COVID Dystopia: Jesus Dropped a Cluster Bomb

Posted on by Thor

In the weeks leading up to the Orlando Film Festival, I feel I should share shots from COVID Dystopia. I do this leading into each film festival.

This festival feels special since the film was created in Orlando and so many of the shots relate to Florida’s failed COVID response. The film has been rejected multiple times for other Florida Film Festivals and I thought it would never be shown in this state.

The animated film is controversial  and rather hard edged. It is perhaps too controversial to be shown at your average Film Festival. When it is shown, it wins awards. It won the Best Short Animation Film Award at the Chicago International Reels Film Festival. It won as the Best Short Short Film at the Berlin Shorts Film Festival, and it has won an Honorable Mention at the Charlotte Film Festival and it was a Nominee for the Best Animated Short at the Iowa Independent Film Festival.

Leu Gardens Plant Sale

Posted on by Thor

The summer heat wave finally broke after Hurricane Milton blew through Orlando Florida. Outdoor tent sale events proliferate as the weather cools in Central Florida.

This is a pre-pandemic sketch is of the Leu Gardens Plant Sale. I like trying to save plants from lawn jockeys whose whole purpose in life is to mow. blow and murder all plant life. If a plants die their job of riding a mower gets a whole lot easier. Each morning I go for a several mile long hike and gather fist fulls of ground cover that was edged poorly and is left growing partially over sidewalks. I then plant that fist full in the vast dead expanse of a yard. To me, grass is the enemy. It requires too much fertilizer, which runs off into the lake causing algae blooms. I prefer low lying ground covers that never grow high enough to need to be mowed down.

I am sill gathering sticks and twigs from the yard which will be used when it gets cooler to start fires in the fireplace and outdoor fire pit. For two days the neighborhood was magnificently silent. The Orlando Airport had been shut down so the deafening jet engines of planes about to land were no longer heard. The airport opened back up today and at the same time every home owner seemed to feel the need to fire up leaf blowers. They would blow their leaves into their neighbors yards and into the street. Whoever thought it was wise to strap a loud petrol engine to their back should be exiled. What ever happened to the good old fashioned rake?

Macbeth

Posted on by admin

The Orlando Shakes will present Macbeth at Fringe Art Space on November 1 and 2, 2024. The play is being performed by UCF Master of Fine Arts students.

In a past production the Orlando Shakes staged this scene in which a darkly clad cast surrounded Macbeth with their faces hidden behind black stockings. In the haunting scene they lay their hands on the king. It is a creepy and inspired staging.

These performances are staged at various venues around Orlando since the Shakespeare Theater is undergoing renovations.

NOVEMBER 1 & 2, 2024

Where: Fringe ArtSpace

54 W Church St Suite 201, Orlando, FL 32801

When:

November 1:

  • Evening: 7:30 – 8:50 PM

November 2:

  • Matinee: 2:00 – 3:20 PM
  • Evening: 7:30 – 8:50 PM

Lake Eola

Posted on by Thor

I did this sketch before going to a lawyers office in Downtown Orlando for mediation. I lived downtown at the time in an apartment building across from the Abby. This was three years after filing for divorce. I figured it made sense to do what I love before going through this difficult chapter of my life. The band shell was painted rainbow colors after the Pulse nightclub shooting. The Pulse shooting happened shortly after I was asked to leave home in 2016.

When the sketch was done I had just enough time to walk over to the lawyers office. I had to wait in the lobby and the place seemed dead. After maybe an hour I was called in and told that my X simply had not shown up. She worked in a building maybe a block away, so it is hard to imagine that the walk was difficult.  The day was not a complete waste since I got a decent sketch.

There would be several more meditations, each more painful than the last. The final mediation resulted in my giving away half of my existing art work just so I could get on with my life. I was working on a mural that depicted the City Beautiful at the time.

Thanksgiving

Posted on by Thor

Thanksgiving is the time that all the Christmas decorations come out. I visited my sister in Port Charlotte for Thanksgiving and she took me to Fisherman’s village in Punta Gorda.

Fisherman’s Village is a small shopping center set out on the docks. It is a Quaint riverfront complex of specialty shops and casual restaurants, plus a marina and lodging on the second level. I never imagined what it might be like to live in a small shopping mall. These deer are made of stiff wire wrapped with fabric. I’m sure there are Christmas light inside of them that make them glow at night. In Florida the richest colors can be seen in the day light with rich green foliage and bright flowers. Winter is the best season to be sketching outside in Florida.

Reiter Park

Posted on by Thor

I went on a sketch outing with the Orlando Urban Sketchers to Reiter Park, (311 West Warren Ave, Longwood, FL). One of the sketchers Greg Bryla through Dix.Hite + Partners, was involved with the design of the architectural landscaping of the park. I rather liked the sweeping circular motifs. On the top of a stair stepped hill stood a sculpture which features cut out pattern of a flock of birds. Since that patters has hardly visible from the distance I drew it as well across the sky.

The gazebos have barn like roofs which give the childhood drawing impressions of the standard home. Actually a home I am looking at in Upstate New York has a similar roof along with a small widow’s tower.

On October 122, 2020 from 4pm to 9pm there will be a Food Truck Battle and Concert in the Park with Hypersonica. On November 23, 2024 the 48the Annual Longwood Arts and Crafts Festival will be held in the park. That is a two day event starting at 9am each day. March 1, 2025 will be the Longwood Pirate Days Festival from 10am to 6pm.

COVID Dystopia: Honorable Mention

Posted on by Thor

I am very pleased that COVID Dystopia won an Honorable Mention at the Charlotte Film Festival in North Carolina. COVID Dystopia screened on the morning after Hurricane Helene ripped through North Carolina.

Charlotte is further east than Asheville, North Carolina which was absolutely demolished by the storms flooding. Charlotte on the other hand only saw a solid day of rain and no power outages. By the end of the film festival the sun had come out.

I was trying desperately to find a connecting flight to Charlotte but my film had screened at 10:30PM on the night before in Reno Nevada. There was no flight that could get me to Charlotte by 10 AM the next morning.

The animated film that did win for Best Animated Film was called, Have You Eaten. The jury liked the narrative, and the nostalgia of the story. For COVID Dystopia, the jury considered the film quite different and very vivid, being relatable with great technique and good pacing. Indeed COVID Dystopia challenges the audience to try and keep up with the insane fever dream.

Cordillera International Film Festival: Salt Lake City Airport

Posted on by Thor

On the flight back from Reno, Nevada where I had attended the Cordillera International Film Festival, there was a three hour lay over in Salt Lake City. I of course used the time to sketch. I would not be getting back to Orlando until 5:30AM. So my hope was that I might get some sleep on the flight. In the man time I had travelers to sketch. The guy with his feet up on his luggage suspected I was up to something nefarious and kept glancing over at me. I made sure to be looking and sketching some other part of the scene when he looked my way. Eventually he settled in and watched a movie on his iPhone in his lap.

Of course sketching the airport in Salt Lake City is really no different than any other airport sketch. Had I taken a full day, I could have explored the huge family history archives in the city. Some people took to lying on the floors to sleep. A little 10 year old boy got impatient and kept walking around with hill rolling luggage. The bag was too large for him to maneuver so he kept bumping into people. As always I was the only person masked, although I did see several people rush by to their flights. Perhaps only Floridians are clueless that we are still in the 9th wave of the pandemic.

On the flight I ended up watching the first Dune movie, so I didn’t actually get any sleep on the flight. They wear such awesome masks and goggles in Dune. I might have nodded off in the last hour when the movie was over. I do think I am still jet lagged.

Halloween Drink and Draw

Posted on by Thor

I have a soft spot for all things Cos Play.This Drink and Draw hosted by the AIGA was held at the Barley and Vine Biergarten 2406 E Washington St, Orlando FL.

All the artists circled up on an outdoor patio using available wooden stools. Spiderman being a superhero wasn’t content to pose standing on the tile floor, but he instead posed on tables and stood on stools.This was a great sketching opportunity although much of my time was spent sketching my fellow artists.

I only sign sketches when I post them online and somehow this one slipped through the cracks.

My short film, COVID Dystopia was accepted to another film festival but I can’t announce which one until October 23. Since I will be flying between 3 film festivals in the coming month, I will likely start posting more COVID Dystopia “making of” articles to help promote the film in the various cities where it will be shown. One festival screening is strictly virtual which makes sense for my film. It will be good to know that no one will get infected with COVID while watching COVID Dystopia. Since my screening is virtual, I am debating if I should travel to the city where the in person festival is being held. I suspect I will, since I want to be open to any chance encounter.

Mygration Films

Posted on by Thor

I sketched the evening that the filmmakers met their subjects for the MYgradion film series. I was therefor excited to see the end results of these films that had to be shot and crafted over just 2 days.

At the filmmaker meet an greet, one filmmaker, David Yanovich, found out that because of a mix up, he didn’t have a subject to work with. He was asked to just hang out since sometimes a filmmaker might just not show up. Sure enough someone didn’t show and David was matched with a subject. This was his first time crafting a short documentary. He worked with Idrees Khan and created the film, Ties to Trinidad.

Of the 13 or so films I was most excited to see the film about Stella Abelaez by Michael Elliott called The Path to Healing. I had met Stella at Disney Feature animation back in the 1990s.  Of all the films shown at the screening, the film about Stella was the only one that had me wiping away tears and yet feeling absolute joy at the end of the journey. It was a five minute emotional roller-coaster. At the end of the screenings, the audience got to cast their vote for the best film of the series.

The winner of the best short film was Culture to Canvas, a film about artist Nelson Cardenas by Ariana Castillo. I met Nelson at an art opening of his large paintings on wood of healthcare workers wearing masks which were shown during the lull after the second wave of the pandemic at the Orange County Regional History Center. I liked the work since so few artists have documented the pandemic. At the time of that opening the number of COVID infections was far lower that they are today. Today we are coming down from the 9th wave of the pandemic and about every 45th person is infected. People have been groomed to think repeat infections are the new normal. I was the only person masked person at the screening.

In this film I got to see some of the amazing paintings Nelson created about his emigration experience from Columbia. One painting of three men lying in the trunk of a car really stood out. He paid particular attention to the detail of one of the men’s stylish cowboy boots. Nelson and his mother had to squeeze into the same trunk with the men. Part of me is thinking that just this aspect of his story could be crafted into a powerful short animated film. The seed is planted, we will see if it will grow.