free. Steampunk Industrial Show. Renningers Mount Dora Flea Market and Antique Center 20651 US-441, Mount Dora, Florida. A weekend of fantasy and hard core industrial including
great original art in all media such as clothing, jewelry, Victorian
hats, shoes, antiques of all types. Live music. Call 352-383-8393. http://www.renningers.net

Noon to 2pm Free but grab a bite. Fish on Fire 7937 Daetwyler Drive Belle Isle FL. Every 2nd and 4th Sunday.

2pm to 4pm Free but get coffee. Irish Music. Olivia’s Coffee House, 108 N Bay St, Eustis, FL. http://www.oliviascoffeehouse.com/

The Couples Cook off at Aggressive Appliances.

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Kristen Manieri the founder and editor of Orlando Date Night Guide was kind enough to invite M to document the championship finals for the second annual Couples Cook off happened on November 14. 2015 at Aggressive Appliances (617 Mercy Dr, Orlando, FL). Each of the four couples had then own state of the art kitchen in which to prepare their dish. I settled in at The Viking kitchen. I presumed the coup would arrive wearing Viking horn helmets, but it turned out this Viking is a brand of kitchen cabinet makers. I actually knew Rachel DesPlains because she had volunteers to pose to be in the Mennello Museum Mural. She and her boyfriend Mark Mastrangelo prepared a Filipino Chicken Adobo with a red cabbage slaw with orange vinaigrette.. Although I didn’t taste it, it looked delicious. Since they were the subject of my sketch, I was of course rooting for them to win. The room became crowded with spectators who s in all the chairs at the kitchen counter. I decided not to sketch the crowd to leave the kitchen and the cooking couple fully exposed.

There were plenty of gourmet bites and spirited sips for spectators while the finalist couples duked it out for the title of Orlando’s Top Culinary Couple! The  Cook-Off,
is a fast-paced, hands-on cooking competition, that brought together some
pretty awesome home cooks throughout the preliminary rounds in October.
After two heated rounds of competition at Aggressive Appliances, four finalists have now advanced to the Cook-Off Finals. People kept offering m food samples but my hands were busy.

Participating local vendors included: Whole Foods Winter Park, The Ancient Olive, Wild Ocean Seafood Market, Orlando Meats, Winter Park Distilling, My Father’s Table Cheesecake, Market to Table Cuisine, Olde Hearth Bread Co., Emma Bean, Quantum Leap Winery and beer from Whisper Creek Farm: The Kitchen.

Competitors were all given all the same main ingredients, and then the spice and secondary ingredient table was unveiled and contestant wrestled to grab what they needed.  Unfortunately Rachel and he boyfriend came in third place. Matthew and Kristin Cyr were the winners. They walked away with some amazing grand prizes, including a two-night
gourmet getaway to JW Marriott, Grande Lakes, a Wolf gourmet blender,
Tassimo coffee system, and Miele canister vacuum or a Kitchen Aid stand
mixer.

The weekly Ocoee Parking Lot Bluegrass Jam.

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Every Friday on the corner of Maguire and Colonial in Ocoee, musicians gather in the parking lot behind the Twisty Treat ice cream shop to perform Bluegrass music. This tradition began 25 years ago. Different musicians show up each week to sit in. Outside this tight circle of performers, locals in the know, stop out with their lawn chairs to watch. A large semi truck cab was parked nearby with it’s loud diesel engine rumbling. He must have been parked there to watch. Children laughed from the windows of a white family van. My bet is this that parents had the heater on to stay warm.

The Ocoee Parking Lot Bluegrass Jam is a well-established, open jam and
has welcomes pickers of all skill levels. People of all ages and
backgrounds enjoy the Jams. It’s very much a place for families, young
couples, retirees, children, pets, and tourists.
Weather permitting the Jam begins every Friday evening at 6:30.

The orange glow lighting under the parking lot lamp was magical. On this night the temperate was down in the low 60’s with a crisp wind to add a wind chill factor. When the musicians took a break to get another layer of clothes, I did the same. With a skull cap and wind breaker jacket, I was nice and toasty. I recognized most of the folk songs and sang along. “Will the Circle be Unbroken” seemed particularly appropriate sung by this tight knit circle of friends. Between songs they might ask about a musician who hadn’t shown. It was clear they look out for each other.

This is one of the few old Florida traditions that remains in a digital age where the world speeds by. There is a comforting small town warmth that comes from watching this parking lot jam. It is like the feeling , had as a child when first watching a small town parade. Musicians and locals would catch up and chat between sets.

I worked on my Wacom tablet since I figured the computer CPU might help warm my hands. A banjo player complained the his fingers were cold. He later told me the he came to watch one of the parking lot jam sessions and one of the musicians walked up to him and asked, “Do you play banjo?” “Why yes, how did you know?” the man responded. “you look like a banjo player”. Since the banjo was in his car, he ended up performing from that night onward.

Locals looked over my shoulder to watch the sketch in progress. “You should show that to Paul.” I was told. Paul has shot about 200 YouTube videos of these spontaneous parking lot jams. Because of these videos, people come from around the world to watch or sit in on a jam. The digital age has made this home grown tradition internationally known. After about an hour, the group began to disperse. I was disappointed because I could have used another hour to help refine the warm lighting in the scene. A sketch by definition is never quite finished however so I had to accept what I could catch in the time I had.

Special Event planners meet on the Orlando Eye.

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The Orlando Eye is a giant Ferris wheel in Orlando, Florida. It carried its first passenger on April 29, 2015 and is one of the newest attractions in Orlando and the largest observation wheel on the East Coast. Special Event planners from around the country had gathered at the Orlando Convention Center. Stacey Paul Barabe organized an event in which planners would go on the Eye and brainstorm ideas on how to improve their industry. About ten people could fit in each capsule and a moderator asked questions to generate feedback and ideas.

In the digital age, it seems that people feel that all ides are in the public domain. One organizer told the horror story of pitching an idea that the client rejected and then they produced the concept on their own.  He learned about this theft when they asked him to pitch ideas for another event several years later. The packet he was given had photos of past events and he saw all his creative ideas had been used without consent or payment. The moderator was from England and there the industry is standardized. She was shocked at how little thought is put into public safety at events in the United States. She suggested that architects have a standard where they are paid up front for their time and that Event Planners should do the same. The issues are very much like the problems faced by illustrators today. People love creativity, the just don’t want to pay for it.

We went perhaps a quarter of the way up, when the wheel stopped, and then went in reverse. We guessed that an Event planner in another capsule
must have gotten claustrophobic and had to get off. When we were 400 feet up, the meeting was put on hold, so everyone could enjoy the view and take pictures. The Orlando skyline was visible to the North East along with a new roller coaster that looks like the Saint Lewis Arch. Epcot was visible to the South West because of that big sphere but the castle was hard to see. I was told that on a clear day you can see all the way to the space coast. The eye does a full rotation in 20 minutes. That meant that I had to rush the sketch. When you get off, the wheel is still spinning, and you step onto an arched ramp back to the platform. You exit of course through a gift shop. Outside the eye, two women in long flowing blue gowns were balanced on long poles. It was another great sketch opportunity but I needed to get to the Tin Roof to get to work creating back up sketches for the lunch meeting.

The Special Event at the Tin Roof.

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Stacey Paul Barabie asked me to help out at a event lunch held at the Tin Roof (8371 International Dr, Orlando, FL). The lunch us for Special Events planner who had gathered at the Orlando Convention Center. My role was to execute a sketch that highlighted key concepts from attendees. The day for them started with a trip on the Orlando Eye which is a brand new huge Ferris Wheel which just went up on International Drive. About ten attendees would get onto a capsule on the eye w a moderator who would as them questions about how them questions about how they feel they could improve the event planning industry. 

I got to the Tin Roof around 10pm.  The band, Sweet Bea and the Boys was busy setting up their sound equipment.It decided to do the sketch digitally and the signal w then transferred to all the flat screen TVs that lined the room. I just had to plug the HDMI cable into my tablet and then I relaxed to draw the stage. I had to wait about an hour before I got on the Eye to sketch one of the meetings. Buses arrived full of conventioneers who then crowded in to a waiting area at the base of the Eye. There they were served champagne an cookies. Albert Einstein from Madam Tussuad’s Wax Museum was also there for photo opportunities.