Cyclops

Posted on by Thor

For the day of the out Macular Degeneration patient Eye surgery I had to wear a plastic Eye shield. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to do a Van Gogh inspired self portrait.

The eye patch was removed the following morning at the doctors office by a nurse. She waved her hand in front of my face to see if I could see and then held up one finger to see if I knew how to count. She pulled her hand away with the one finger and asked if I could still see her finger and I let her know that it was still attached to her hand.

What had been a red blob in my patch covered vision was now a blurry and wet view of the office. The lower half of my vision was till a grey air bubble. I can see through the grey air bubble but it is like looking through gauze of a thick fog.

My eye looks like I was punched by Mike Tyson without a boxing glove on. There is no white to my eye, it is all a bloody mess. I was told the bubble sloshing around in my eye will disappear in several weeks. In the mean time I tend to get sea sick whenever I move my head. It turns out I am always moving my head except when I sleep.

I will not be venturing out to sketch on location for a few weeks. My Sunday Crealde classes were canceled, not because I look like a monster, but because not enough students signed up. I am thankful to have the Sundays off to recover, but I have a dozen virtual classes each week that I need to pace myself through. I had rescheduled virtual classes that were slated for the day of the surgery to the following day. I am very glad I did that because I felt nauseous and rested most of the day after surgery. The make up classes went alright but I rested between the classes. Today I have 8 hours of virtual classes back to back. It will be an adventure to see how I hold up.

Maitland Art Center Demo

Posted on by Thor

This sketch was done as a demo for one of my students. It was a nice day, cool and sunny. We did several sketched on the property.

I am always stressing the importance of perspective when doing a sketch on location. The sign in the foreground and the building inn the background have the same vanishing point. The fact that the vanishing point is off the pace often throws a beginning sketcher.

There is also a vanishing point off the page to the right which defines that sidewalk triangle shape in the lower right corner and the angles in the roadway.

Now that I am on my own, I am feeling the need to get out and sketch on location more often. The trouble is that most days I teach until 8pm and most events start earlier.

I might just start doing nocturnal digital paintings after 8pm. I am thinking I can go to event venues and sketch from outside. A COVID cautious artist doing outsider views of crowded venues might be interesting. I used to document each hellish superspreader event, but those are happening every day now.

Yesterday I started designing the COVID Dystopia book. The format I am considering is a hardbound book 10 1/4 by 13 1/4 inches. Learning InDesign is proving problematic. I have the cover set up but there are many technical issues I need to address. I made a mistake downsizing cover art, and now it is pixelated. Well. if I can teach myself Premiere and After Effects, I should be able to tackle InDesign.

Retina Pre-Op

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A friend drove me to Central Florida Retina for a Pre-op check in. My left eye is distorting images so that I end up seeing double with both eyes open. For now I tend to close my left eye when sketching and when typing.

We went from one small waiting room to another small waiting room neither of which had HEPA air filtration. Ironically in the second waiting room the news station on the TV was featuring a story about Long COVID. The volume was down so I didn’t hear what was being covered. Two others in the room were masked.

This was certainly an older demographic of patients waiting to be seen. The guy in the corner of the room was busy on his iPad but using it seemed foreign to him. He poked at the screen like he was trying to kill a bug.

Then he took a phone call and shouted into the phone. I don’t think he had any idea how loud he was shouting. He then needed to look up a contact and didn’t know how to do it. My friend stepped in and showed him how to find the contacts list. After the call he started talking to her about his past. He was from Jamaica and went though many screenings before being able to immigrate to America. He was annoyed that illegal immigrants were making that process more cumbersome. Then he said he should have listened to his mother. The only reason he was loosing his eye sight was because he had looked at too many Penthouse magazines. I must say he made the wait far more interesting.

Everything that was done at this appointment had been done several weeks prior. I learned nothing new. The only possible reason for this second appointment would be to bill the insurance company again. Anyway my eye surgery is in a week. Hopefully it will correct the distortions I am experiencing. I will wear an eye patch for a day and then I hope the vision will slowly recover. I was also warned that because of the surgery I will likely develop a yellowish have over time. If you see me doing more yellow paintings, you now know why.

COVID Dystopia: Vote

Posted on by Thor

This scene from COVID Dystopia was created the week before the former president lost the presidential election. Ignorance in the face of a deadly pandemic was my only issue I considered in that election. Joe Biden promised change but one happened after he was elected. Now in the upcoming election I face a choice between the same tow numskulls, namely Dumb and Dumber. It is a hard choice.

At the time Omicron was ripping through society and it was the worst spike of deaths since the start of the pandemic. Everyone compares the COVID Death toll today to that huge spike during the election. Today there are about 600 reported deaths a week due to COVID. That is about the same weekly death toll as people who die in automobile accidents. So, granted I have to drive my car to get supplies and survive, but I wear a seat belt which increases my chance of surviving if I am side swiped by a lunatic. That is that same reason I wear a mask indoors and in crowds outdoors. If there is one thing the pandemic taught me is that everyone is a lunatic.

Lunatics prefer to blame lock downs and vaccines for their constant illnesses from  some “Mystery” virus. They come back from cruises sick and then go to crowded graduations to spread the virus to others. Hospitals have dropped making requirements for doctors to they are now cesspools of infection. Masking in N-95s to protect others is a step too far. I visited a new doctor a week ago and she was mask less. At least one of her receptionists wore a baggy blue. People are desperate to conform to the social norm and since most people do not mask the only way to fit in is to be constantly sick with a virus that destroys the immune system and causes vascular and brain damage. The numbers of young people dying from heart problems is staggering but COVID is never mentioned on the death certificates.

 

Orlando Fringe: The Estate Sale

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The Orlando Fringe pre-show for The Estate Sale was pure genius. Kelly Dee had several folding tables set up with estate sale items for sale. Everything was for sale and people purchased items on mass. Genevieve seated in front of me had purchased more items than she knew how to carry.

This one woman show covered 40 years working with her mother in estate sales. Kelly left Central Florida multiple times to go to the big cities like New York and LA, but she kept getting drawn back.

Oh, and if you are wondering what she is holding in my sketch, that is an item everyone would want if they knew it existed. It is a beautifully carved dildo with an inlay  sculpture of Jesus Christ up the shaft. Lets face it every bed stand needs one.

I loved the big ceramic Owl lamp base. The home-studio I am renting has an owl sculpture on a garden wall in the front yard and it would be nice to be further surrounded by owls. I heard one the other night hooting from across the lake. I think it was hooping at the planes flying overhead.

As they say, one woman’s trash is another woman’s treasure and Kelly shared her love and life lessons in this hilarious one woman show. I wish I could promote the show, but The Estate Sale has cum and gone. If you do happen to see a Jesus dildo at an estate sale, do let me know. I might be starting a collection. I give The Estate Sale 4 Big Jesus Dildos.

Fringe: The Process is Ugly

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The Process is Ugly presented by The Scrappy Batch at this year’s Fringe was the hardest hitting emotional show I have seen this year. It is a one woman show that delves into the attempts at emotional recovery after physical harassment.

Daniella Ross was groped at work and she responded with a solid punch to the fellow employee. She and the employee were temporarily layed off. She later found out the male employee was layed off for much less time.

She decided to try an Eat, Pray. Love style recovery by traveling to an exotic location to practice yoga and holistic living. That lifestyle didn’t suit her. Her brain raced during meditation. Then during yoga the male instructors felt the need to correct her poses. The first instructor just uses the base of his hand but the second flat out grabbed her. She overheard him during lunch saying essentially that he could grab practitioners any way he liked. As an audience member I felt the anger. Why can’t people just respect the personal space of others?

I felt the most magical moment came when the show was over. This was a the first time she was performing the show at Fringe. She stood in front of the audience and said, “What do I do now?” What she had shared was so raw and emotional. She began to explain how certain conversations were verbatim what had transpired. She got choked up as she explained. The emotions were still raw and very real. This is the magic of live theater, sometimes it hits a nerve so tender and universal that the whole audience identifies intimately. I give the show 4 yoga mats.

The Process is Ugly is in the Scarlet venue and rated 18 and up. It has a run time of 60 minutes. Tickets  are $15.

The remaining show times are…

  • Saturday May 25, 4:20pm
  • Sunday May 26, 5:45pm

 

Orlando Fringe: Life Goes On

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The Orlando Fringe show, Life Goes On is produced by Kelsay + Morales Company. It is being performed at the Renaissance Theater. The theater now sports a beautiful rainbow  colored mural with the phrase “We Are All from Here”.

This is a new musical about a young millennial names Calvin, performed by Damian Barry, who is tired of struggling as an aspiring actor who works at a clothing store to make ends meet and never gets the acting roles he dreams of.

His partner, Jon performed by Max Herskovitz,  listens to his complaints with only marginal interest since he has heard it all before. Their relationship has lost it’s spark. There is no big fall out, just a slow decay. Flash back to when they first meet on a subway and the attraction is palpable.

Their duet had me welling up. I don’t think I was ready for a show about love lost. Calvin calls a long time friend, Gabby, Performed by Dee Quinterro and they hit the town. She is a new mom and needed to escape the pressure cooker of new responsibilities of raising a baby and a demanding husband.

Calvin and his partner do break up, but he seems to land on his feet by moving in with two acting buddies and starting therapy. Guilt, sorrow and hope all well up to the surface. The reprise of “Life Goes ON’ was an uplifting song about self discovery and moving on even as relationships fall to the wayside. We move on because we have to. I was thoroughly impressed with the show. It left me aching.

She show is rated 18 and up with a runtime of 60 minutes. Tickets are $15 plus a $10 Fringe button.

Show times:

  • Thursday May 16, 6:30pm
  • Saturday May 18, 7:30pm
  • Sunday May 19, 1:30pm
  • Wednesday May 22, 8:00pm
  • Saturday May 25, 3:00pm
  • Saturday May 25, 9:00pm
  • Sunday May 26, 4:30pm

 

Cocaine Bear the Opera

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I caught a dress rehearsal for Cocaine Bear the Opera which will be performed at this year’s Fringe festival. The show is written and produced by Eric Pinder.

If you have ever been to an opera or even seen some bugs bunny cartoons that use the classics, you will be familiar with the music, now with lyrics telling the tale of a cocaine crazed bear.

I know of the movie which this opera is built around, but I haven’t seen it. The opera holds its own as a hilarious romp.

The show begins with a drug runner dreaming of his future life filled with beautiful woman now that he is in possession of a stack of cocaine bricks. On the rear projection screen a plane on a stick bobs up and down before crashing into the forest.

A bear finds the mysterious substance which he calls “magic snow” and he lusts after it like Gollum after the ring.

There are lots of intestinal entrails when people find the magic snow and the bear defends his stash. I was entertained by a lustful scene between two park rangers who were then both disemboweled by the bear. Strangely a little girl in tears caused the bear to pause and take pity. Horrific chase scenes played out in delightful slow motion.

The glue holding this all together was classic operatic ballads that were so familiar that I found myself humming along. This is a strange quirky but absolutely delightful show. I give it five bloody bear paws.

The show will be in the Peach Venue inside the Orlando Family Theater. It is rated 18 and up for some language and suggestive situations. The run time is 50 minutes and Tickets are $15.

Show times:

  • Wednesday May 15, 5:45pm
  • Saturday May 18, 9:50pm
  • Sunday May 19, 10:05pm
  • Monday May 20, 9:35pm
  • Tuesday May 21, 6:05pm
  • Saturday May 25, 12:30pm
  • Sunday May 26, 9:40pm

Brain Bros Presents: Uber Chronicles

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When going to the Fringe show, Brain Bros Presents: Urber Chronicles, I imagined I might experience a show that showcased the unexpected insights gathered from candid and insightful conversations with Uber passengers.

The show was part rap and much stumbling. A phone alarm started going off in the audience. “Who’s phone is that?! He shouted. People looked around in confusion. It turns out it was his phone. He made his way into the audience and grabbed it. It was just a strange unrehearsed moment of chaos.

Beats were provided by Fryemixes who was seated in the audience. When he stood and explained how he was mixing the beats, I wanted to hear more. I wish he was also in front of the audience. His creative process was fascinating. I liked that Brain Bro had a large photo of his dead dog Cooper Thatius leaning up against a flat of a taxi.

He wanted audience participation and this group of seasoned Fringers were more than happy to play along. Since he wasn’t great with the dance moves, he asked several audience members to get up and act as his back up dancers. The two dancers did an awesome job swaying to the beats and even ventured to try and do a moon walk. Part of the appeal of the show is the fact that it is such a train wreck. I admire the effort, and perhaps the show will find it’s feet over the course of it’s Fringe run.

I was surprised that COVID did play a part in the show monologue. Usually any mention of the C word is certain death in entertainment. People prefer to pretend it didn’t happen and certainly they don’t want to think the pandemic is still ongoing.  He said the pandemic experience changed him forever. However he referred to the pandemic in the past tense. Based on the show flats, it would seem he must have been in NYC during the worst wave of the NYC COVID deaths at the start of the pandemic. The Fringe program however points out that he is an Orlando performer. Is his name Brain Bros? Probably not. Observations about the pandemic were  cursory, all he seemed to gain was some patience at stop lights where he peruses his social media.

ReTRIBUTEion: The Ultimate Tribute Band Tribute

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I went to Renaissance Theater to sketch a dress rehearsal for ReTRIBUTEion. The show is a sort of fictional mockumentary about a 1980s and 1990s hardcore rock tribute band.

When I entered the theater, there was an argument between actors in front of the stage. I would have to press past them to make my way up into the seating area. I soon realized they were rehearsing. It was a very Meta moment. It was hard to distinguish between the rehearsal and the performance.

Between sets there are video interviews with band members about the history of the group. I love that an Austin Powers look alike proclaimed the band the Beetles of tribute bands.

I have sketched multiple times at a celebrity impersonator convention here in Orlando and it was rewarding to see so many familiar faces.

The show felt custom written for actress Monica Leamy. It followed the bands start as a high school garage band and its endless chameleon morphing into many celebrity tribute bands. When an Ozzie Osborn tribute singer joined the band things blew up and the group became famous in tribute circles. With so many big celebrity impersonators collaborating tensions grew for who should take center stage.

I loved the show. I was often laughing out loud and swaying to the rock and roll beat. The producer warned that the music might be rather loud, but I was fine with the levels. Then again I am adjusting to living in a home that is on the Orlando Airport landing flight path. The house rumbles as the planes fly maybe 100 feet overhead. I highly advise that you check this show out, I had a blast.

Fringe performances are on…

  • 9:00PM Saturday May 18,
  • 10:30PM Sunday May 19,
  • 8:30pm Tuesday May 21,
  • 6:30PM Wednesday May 22,
  • 9:30PM Thursday May 23,
  • 9:30PM Friday May 24,
  • 6:00 Monday May 26

The venue is the Renaissance Theater Company. The show is rated 13 and up. Runtime is 60 minutes. Tickets are $15 plus a Fringe button.