Taste Jazz

Posted on by Thor

Since I have been working till 9PM at Full Sail, I have been searching for late evening sketch opportunities. Monday Night Jazz at Taste (717 W. Smith Street in College Park) has become a standard Monday Night ritual. They have an early set from 7PM to 9PM and then a later set from 9:30PM to 11:30PM. My sketch is usually finished before the evening of music wraps. All sorts of musicians gather in the bar area and different musicians rotate in for each jam session.

I order a Blue Moon beer and some tater tots to munch on as I sketch.  The young couple at the table in front of me were obviously on a date just getting to know each other. As always the music was lively and spontaneous. My goal at these late night sketch outings is to get a quick sketch done then get home before Terry goes to sleep.

Elite Animation Academy

Posted on by Thor

Elite Animation Academy  (The Shoppes at Windermere 8933 Conroy-Windermere Road

Orlando, Fl above Costello’s Pizza ) is
an art and animation program designed for animation students. The
Academy is instructed by former Walt Disney Studios Florida  Animator
Paulo Alvarado, a graduate of the prestigious Ringling College of Art
and Design located in Sarasota, FL.  At  Elite Animation Academy we are “Developing Young Minds through the Art of Animation.“

Elite promises to 
provide young students the education and the tools necessary to create a portfolio
to enhance  animation skills and take it to the next level, should the student want to pursue a career in animation, graphic or game design.  Classes are after school, with convenient afternoon hours for parents
and students.  We focus on basic to intermediate levels with an emphasis
on history, theory, and sketch along with Animation exercises each week
after the topic.

The Elite Animation Academy classroom used to be The Art Room, which has moved to a new location. Elite Academy was founded in July of 2012 with the first classes taking place in the Ascension Church (4950 South Apopka Vineland Rd., Orlando FL). The interest and demand grew so fast that they realized they had to find a permanent home.

I found out about the opening day of the Academy when I bumped into Paulo and his wife while shopping at Publix Supermarket. Dominic Carola and his wife Love were at the opening along with many other former Disney Animation Artists. It was like a small reunion. A line of computers were under constant use by the kids who were there. They were using a basic drawing program and playing video games. One game was controlled with hand gestures. The computer’s camera must have sensed the hand movements. It was odd seeing kids swatting the air with their hands. Several former Disney Artists couldn’t resist doing a digital drawing of their own. One wife seemed quite enamored watching her husband sketch on the computer.

One artist told me about an animated short he is working on called “Crackerland” it is meant as a spoof of the old Florida down home attractions before the big theme parks took root. There was punch and cookies in the hall. Dominic’s children were middle school aged which immediately made me feel old. The last time I saw them they were babies.

Cardboard Art Festival

Posted on by Thor

Saturday January 26th was the second day of the Cardboard Art Festival at the Orange Studio (1121 N Mills Ave, Orlando). This was a day for the kids to experience the exhibit and make their own cardboard creations. The carpeted area that had been the dance floor the night before  now had folding tables cluttered with the detritus of creativity. Parents were helping their kids cut the cardboard and robots began to take form.

I decided to sit back under some cardboard carnivores and sketch  Nathan Selikoff‘s tall cardboard man marionette. Kids, young and old alike, couldn’t resist pulling the strings. Having control of a giant’s movements can be addictive. Event sponsor, Mark Baratelli walked up to me and announced,  with a Marlene Dietrich flourish, “I do it all for the kids.” He then leaned against the wall and checked his cell phone for messages about the next Food Truck Bazaar happening that night. Later, he was ready to leave holding a thick stack of Food Truck Bazaar signs. He was off to his next event.

Evan and Chritie Miga helps kids into the new Dog Powered Robot dune buggy for photo ops. An old record player nestled inside a cardboard TV was playing Polkas and The Tiki Room music. The music added a surreal, playful atmosphere to the proceedings. Like in a Disney theme park, individual robots from Dog Powered Robot came out from back stage to pose for photos with the kids. Someone shouted out for a group photo and all the kids stood in front of me with their creations.

As Terry and I left, I saw Mark get back out of his car. I thought he had left some time ago. I shouted out, “You didn’t get very far!” He shouted back, “That’s the story of my life! You didn’t need to point it out.”

DRIP Art Nights

Posted on by Thor

DRIP ( 8747 International Dr. Suite 102, Behind Denny’s and Senor Frogs, Orlando, Fl) has hosted several very successful art nights. There was LIVE art, body painting, art sales and music. I parked a good distance away and walked to the venue. The 8PM DRIP performance was over and there was no cover to get in for the Art Night event. Bodies were being painted everywhere. Artysta Lulu was standing on the bar and doing chalk drawings on the black walls. Mila Belle was body painting and dancing up a storm. Melissa Kasper had on a pair of insanely high platform shoes. I saw another pair of platforms that were designed with metal re-bar that would make a woman a foot and a half taller.

Break dancers started spinning on the dance floor as the DJ pumped up the volume. Black lights made peoples white shirts glow blue. DRIP dancers and body painting models posed in their undies and bras. The dancing really heated up as I finished my sketch and packed up my supplies. DRIP Creative Director Jessica Mariko, joined all the women dancing Gangnam Style as if riding horses. As I left the lights flashed red and green and the entire room was laced with sexy dancers. Paint was everywhere.

Treat your loved one to a Special Valentine’s Day Experience on  February 13-16, 2013.

Looking for a way to impress your date on
Valentine’s day that doesn’t include the same old dress up, buy a box of
chocolates and go to a regular restaurant for dinner?  

JOIN DRIP FOR AN INTERACTIVE EVENING THAT INCLUDES:

*A four course Dinner-by-Color

*Full DRIP performance

*Dessert party

*Make-your-own Valentine station.

*A white DRIP t-shirt 

Limited to an intimate crowd of only
100 people per night. Reserve your tickets before Feb 13th and we’ll
include a $10 gift card from Fairvilla’s Sexy Things per person!

Ticket prices:

Wednesday, February 13: $65 per person

Thursday, February 14: $90 per person

Friday, February 15: $80 per person – *Special All Female Cast

Saturday, February 16: $80 per person

Dawn Rosendahl

Posted on by Thor

In the Orlando Arts Magazine, I learned that there is a resident artist program at the Maitland Arts Center. The work of Dawn Rosendahl was on the cover, so I contacted her to see if I could stop by to learn about her work and do a sketch. Artist and architect J. Andre Smith established the research studio in 1937. The studio acted as a haven for artists of national prominence in the winter months, The tradition continues today with the Artist in Action program.

Dawn’s studio door was slightly ajar, so I knocked lightly and went inside. The room was perhaps ten foot square and one wall had large barn doors which would be helpful if you worked large. Robin pointed out that there was a mural painted on the opposite side of the doors, so they were never used. A skylight offered extra illumination. Dawn was working at a folding table where she was surgically altering a book. She used an xacto knife to carve into the book  at times unearthing illustrations and creating stair stepped forms like rice paddies in China. A series of circular cut pages folded back resembled a clam shell. A large pile of fresh books and encyclopedias sat in the corner of the room next to her. She had a one foot diameter cardboard tube that was about four feet high in the opposite corner. She plans to create book totem poles.

Dawn studies art at the American Academy of Art and the Art Institute in Chicago. She worked as a sculptor at Disney World, doing the scale sculpted studies of the swan and dolphin for those respective hotels. She told me a story about a creative who couldn’t get approval on a project because an executive kept insisting the color used didn’t match a pan tone color swatch. To get the approval, the guy decided to paint over the pan tone swatch. The project was approved.

Artist Robin Pedrero stopped in since she was dropping off a painting. She and Dawn had a discussion about pricing  art work. Robin felt that if a prospective buyer was willing to spend $75 on a painting, then they could just as well afford to pay $200.  I am of the opinion that art work in Orlando is  all to often under priced and under valued. It was nice hanging out in an artists studio and having another artist visit. It made me feel that there is an artist community in Orlando.

Art Crtique Group

Posted on by Thor

Parker Sketch organizes a monthly Art Critique Group and I always find the lively conversations enlightening. The January critique was held at the The Barefoot Spa (801 Virginia Dr., Orlando). This is a group of artists talking as peers.The discussions have included pricing, finding materials, technique, framing, exhibition opportunities, and, yes, traditional critique. We are trying to mix different artists and get them talking about art! We will be looking at every one’s art individually, and talk about it for about 10 minutes. I know it is short, but the idea is not only to get other people to talk about your art, but to spend the evening talking about every one’s art!

Jean Claude was the first artist to show his work. Using spray paint and an xacto, he works on Plexiglass. Several pieces would change color if illuminated from behind. He works outside a gallery down in Kissimmee. His work was bold and flat. Vanessa Lisa showed some delicate pencil renderings. Mark Larsen, a photographer, had returned to his craft in the last three years. His photos featured clouds and abstract watery imagery. Artista Lulu had traveled all the way from Tampa to come to the art critique. She showed a cartoonish image of a ballet dancer standing on a tiny world. Tiffany Dae showed some of her gorgeous surreal work. She is moving to Miami where she is bound to find the arts scene to be incredibly vibrant.

The artist I chose to sketch, was Phillis Taylor Harris. She had just finished filling one of the Sketchbook Project sketchbooks. The Sketchbook Project sells artists tiny sketchbooks which the artists can fill and return to go into the sketchbook library in Brooklyn NY. Phillis’s sketchbook was filled with angry abstractions that were done as she went through a divorce. It turned out that her husband was abusive and a sexual predator. He worked as a psychologist, so women seeking his help would get unexpected treatment. The family home was isolated which allowed him to trap his victims. Phillis’s sketchbook is intended to help victims of abuse to recover and heal. Several people in the room pointed out that Phillis should look into publishing the book with part of the royalties going to an abuse victim recovery center or shelter. I advised her to not submit the sketchbook to the Brooklyn library because they would then claim ownership to the copyright.  I agree that her book could be helpful for a person recovering from abuse. I hope she can find a publisher.

My Funny Valentine

Posted on by Thor

My Funny Valentine, hosted by Bryce West and the Friends of the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra featured a preview performance by Michael Andrews and Swingerhead.  The event began at 7PM at the home of Bryce West. Parking was at the First Baptist Church Windermere, Lakeside Campus (8464 Winter Garden Vineland Rd, Orlando, FL).

When I got to the church parking lot there was a shuttle bus waiting. I climbed in as the only passenger and the took off down a dirt road. We arrived at a gorgeous lake side mansion and after I picked up a name tag, Bryce showed me some of his art collection. He had a portrait of a cleric by Gainsborough in the dining area where food was ready for guests. Another portrait of Marquis Drogheda was by Reynolds. A mysterious dark Dutch painting by Petrov Van Schenbel depicted skaters in a moonlit landscape. The light from a chandelier caused the oil glazes to glare making the painting hard to see.

I set up pool side to sketch the staging area. By the time Michael Andrews performed, the sketch was solidly blocked in. My Funny Valentine will be a concert featuring Michael Andrews, his band Swingerhead, and the Orlando Philharmonic on February 9th at 2PM and 8PM at the Bob Carr. Michael explained to the audience that many of the songs were by Marvin Hamlisch for a new musical of “The Nutty Professor“. The play has been seven years in development. It was just performed in North Carolina and is Broadway bound once the producer gets the finances worked out. Michael has been working with Jerry Lewis to bring this musical to the stage. Michael said he got into entertainment because of Jerry Lewis and now the 86 year old is his mentor. Jerry’s mentor was Charlie Chaplin who took the young comedian under his wing.

Mrs. Warren’s Profession

Posted on by Thor

The Mad Cow Theatre is staging George Bernard Shaw’s scorching tour de force, “Mrs. Warren’s Profession” which tells the story of Kitty Warren, a mother who makes a terrible sacrifice for her daughter Vivie’s independence. The clash of these two strong-willed but culturally constrained women is the spark that ignites the ironic wit of one of Shaw’s greatest plays. The show runs from February 8 to March 3, 2013.

Sarah Lockard is starring as Vivie and she asked me to come to a rehearsal to sketch the assistant director Melissa Cooper.  I went to the Mad Cow Theatre an hour before the rehearsal was to start so I could get the sketch done before the dress rehearsal. I walked into the theatre and started walking back stage. From behind me I heard “Can I help you?” I explained that I was looking for Melissa. I watched a tech adjusting a stage light from high atop a ladder as I waited. Melissa greeted me and when I mentioned the sketch she lit up. She tried to ask director Eric Zivot where we should do the sketch but he was heading out to get dinner.

Sarah was bringing in a Victorian lace blouse but she hadn’t arrived yet. Melissa sat in a stern hard back wooden chair and I started sketching her portrait as we waited for the blouse. Melissa was posing as Honoria Fraser a character who doesn’t appear in the play, but the final act is staged in her office. Melissa was wearing a black Nike “Just Do It T-shirt and it was hard to resist sketching it. Sarah arrived in a flurry with the blouse. Melissa slipped it on right over her T-shirt and I sketched it in.

The rehearsal was about to start so I lost Melissa as she had to get the stage props set. She returned later and I started adding color. Sketching seems eternally slow when there is so much commotion back stage. Actors started appearing in their period costumes speaking their lines out loud to themselves. The priest seemed quite pleased with the sketch. Eric, the director, however felt she should look more formal. I had enjoyed sketching Melissa’s thin chiseled features so much that I had her smiling. Melissa posed one more time looking stern as she pursed her lips.

The dress rehearsal was a full run through of the play. Sarah was impressive with her haughty high society airs. The set, designed by Lisa Buck functioned as both an exterior and an interior. Between acts furniture was moved and panels added to change the look. I will not revel any story points other than the fact that Kitty Warren’s voice breaks into a crisp street urchin rogue when she discusses her profession with her daughter. It is like watching a high society female Jekyll and Hyde.

Tickets are $34. Seniors and students with ID receive a $2 discount.

Opening Night is February 8, 2012.  Join us for a champagne toast after the performance.

Pay What You Wish Performance is Wednesday February 27 at 8pm.
Tickets are $15.00 in advance and Pay What You Wish at the door. The Pay
What You Wish tickets will be sold only in person at the Box Office
starting at 7pm. Two tickets per transaction only. Tickets are limited
until sold out.

Monday Night Jazz Jam

Posted on by Thor

On January 7th, I went to the Monday Night Jazz Jam at Terrace 390 (390 N. Orange Ave. Orlando). Saxophonists, Trumpet players and trombonists lines the wall as I entered. Each in turn would step in for an improvised solo when the moment felt right. The Monday Night Jazz Jam features numerous
TOP Musicians and Vocalists.

There’s nothing like it in Central Florida. The place was packed. I decided to just lean against the wall along with the musicians. Several of the musicians knew me so I felt at ease. Miss Jacqueline Jones stepped up to the mic and won the crowd over with her silky voice.

Yvonne Coleman who organized the event acknowledged all the talented musicians and even gave me a shout out. Tip jar donations benefited Dimarci Services, Inc. This non-profit organization helps to promote empowerment to individuals overcoming addiction and mental health challenges and adverse situations which interfere with productive life styles. They also provide community outreach and transitional, sober housing.

As it turned out, Terrace 390 was sold to new owners after this evening’s performance. The new owners want to continue the event but they weren’t certain that new staff, menu, etc.
would be in place for such a large group. The Monday Night Jazz Jams will be on a short hiatus, and will resume in February. The New Owners of Terrace 390 are making some nice enhancements and will be ready to start on Monday, Feb. 18th.  After that
we’ll resume our regular schedule of the 1st and 3rd Mondays of every
month.   They have a GREAT MENU with special food and drink pricing.  No
Cover!

 “Music is what feelings sound like.”
-Author Unknown

Mystery Sketch Theater

Posted on by Thor

Mystery Sketch Theater, a live model sketch session, is held on the first Wednesday of every month at A Comic Shop
114 (South Semoran Blvd. Suite 6, Winter Park). On February 6th the model will be Ivy Les Vixens. Who’s got more pink frilly things in her closet than
Ivy? Not many, and that’s why she’s back to help us Celebrate
Valentine’s Day at our February session! Ivy is the powerhouse princess pussycat, ringleader of the Les Vixens, a
post-modern burlesque experience. She thrives on glamor, go-go,
glitter & girls. With more than six years entertaining the gay
community, she has established herself as the energizer bunny of the
go-go world, with the sweat, blood and hair flips to prove it. She
performs every Saturday night at Revolution, dances at Rain on Tuesdays,
and travels the country with a multitude of different entertainers,
leaving a trail of sequins and glitter wherever she goes.

A Comic Shop recently received a restaurant license to serve food
and drinks (including wine and beer). We will no longer be able to
bring in outside food and drink (so they don’t get into trouble). Please
feel free to purchase snacks and beverages from them during our
session.


Come
early for a good seat. Those drawing tables go quickly! Sessions
cost only $5 for two hours of drawing fun and prizes, and start promptly
at 8PM at The Geek Easy, located inside of A Comic Shop: