Organic & Sustainable Production

Posted on by Thor

I drove north to the Marion County Extension office (2232 NE Jacksonville Rd Ocalla FL) to listen to a presentation about Organic & Sustainable Production. The talk was presented by a University of Florida researcher.

100 years a go, all farming was organic ans sustainable. Back then there were fewer pests, since the world was not as global. Today tankers full of crops are shipped around the world and the pests from one country spread to other countries.

Most problems could be solved before a crop goes n the ground. Talking to one farmer the researcher asked how many years that particular crop was planted in that filed. The farmer proudly told him that the crop had been planted there every year for over 20 years. When crops are planted int he same place year after year, the bugs have a fest.

Planting cotton in the same plot of land two years in a row is illegal in some states. When you get cotton seeds, you must apply for a permit before planting. This is common in many Southeastern states and other cotton-producing areas.The only way cotton boll weevils have been eliminated, over the years,  is by this extreme form of enforced husbandry. The first year, the boll weevils will burrow down in the ground and come back with a vengeance the next year if cotton is once again planted in the same spot. It is better to plant something that is resistant to the boll weevils.

Using pesticides tends to kill off the predator bugs which are good for eliminating true pests like aphids. When inspecting a garden bed the speaker saw thousands of aphids, but also saw paper wasps fling around. He decided to not spray insecticide. In a week all the aphids were gone. Wasps lay  their eggs inside aphids, and the developing wasp larva consumes the aphid from within, eventually killing it. This process is a form of biological control, where beneficial insects help regulate pest populations. Lady bugs are a more pleasant bug to have in the garden for pest control.

The talk was a fire hose of information. Since I will be on the road in Europe in a month, I will get to use what was learned once I settle dond and set up my own permaculture food garden

No Humans

Posted on by Thor

I got to spend time watching Boo Boo for Stella Arbeláez Tascón when she went to Georgia for a woman’s art conference.

The last time I watched Boo, he left several calling cards on the floor when I had to go out to do a sketch for several hours.  Boo gets quite attached and will howl if he is left alone. I live most of my life alone, so I can’t understand his dilemma.

One of the pillows on the couch said, “No Humans on Couch.” I always feel a little guilty sitting on his prime real estate.

This sketch was done late in the day after many hours of working at my desk. I needed to relax and Boo is always ready for some rest and relaxation.

No lights were on in the room, and I kept sketching as the room god darker and darker. Once I finished sketching, then I sat back and turned on a side table lamp and started to read The Eye of the Artist. I have slowly been reading this book ever since I had an operation to try and fix the double vision caused by my left eye. The reading has been going slow since the type in the book is so small that it is difficult to rad given my condition.

Drilling

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The empty lot next door with the sand sculpted Mayan temple of beach sand now decided to drill a well to find water. The truck backed up and set up to drill right at the edge of the property line.

Two thick metal peg leg supports were lowered to stabilized the back of the truck and then the large yellow lift was rotated up at a 90 degree angle.

The drill was rotated around and lowered through a U shaped device at the back of the chassis. Once the pipe hit the ground the drill was turned on. It let out a deafeningly loud repetitive banging noise that persisted for well over an hour. I have ear plugs in a tiny metal jar on my key chain. Those came out immediately. I also have noise canceling headphones, and together the sound was still unbearable. When the drill is turned off it lets out a loud hiss and water vapor flies everywhere.

As the saying goes, if you can’t beat um, join um. Work had begun at high noon on the hottest day in recorded history. I decided to leave the air conditioning and go out and sketch. There were very few shady spots n the lot since all the trees had been chopped down the weeks before.

I set up my artist tool inside the back patio, which thankfully had shade because of the hot metal roof. It was still hot as bloody hell and my hands sweat on the page as I was putting down lines.

There was some debate about how close they were drilling to the edge of the property line. There is supposed to be 75 feet between a well and the drainage filed for a septic system. There is however no rules about how close wells can be drilled next to one another. The property line was marked by a black fabric fence. Any drilling is supposed to happen 10 feet from the property line. With the new lot flag, several feet of property would be lost on this side of the black fabric fence. The stake with an orange flag however was several feet in towards the property I was sketching from. Lots of ferns and native plants were actually on the property that had just been stripped bare. All those plants will likely be ripped out and thrown in a large dumpster that was now at the front of the empty lot. There were plans to dig a trench along that property line to help drain rain water to the back of this property. I’m glad that wasn’t done since that trench would have fallen in the contested area.

I was having trouble with my fountain pen leaking every time I drew. That is because I was using a syringe to add fresh ink into a used plastic ink canister. I got an ink inverter which can stay in the pen and uses a plunger to draw ink into the canister. I’m happy to say there are no more leaks. This sketch is the first time I was using new fountain pens and I was pleased with how easy the ink was flowing. Most of the sketch was done with a Sailor Demannin Fountain Pen which has an angled nib that can put down very thick lines or very thin lies when the nib is turned on it’s side.

At the end of the sketching session I puts out a new Sailor 21 K Zoom Nib Pen and it puts out such a rich thick line. I don;’t think I will sketch with this pen all the time since there is no option to get a thin line. The delicate nib in this pen splits gloriously far however when I want to draw very bold. I will have to rethink how I use line if I want to draw with this pen more.

 

Broken Woman

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The Broken Woman by Stella Arbeláez Tascón was last exhibited at the UCF Masters Exhibition in the UCF Art Gallery (12400 Aquarius Agora Dr, Orlando, Fl.) titled Haunt. That exhibit was on display until March 7, 2025.

Since that exhibition, The Broken Woman has been stored in the artists studio. At first she stood exposed with her vibrant red heart radiating golden beams inside her shattered shell.

The broken birdcage that hung in place of her head fell and broke further when she was moved to this spot. An old cell phone used to play static, but it had since died. The crotch still held some crisp Benjamin Franklin bills.

Then, the Broken Woman was covered with drop cloths held in place by bull clips. In many ways this visage is just as mysterious as the actual sculpture.The sculpture conveys some hope of escaping the convinces of caged thought, but covered in cloth she feels fully entrapped and enclosed. Any vibrant radiating colors were muffled.

Like Michelangelo‘s David, the head appears large. Since the entire figure is draped it looks like a medieval monk.

Behind the figure is a pantry that holds canned goods, potatoes and large jars of dried beans and other cooking items. The refrigerator has a pink swimming noodle under it to try and keep the robot vacuum cleaner from getting stuck on her daily cleaning duties.

The light switch for the room is also behind the draped figure, and getting to the switch involved a careful reach in just above the sculptures hips while avoiding her left arm.

The shelves are filled with inspiring books about artists of thee past like Leonardo Da Vinci, Botticelli, John Singer Sargent and , so many other amazing artists. Inspiration is always just an arms reach away.

Some of the framed work from the Haunted exhibition are on the walls in a hallway near the bathroom. Like this sculpture they are all also draped. Stella has no need to see the work hanging and on display. They were created for others to see, and they will not be unveiled until they go on exhibit again, or they find a new home.

Beach Day

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I woke up to the sound of a loud metal bang. Dump trucks were dumping piles of sand on the now empty Lake County  lot which had been a lush forest only days before. The loud bank would happen when the back door of the dump truck slammed back into the truck chassis once the pile of sane was completely dumped.The lot next door was becoming a deserted, beach.

A single John Deere  Wheel Loader would take the sand and spread it out to each corner of the lot. The annoying thing is that any time the Wheel Loader backed up it would beep loudly. The beeping persisted all day long, so I decided I had to go out and sketch rather than attempt to ignore the insentient nagging of the beeping.

Once all the piles of sand were spread out, the driver of the excavator would stop to rest and wait for another dump truck to arrive with more sand.

The entire lot was covered in sand by the time my sketch was complete but the beeping persisted all afternoon.

Someone arrived in a pick up Truck and he rolled out a black fabric fence about the height of the black wooden fence in this yard. I’m guessing the black fabric fence was meant to keep the desert contained in the event of a sand storm.

As the sun set, I went into the back yard to look at the progress once again. What I found was what looked like a Mayan temple with the Excavator parked on the top platform. The sand platform was now higher that the top of the fencing in the studio front yard.

Whatever home was going to built on this insanely high mound would not have issues with flooding because all of the water would run off onto the property I was standing on. During hurricanes and seasonal storms, this property already floods. With the temple of packed sand next door the water would flood the low lying planes which I was sketching from.

The Art of Bowling

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Bonnie Sprung organized the 8th Annual Art of Bowling fundraiser held at the Oviedo Bowling Center, (376 E Broadway St, Oviedo, FL.) Bonnie had been at the Woman’s Caucus of Art, and she returned back to Central Florida to be at the Art of Bowling Fundraiser. When I entered the Bowling Center, she explained to me that lanes 1 through 8 were for the fundraiser. The event raised money for Seminole Cultural Arts Council (SCAC).

When I started the sketch all the house lights were on, so everything was bright and easy to see. However once the Art of Bowling competition got underway, the lanes were illuminated a deep blue and last lights danced on the wall. That lighting was difficult to catch in watercolor. I kind of wished I had brought along my iPad to sketch and paint.

I was seated behind a family using lane 9. A little boy was crying at the table in front of me. His brother came over and brought him into the fold and coaching him to get the ball all the way to the pins. Everyone in the family played, each at their own level.

Soon all 8 lanes were bustling with activity as every team, rolled for the arts. Every strike helped with the SCAC mission to “color your life, and support the arts!”

I had two large soda’s while doing the sketch, so I was buzzing with excitement as I threw colors at the page.

Hunchback of Notre Dame

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I finished my first Hunchback of Notre Dame sketch before the 15 minute intermission. Looking at my neighbor’s program, I realized there were just as many musical numbers in the second half of the show, so I decided to go ahead and do a second sketch.

I worked much looser on the second sketch, focusing first on the action happening on stage. The house lights were always dimmed so I couldn’t really see the sketch in progress. I waved my iPhone over the page to see where to draw and paint next.

I focused on Quasimodo (Dante Payne) interacting with the statues. I rather liked the graceful statues more that the cartoon gargoyles that the Disney Feature Animated film focused on. The human saints had more grace and polish. Since I worked on a gargoyle, I really shouldn’t complain, but there you go.

Seated behind me was part of the cast of La Cage aux Folles. I let them know I had worked on the original feature Animated film and they oooohed and ahhhhed although one didn’t believe me. I gave her my card so she could look for the name in the credits. I angled to get myself in to sketch a dress rehearsal of La Cage but unfortunately but the time it hits the stage I should be in Europe.

The huge chorus taking up 3 balconies in the theater were truly impressive. At one point they were all illuminated in a mysterious aqua light that was magical. Another time they were illuminated in red white and blue, which seemed out of place until I realized that the French flag had the same colors as the American flag. If you don’t already have your ticket to Hunchback of Notre Dame then you have missed your chance to see this amazing production. Both performances are sold out.

La Cage aux Folles runs from September 18-21, 2025 in the Alexis & Jim Pugh Theater in the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts (445 S Magnolia Ave, Orlando, FL ).

Hunchback of Notre Dame

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Encore Performing Arts presented The Hunchback of Notre Dame in Steinmetz Hall of the Dr. Phillips Center of the Performing Arts (445 S Magnolia Ave, Orlando, FL). I went to sketch the dress rehearsal and two of the performances were already sold out. Hunchback features music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and the book by Peter Parnell. It is based on the Victor Hugo novel and the songs from the Disney Feature Animated film. Since I worked on the film, the songs were well entrenched in my memory banks.

This re-imagined retelling of the Victor Hugo classic unfolds in the 2019 fire damaged Notre Dame cathedral. Drop cloths dangle from the upper balconies and scaffolding in place for the restoration. The shows theme of persecuting anyone who is different than ourselves resonates now more than ever with ICE agents kidnapping workers at their job sites. It is so easy to use fear of “others” to fuul division. There is hope in the ruins although man’s darker urges seem indomitable.

Three tiers of chorus dominated the upper balconies all dressed in dark robes. A full orchestra was on stage as well creating a wall of orchestral music. When the full chorus sang Entr’ acte at the start of act two they were illuminated in a magical aqua infused light from below. The broken round stained glass window glowed brightly high above the stag.

In many ways I preferred this stage production to the animated classic. The themes of the story were dark and rich being suited for an adult audience rather than keeping saccharine story lines for children and their parents. Quasimodo (Dante Payne)is told he is a monster by his charge Frollo (Arthur Rowan) but it is what is inside that defines a man. Compassion and empathy surface in Quasimodo while mans darker instincts take over Frollo’s mind and actions.Esmerelda (Alexis Delarosa) performed a magnificent dance with blue streamers flashing a bright blue in sinewy flowing lines.

Before a full run of the show, Dante Payne must have been testing his microphone, and he joyfully tested his vocal chords performing a series of notes and passages. The strength of his voice had me floored.

the cast of literally hundreds and the dark lighting set me up for a challenging sketch, but the bold music inspired me to keep pushing through to finish up what I had started. Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Final Performance Date: Saturday, July 26, 2025
Time: 7:30 p.m.

Orlando Cat Cafe

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To get into the Orlando Cat Cafe, we had to enter from the Minch Coffeehouse with baked goods, and panini next door. While most of the Orlando Urban Sketchers were ordering coffee, I was outside sketching the cat Cafe exterior.

Hillary Geiger was kind enough to give me a ticket to get into the Cat Cafe room. I hadn’t read the whole invite to know to order one beforehand.

To get into the cafe Cafe itself you had to use an isolation room. You had to make sure the door was closed behind you before being let into the large Cate Cafe. That would keep any cats from bolting out the door. These cats didn’t seem like escape artists. They seemed perfectly happy allowing people to play with them.

There was a laser pointer which would project a bright red dot on the floor or walls causing a kitten to pounce and never catch the light. A loose shoelace hanging off of a light stick could produce the same effect. One cat climbed up on an artists table and knocked over all the art supplies. They clattered to the floor loudly and people rushed over to help clean up.

Honestly I don’t trust cats. My younger sister had a dark cat named Smokey, and he bit me and scratched me. It was no surprise then that no cat ever made its way up onto my table. To my right was a board covered with photos of the cats in the cafe with names under each photo. There was Magnolia, Swiftie, April, Hazel, and a sinister looking Karolina to name a few. In all there were over 20 cats in the cafe. As I was sketching an employee came up to the board and put a sticker on of of the cats that announced that she had found a new home.

One thing I didn’t realize when doing the sketch is that the reservation was just for an hour. Most of my sketches take 2 hours to complete. so when the Orlando Urban Sketchers started gathering for the throw down and photos. I was far from finished with my sketch. I had to throw down a few more washed back at the studio. So is the sketch finished? Well a sketch by definition is never finished.

Orlando Cat Cafe

Posted on by Thor

Orlando Urban Sketchers went to the Orlando Cat Cafe (532 Cagen Park Avenue Clermont, Florida). When I arrived, the Cat Cafe had not opened yet, so I sat down to draw the facade. There were two foot high photos of cats in all the storefront windows.

I had to work fast on the sketch because the cafe was going to open in half an hour. It turns out you have to reserve a spot to go into the Cat Cafe. Thankfully one Urban Sketcher, Hillery Geiger, had an extra reservation, so I got in.

I got to speak with Gay Geiger about my plans to sketch in Europe for 6 month following in my father’s footsteps as a 1st Lieutenant with C-Company at the end of WWII.

I learned for the first time that Gay had followed in her fathers foot steps and had been in the military herself. My trio sounds ideal on paper, but there is an amazing amount of work I still need to do over the next couple of months to put the entirety of my life i storage so I can travel for that length of time. I am also considering going up to Sweden after my travels to study at the Florence Academy of Art Atelier. I didn’t even know how to pronounce Atelier but it would be nice to slow down and develop the careful focus needed to produce gorgeous paintings. It might seem a personal challenge to go back to drawing from casts, but I understand why it is needed.

My School of Visual Arts, New York City painting experience consisted of the instructor (Gill Stone) giving us a list of paints and brushes to buy and then letting us sit at easels to figure things out for ourselves. There has ti be so much more I could learn form hundreds of years of artists experimenting with mediums and brushed. All of my brushes are hard and mangled, as if I had tortured them. It would be nice to learn how to treat my art supplies with delicate respect.