B-Side Artists

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On the third Thursday of the month, I went down to the City Arts Factory (29 South Orange Avenue) to do a sketch of the B-Side Artists show opening. This group of artists had seven original members lead by Swamburger and more artists have joined the ranks over the years. The B-Side name came from the flip side of Albums in the 1980’s, it was common knowledge then that the B-Side of the album would have the more experimental and cutting edge performances. Some of the work in this show had the feeling of emerging from the streets, having an urban feeling whose roots go back to graffiti. B-Side Artists is the urban youth underdog that continues to surprise pop-culture with it’s style, bold content, and willingness to create in artistically a-typical conditions.

Sketching a gallery opening is an insanely difficult challenge. I leaned back against a wall on my portable stool and got to work. The difficulty comes from people standing in front of you as you work. I have trained myself to not get frustrated but instead to wait or look elsewhere and draw some other detail not blocked by the person in front of me. Swamburger greeted me with a warm handshake and smile. Outside he related to me the dream he has of someday finding a project where all the arts groups in town can come together and collaborate on a project which shows the world what the Orlando arts scene has to offer.

Guerrier Peterson was the artist who’s work was on the wall opposite from where I was sitting. One painting had elephants across the base of the painting and then rising up behind them was the torso of a woman with no head and a knot of organic looking roots twisting upward out of the neck. Another painting depicted a demonic looking freak show clown with a long tongue. The longer I drew and studied the work, the more I liked it.

Betsy Dye

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Betsy Dye will be the featured artist in the July Mobile Arts Show, July 15th from 6 to 10PM. The Mobile Art Show takes place in a U-Haul van parked across the street from City Arts Factory (29 South Orange Avenue). I exhibited my work in the Mobile Art Show, and had a blast.
Betsy’s studio and apartment has a fresh retro feeling of the sixties and seventies. The walls are painted a submarine grayish green and everything in the place makes you feel like you have stepped back in time. She collects records, that’s right real vinyl, and that collection fills a huge bookshelf in the living room. Arranged by recording artists the albums are all in their original sleeves and she must have the complete works of such groups as the Beatles and Moody Blues. She collects owls and hand crafts owl dolls. On a table in the living room there was a basket full of white rabbits with huge black eyes. These rabbits are cute and yet strangely demonic. Also on the table were a bunch of round mirrors which were framed and encased in old Boys Life magazine adds. The sexist ads were light hearted and very funny. The Bob Dylan poster on the kitchen wall turned out to be a rare collectors item. Only a few of these posters were printed to promote a new record label. Betsy bought the poster for cheap and later researched to find out about it’s history.
Behind Betsy in the sketch is a blue cardboard tube tree that she plans to mount in the truck. She plans to place nests in the tree where she will then place her felt stuffed owls. In the sketch she is painting a sloth onto a wooden plaque. She has a whole series of these plaques which will be hung on the U-Hauls interior walls.
Everything about the space was warm and inviting. Sketching I felt like I had stepped back into a time when things were more tangible and less hectic. Something about the retro feeling of the place made me feel like I was finally sketching in the right time period. I felt so at ease and the sketch just flowed. I experienced a playful feeling of bliss.
As I was working on a second sketch, a friend of Betsy’s stopped in named Gina Yolango. She helped Betsy out by painting several of the cardboard cockoo clocks with a bright base coat of paint. Seated in the corner of the kitchen I really couldn’t see Gina so she never made it into the sketch. Betsy told me to pick out an album from her massive LP collection. I searched the titles of some time until I saw that she had Pink Floyd. The album “Wish You Were Here” was my immediate choice. I delicately removed the album form it’s sleeve and placed it on the antique record player. Lowering the needle was strangely rewarding. The needle gave off a familiar hiss and the album began with its delicate guitar melody. I couldn’t see Betsy working if I sat on my stool, so I stood the whole time I sketched while swaying to the familiar music. Since I was in the living room I was put in charge of the music and I fully enjoyed the responsibility.
Gina finished 2 cuckoo houses and got ready to leave. She gave Betsy a present which was a demonic little voodoo doll complete with pins piercing its blue heart, an earring and stitches for eyes. Betsy loved it and laughed out loud. As soon as Gina left, Elizabeth Cason arrived. She kept Betsy company as I finished off the last of the watercolor washes. When I was finished and showed Betsy the second sketch, she invited me to join Elizabeth and her for a bite. We went to Taco Bell. On the trip back to Betsy’s studio, it started to rain. This wasn’t just any rain, it was epic. On a mad dash back to my truck I was soaked to the bone. Every event of the evening was punctuated with laughter. You will see that humor in every piece in the show. So close up Facebook and come on out!

Tomorrow I will be sketching Jazz, Art on a Summers night at Redlight Redlight (745 Bennett Road) sometime between 7PM and 2AM.

Red Umbrella

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As I walked past this woman reading in a rare moment of calm between Fringe performances a friend said, “That is a beautiful scene, you should sketch it.” This was a rare moment where someone actually encouraged me to take the time to slow down and do a sketch. When I am among friends and family, I usually think they would get annoyed that I am sketching rather than taking part in a conversation. At parties I often quietly listen to the conversations around me, thinking the whole time that I would love to sketch a persons expression or the warm ambiance of the room. Being invited to do a sketch therefor was thrilling.
I walked up to the woman to see how long she might be reading and to make sure she was comfortable with being sketched. She was waiting for a show and would be reading for another half an hour. I sat down and got to work.
As I was sketching Ryan Price walked up to me with his video camera rolling and he asked me a few questions. The sound quality on the video is off sync and hard to hear but it is interesting to see the way I managed to answer his questions while still working. The whole time I was being interviewed I was hoping the woman wouldn’t get up and walk away.
When the sketch was finished I rushed off and headed into another Fringe show called “The Bike Trip”. This was the best show I saw a Fringe this year. It was a one man show about one mans quest to find the origins of Acid. The monologue was quick, lively and full of humanity. It made me feel more connected to the people around me. I never asked the woman’s name that I sketched, she will always be “The Lady in Red” to me.

The Second Annual Bastille Day

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On Saturday Terry and I drove to the Audubon Park Garden District to find out what Bastille Day was all about. Of course in France Bastille day is a celebration of French independence from the rule of monarchs. When we drove past Stardust Video and Coffee there were one or two tents in the parking lot and a water tank set up to dunk a mime. We almost left since it looked like nothing was happening. I expected to see waving flags, a huge crowd and plenty of French costumes. We wandered the side streets looking for a parking spot and braved the heat to walk over to Stardust. A thermometer in Terry’s car indicated it was 101 degrees Fahrenheit outside.
The door I usually use to enter Stardust was locked. We entered the door right in front of the food counter. I could hear a trumpet wailing in the room to my right so we walked that way. We were stopped and told that it would cost $10 to see the concert. I was annoyed since the event page said nothing about a $10 entry fee. He went on to explain that we would get 2 free drink tickets with the price of admission. I was ready to leave but Terry said, “Well, we are already here. Lets go in.” She obviously has a higher entertainment budget that I do. So we paid and got orange wrist bands (not red, white and blue?).
The Benoit Glazer Quartet was on stage. Terry and I sat in an empty booth close to the stage and I got to work on my sketch. The last time I had seem Benoit playing trumpet was at a concert at his home where he played with his kids. Once a month Benoit opens his home, referred to as the White House or Timucua, to musicians and artists. The quartet was really good and Benoit would end each song with some independence themed riff. The fact that he would introduce each song with his authentic french accent added to the days Bastille theme.
Between sets Darlyn Finch came over with her fiance Brad Kuhn and Beverly Browning, an author who had been on Yo Soy Latino a radio show with Darlyn that morning. Darlyn broadcasts a show called Scribblers Corner which talks all about literary events in and around Orlando. I was still rushing to finish my sketch. I was in a panic since Benoit and the other musicians were getting off the stage so I was quickly noting the colors of their clothing. I quickly threw down washes on the performers even as they packed away their instruments. I might have seemed rude but I couldn’t stop just because the music had stopped.
The next performers were Serina Jung and Lisa Firestone. Both are performing moms and their children were in the audience. Serina’s beautiful voice and acoustic guitar playing set the tone of the performance. Lisa offered back up on several of the songs on the piano but later she got off stage to let Serina serenade the audience on her own. The whole time she sang I was finishing up my sketch of Benoit adding delicate layers of watercolor washes. When she finished my sketch was complete.
Terry and I left Stardust in search of other events that were going on such as a Waiter race, a fencing demonstration and a dog show to see which mutts could best look like a french poodle. We walked over to Park Avenue CD’s and looked around the air conditioned store. The Moulin Rouge stage was still under construction. A few more craft vendor tents were set up. The Orlando Sentinel had a tent and table but no one was there. I joked with Terry that they must have all been fired as soon as the tent had been set up. We never did find any of the other scheduled events. We decided to get back in the air conditioned car and head off to hear some jazz.

4th Fest

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On July 4th I went with Terry down to Gaston Edwards Park on Lake Ivanhoe to see what 4th Fest was all about. For $5 you could hang out in the park and see about 20 bands as they performed all day long. I sat down and sketched Dirt McCoy & the Trailer Park Refugees. The harmonica player had on a tie died red white and blue shirt. The music had a hard hitting southern flair. The set lasted just 20 minutes and then Mumpsy took to the stage. I debated about starting a second sketch but something told me I shouldn’t. To the left of the stage a group of girls set up with Hulla Hoops. When the music started they danced to the music while Hulla Hooping the whole time. A definite future sketch opportunity. I noticed that the drummer from The trailer Park Refugees was the lead singer of Mumpsy.
The sky turned gray and then it opened up with a torrential downpour. To Mumpsy’s credit they kept right on playing. The audience ran right up to the stage to get under the edge of the tent structure. Everyone continued to dance and the crowd grew much more intimate. Amanda and Matt stood face to face their red and yellow umbrellas overlapping. I had a very torn and tattered umbrella that was a joke. Some spokes were broken and the fabric was torn away from the spoke tips. Terry and I decided to head back to her car. As it turns out my cell phone got soaked on the trip to the car and it no longer allowed me to enter numbers or look at texts. From here Terry and I drove down to Celebration where we planned to watch the free fireworks.

July 4th – Celebration

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Terry and I drove down to Celebration to catch the fireworks display. When we first entered the complex, there was a parking lot where we could then catch a bus to the downtown festivities. The place was packed and there was a huge crowd surrounding the main stage where an Elvis impersonator was singing and a group of 1950’s dancers were performing. I didn’t feel like sketching the huge crowd or the ever changing dancers so I wandered until I found a nice relaxing spot next to this Chinese food concession stand. The meals were prepared to order so the cook was in constant motion trying to keep up with the demand. Right next to the Chinese food was a beer tent which had just as much of a demand.
Several times mothers stopped to point out the artist to their children. I never stopped working and in time they wandered off. On little girl kept watch for close to half an hour before being dragged off to find a perfect fireworks viewing spot. Terry wandered around and found us a spot behind the hotel where she wanted to go to view the display. When the sketch was finished we went over to the hotel. There was now a guard at the door who told us we had to be guests of the hotel in order to get in. Terry was furious since she had gotten in earlier. We finally sat down on a grassy knoll and relaxed. There was a dramatic count down from ten but it was a false alarm. When the fireworks finally lit up the sky they were dramatic and well timed to the music. I saw some explosions that were new to me. Some mortars had secondary sparks which then buzzed away like bees. Terry and I muscled our way out of the crowd before the last of the mortars lit up the sky. Our bus was the first to leave the crowded downtown area.

Public Feeding Ordinance

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In September I sketched the organization, Food Not Bombs as they feed the homeless at Lake Eola. At the time they were allowed to serve food because of a September 2008 court victory which stated that denying this group the right to feed people would be a violation of the groups first amendment rights. On July 6, 2010 the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeal reversed that opinion and there is once again an ordinance against feeding people in the park. The city attorney claimed that the feeding of people in the park was considered ” an abusive use” of the park.
I went down to the park right after hearing about the ruling to see if Food Not Bombs would still offer food even when there was an ordinance that restricted such an act. When I arrived there was a small line of people waiting for clothing. A channel 13 news van was on site and video cameras and photographers were wandering around. I passed one angry man who didn’t want to be on camera. He shouted, “Why do they consider this so news worthy now? What is so interesting about a bunch of people trying to get something to eat?” A woman next to him said, “I don’t care if they take my picture so long as I get something to eat.”
Someone shouted out that if people wanted clothes they should get in line. People sorted through the clothing for well over an hour. I started to think that maybe Food Not Bombs was going to get around the new ordinance by simply focusing just on clothing needs for now. But then I caught a whiff of some food being cooked behind me. A news helicopter hoovered above the small crowd. The loud sound was unnerving but I tend to gravitate to events where helicopters are needed.
In the picnic area with a nice wrought iron fence around it was now crowded with people having dinner conversations and sharing stories. Huge trees spiral up in this corner of the park, their thick trunks showing signs of hundreds of years of growth. A large white banner was hung on the fence that said “We will not stop till every stomach if full.” It was obvious that Food Not Bombs was not about to cower away from their humanitarian mission because of some new legislation. This issue of public feeding had been bounced around the courts like a ping pong ball. The day may still come again when it is perfectly legal to help feed the people around you in need.

Blend

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Blend was a live painting event held at Taste (717 West Smith Street in College Park). Frankie Messina and Tracy Burke helped organize this unique collaborative event. Blend bought together artists from a wide variety of disciplines and had them all work on a series of canvases together. When I arrived with Terry, we made our way back to the red room where the lights were blazing and we could hear the conversations of all the artists at work. Jeremy Seghers and Amanda Chadwick were in the restaurant and I suggested Terry join them as I finished up a sketch. Plastic was draped over the walls and floor to avoid paint getting everywhere. Even with these precautions, someone stepped on a palette and stomped red paint everywhere. The mess was quickly cleaned up. The art styles were varied and in some ways disjointed when placed side by side on a single canvas. It took some time and effort to see some of the canvases find a unified vision. A man wearing a Viking helmet had horns which had diodes inside that would light up and move up and down to the beat of the music. After the event, I learned that the artist in the foreground of the sketch is Maisy May Marrs. She did a fun quirky painting of a serious redheaded girl in the cornet of the canvas she was working on. She stares up at a stick figure girl on top of her head. the image is strangely unsettling.
Since I hadn’t been invited to join the effort, I just concentrated on my sketch. I later found out that both Terry and Amanda had contributed to a piece so I suppose I should have made a contribution. Louise Bova whose work is expressionistic and representational, decided to just add swirling brush strokes which added to the pattern of a painting. Once I finished my sketch I joined Jeremy Amanda and Terry out in the restaurant. I ordered some tater tots and a drink. The dinner conversation was lively and well greased with some drinks. Jeremy and Amanda had to get to an 11 o’clock SAK comedy club show so they took off. Terry and I stayed behind and waited for the band to start playing in the red room as many of the artists packed up and left.

Kundalini Yoga at Baba Siri Chad Ashram

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Teresa White Raduazzok invited me to join her on a trip to the Baba Siri Chad Ashram to experience Kundalini Yoga. The Ashram is located at 404 East Center Street Altamonte Springs. When we arrived Teresa showed me around the meditation garden. The garden was gorgeous with tall bamboo making it feel like an exotic secluded forest. Ancient statues covered in moss were found is quiet corners of the garden and a small gazebo housed a place where two people could sit facing one another on pillows. Also in the structure was a large bronze statue of a muscular man named Baba Siri Chand who was a farmer in India who became enlightened. Instead of secluding himself on a mountain top , he continued farming and helped bring enlightenment to the people.
I had bought a yoga mat but was very self conscious about it because it was foam and bright pink. Teresa had a beautiful old quilt and I suspected I might stand out. At the entry way there was a place to put your shoes before entering the building. The interior is amazing. The room was filled with golden light from the huge windows facing the garden. Every wall was covered with intricate murals with images of snakes coiling around cylinders and shapes that mirrored one another and seemed to spiral up the walls in organic and flowing patterns.
Teresa mentioned to the instructor that I would be doing a sketch. The instructor said to me, “This isn’t a spectator sport, I expect you to do some of the exercises.” This left me feeling nervous, I was certain I would get kicked out of the Ashram. I worked with extra speed to get as much of the sketch finished as I could before I was given the boot. I did the breathing exercises, called rapid breath of fire, and some of the upper body work. I would close my eyes on occasion to fully experience the flow of energy but soon I would open them and continue my sketch which is my way of merging with the universe around me. Breathing consisted of fast staccato inhales and exhales for an extended period of time. The movements were more relaxed and gentle that yoga I had taken in the past. Kundalini in Sanskrit means “That which is coiled”, it is conceptualized as a snake that is coiled three and a half times at the base of the spine. When Kundalini is awakened it brings the person pure joy, knowledge and love.
When everyone lay down for meditation, I decided my sketch was finished and I joined them. The instructor got out large bronze and glass bowls. She took a wooden mallet and used it to rub along the outer lip of the bowls. A warm humming note was generated which could be felt right down to the spine. She sang a series of vowels along with the resonant note. Everyone’s breathing grew heavy and relaxed. A man in front of me was snoring. The instructor recited verses which told us we should shine out light out into the world, that our influence should extend beyond Orlando, Beyond Florida and we should envision the whole world engulfed in this loving light.

Longtime Sun Song:
May the longtime sun shine upon you:
All love surround you
and the pure light within you
guide your way on.

Mellow Mushroom

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Every Monday night at about 8:30PM the Mellow Mushroom (11680 East Colonial Drive), holds an event called Drink & Draw. I heard there was prize money for the best sketch, so I couldn’t resist going out for a pizza in the name of art. A waitress seated me at a booth at the edge of the room. I didn’t notice any sort of staging area so I asked her about the event. She pointed to the sound system set up on the opposite side of the room. She said a DJ would announce the contest and then a model would pose on some chairs for 3 five minute poses. The prizes were as follows:
1st place would be a $25 Mellow Mushroom gift certificate.
2nd place would be a $10 Mellow Mushroom gift certificate.
3rd place would be a Wild Garlic Ball appetizer.
I ordered a vegetarian pizza with the works and a Mountain Dew. The announcer walked around to all the tables and handed out paper and pencils. I took a sheet of paper to be polite but I had already started the sketch in my sketchbook. The model, dressed as Bat Girl stood on a couple of chairs and took heroic poses. The lighting left her in the darkness and with so many tables in front of me I seldom had a clear view of her. I finally had to get up and walk to the front of the room. I leaned up against a 10 foot tall fiberglass mushroom and quickly jotted down her pose. When it came time to judge I of course was still adding watercolor washes. I didn’t win anything since I was still at work.
KC arrived and joined me for a second round of sketching. She ordered a soda and I offered her some of my pizza which I couldn’t finish. The second model was dressed as a rock and roll musician and she held a guitar. I was still working on the color washes but this time I took perhaps a minute each to jot down the poses. I wasn’t inspired by the stiff poses and the drawings sucked. KC moved to a closer table and worked diligently while I went back to my sketchbook. When the prizes were announces for the second set of poses, KC was the grand prize winner. She used the certificate to pay for the pizza and drinks so my sketching adventure that night cost me nothing!