Inspiration Orlando Mural to be unveiled at Pulse.

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Mural artist Michael Pilato came to Orlando shortly after the awful night on June 12th, 2016 at the Pulse Nightclub. He and  Yuriy Karabash have been working non-stop on research and development as well
as producing a piece of art with some of the stories of the 49 victims
the survivors and beyond.

Barbara Poma owner of Pulse, announced that on the one year anniversary, the mural that Michael and Yuriy are working on will be on display at Pulse before it goes to a destination not yet decided. Some hand prints and messages will be added. The panels are starting to pull together nicely as a unified whole.

A number of local artists have contributed to the mural.On Tuesdays, artists are invited to the studio above Anthony’s Pizzeria on colonial Drive and Mills Avenue. I sketched as artists arrived. Angel Jones, an arts activist, and owner of a fashion bazaar talked to Michael and committed to return and add elements to one of the panels. Colin Boyer stopped in to paint on one of the portraits he did for the 49 portrait project I had organized. All the artists who participated in that project were invited to work on Michael’s Inspiration Orlando Mural. There was a $100 stipend for contribution artists.

Opulence at Barefoot Spa.

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“Opulence” features the work of 25 Central Florida artists. The connecting theme of this show is the use of “rooms of spectacular opulence” in art. Included are paintings, sculptures, photography and multi media pieces. The collection is diverse vibrant and interesting with plenty of golden colors.

This show will be up for the months of February and March at
The Barefoot Spa
(801 Virginia, Orlando FL, 32803).
Hours are 10am to 5pm daily (closed Sundays).

The reception was on Saturday February 25th from 6 to 9 PM. Most of the artists were available at the reception. I have a painting on exhibit in this show, so I stopped by the opening reception to sketch. My painting is of the National Arts Club in NYC.  Parker Sketch has several paintings in the show. He shared old photos on his phone of his punk days with an incredibly tall Mohawk haircut.  His parents got divorced when he was a tee and he decided to live a homeless lifestyle for a summer not because he had to, but for the experience. His parents never missed him. He explained how you have to sleep in a park during the day since you would get kicked out at night. This rock bottom conversation was a nice stark contrast to the opulence on display. One of Parker’s painting had alternating stripes of gold and gold sparkle paint bands with a painting of a highball drink as the center of interest.

LK Phipps, a fine art digital photographer was curious a bow my digital sketch.  She told me about an Art and Algorithm show that sounds intriguing. With the sketch done, I relaxed and enjoyed the company of friends for a while.

Tape by Stephen Belber

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Tape by Stephen Belber tells the story of Jon (Joey Ginel), an aspiring filmmaker on the verge of hitting it big, hooks up
for the weekend with his best friend from high school, Vince (Zack Roundy), a
volunteer fireman who makes his money selling dope. Jon’s new film is
being shown at a festival in Lansing, Michigan, and Vince has come from
Oakland to see it. During the course of the pre-show Zack lived in the space watching to and rolling a joint.

Over the course of the evening, Vince finally gets Jon to admit that
ten years ago he date-raped Amy Randall (Megan Raitano), a girl whom they both dated in
high school—only then to reveal that he’s taped their entire
conversation. And not only that, he’s invited Amy to have dinner with
them that night.

Beneath its suspenseful, high-stakes surface, Tape examines questions of motive, memory, truth and perception.

Zack is very believable as a directionless youth with a short fuse. He becomes menacing when confronting his friend head on. Joey comes across as someone who can rationalize anything. He feels his films serve a greater purpose so it is surprising when his dark youth is unearthed. Megan’s role was an inspired surprise. Now a District Attorney she never seemed to be a victim. Instead she confronted and cornered both men with her wits and anger. No one stands on solid ground when she sparked to life. This was a stellar production that kept me guessing. I have to give credit to the set designer Sam DiGeorge. She creates incredible lived in and worn sets that suspend disbelief and immerse the audience in a very visceral world. It is amazing how she transformed the space.

The Show runs from March 3rd-March 19th

Theater on the Edge 5542 Hansel Avenue Orlando FL 32792

Tickets are $19 and $22

Remaining show dates.

March 4th 8 pm

March 5th 2pm

March 10th 8 pm

March 12th 2 pm

March 15th 7 pm (industry night)

March 18th 2 pm

March 18th 8 pm

March 19th 2 pm (closing night)

Seating is limited!

Weekend Top 6 Picks for March 4th and 5th.

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Saturday March 4, 2017

4pm to 7pm Free. Jazz in the Park. Cypress Grove Park 290 Holden Avenue Orlando FL

7pm to 9pm Free. Brewery Tour. Orlando Brewing, 1301 Atlanta Ave, Orlando, FL

10:30pm to 12:30pm Free but order food and drink. Son Flamenco. Ceviche Tapas Orlando, 125 W Church St, Orlando, FL.

Sunday March 5, 2017

Noon to 5pm Free. Second Annual Festa Italiana. Venue on the Lake 641 S Maitland Ave, Maitland, Florida 32751. To promote Italian culture in Central Florida. Lots of good food and drink, live music and dancing. We will feature a display of luxury Italians cars and vendors who will showcase their Italian products.

Noon to 1pm Free. Yoga. Lake Eola near red gazebo. Bring your own mat. Large group practicing yoga on the green lawn.

10pm to Midnight Free but get d coffee. Comedy Open Mic. Austin’s Coffee, 929 W Fairbanks Ave, Winter Park, FL. Free comedy show! Come out & laugh, or give it a try yourself.

The Flamingo Run.

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New Year’s day of 2017 I went to the Flamingo 5K Beach Run at New Smyrna Beach. The registration started at 8am shortly after sunrise at the
Flagler Avenue Beach approach. Cars hadn’t driven on the beach yet. This 5K
race, like no other, started at 9am and took place along the beautiful
hard-packed beach.

Runners, walkers, and joggers participated in this
chip-timed race. Medals in 84 categories and two overall plaques were awarded, as
well as prizes for the best costumes. The best costumes I saw consisted of huge pink inflatable tires around women’s waists along with elegant flamingo heads that could be manipulated like puppets. There was no excuse not to break out the pink boas. Finisher medals were awarded to the first 500 runners.

To celebrate the New Year and get runners started on their  resolutions, the first 300 runners each received a key. At
the post-race social, the keys could possibly unlock one of 10 new Beach Cruiser
bicycles and if the key opened the lock, then the runner kept the bike.

Race proceeds benefited Southern Stone Charities.

Story Club

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“Orlando Story Club at The Abbey, (100 South Eola Drive, Orlando, FL 32801) returned this year giving anyone who wishes to tell a personal story a chance to put their name in a hat, to be selected at random to showcase their story telling for the enrichment of the local community.  The January event theme was “Life’s Lessons” and the benefiting charity was Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Florida.  This month’s event featured special guest storyteller and host Daniel Pacchioni and a performance by AdLib Theater.

Jack Graham told his life lesson story that involved stories told around a camp fire. People from all walks of life came together and connected on a special moonlit evening. I was convinced his story would hold first place but it eventually was usurped by a woman’s story about her father who drank heavily and her step father who she never truly appreciated until it was too late. Her emotional story awakened a desire to always appreciate those that are important in life. Never take for granted a single moment.

Mark your calendar, the next Story Club is Wednesday March 1st from 7pm to 9pm at the Abbey, 100 Suoth Eola Drive 3100 Orlando Florida. This month’s theme is ” I just had to have it.”

Apartment hunting.

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It has been 10 months since I have been separated from my wife. The sketchbooks were the first thing to leave the house. The first apartment I looked at was one block from Sam Flax. The place had new tile and looked nice. It was only an 800 foot studio space however. With all my art, the place would be cramped. The day I looked at the place I sat on the front porch an waited for the realtor. The tiles on the front porch were being bashed up by a workman.

I was amazed that I was accepted almost immediately. I was also amazed when friend in Winter Park who is a snow bird, offered me a sublet when she moved back up north. I sweetened the deal by offering to replace all the living room carpet, and the tile kitchen and dining area with new Mediterranean tile. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Knocking up old tile using a chisel and hammer was way more work than I imagined. I spent six months living in a construction zone. All that blood sweat and tears saved me $200 a month on rent.

The lease was for 8 months, but the friend decided to return two months early. I explained all the work that remained to be done and the response was, “Just get it the fuck done!” So I rushed the job, completing the floor before the new deadline. There was plenty of touch up and cleaning up that needed to be done but I got it the fuck done. The floor looked amazing. Long story short, for reasons I don’t understand, unrelated to the job, I was told to leave and sighed a lease termination document. I considered that document a friendship termination document. Not my circus, not my monkeys. Within two days I had moved to a gorgeous Thornton Park apartment for a short term stay while I looked for a new place. Several friends offered me roommate situations. My Orlando friends helped me land back on my feet.

903 Mills Market Cafe

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I met Andy Matchett at 903 Mills Market Cafe (903 S Mills Ave, Orlando, FL 32806). We sat outside and had a long conversation. The food was fresh and delicious so we lingered over lunch. My life was in transition, and he was glad to offer advice. We traded war stories and compared wounds. Being able to share me experiences with a friend, helped me set my resolve as my life changed and unfolded moving forward. 

Is Mills Market a Cafe, or a Deli? Now that I’m working on a book about Cafe drawings, I plan to return and sketch in side, to find out. The place has an Earthy vibe with large fresh wraps.

Returning from New York City.

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After teaching an Urban Sketching Workshop in NYC I returned to Orlando via JFK airport.  Any time I am in an airport, I can’t resist sketching fellow passengers as they wait to board the plane. March in New York was crisp, so passengers we re bundled up. I’m sure I had on heavier jackets than the gentlemen in my sketch. Once the sketch was done, I ordered a Mountain Dew and a muffin to tide me over.

Back in Orlando the weather was warm and beautiful, so my jacket got tied brown my waist as I searched to my car in long term parking. Once I got home, my nose stuffed up. I’m convinced I was allergic to my home.

New York City Urban Sketching Workshop.

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I went to NYC to give an Urban Sketching workshop for the New York City
Urban Sketchers. My premises was to show how to populate a sketch by
placing figures in perspective. The workshop was held in a midtown
building on the West side near Grand Central Station. The studios are
usually used to rehears and workshop Broadway plays. As a matter of face
we could heard dancers working in the studio next door. Our studio room
had mirrored walls for the dancers to see themselves. One thing I
always tell students when I am teaching students to imagine a vanishing
point is to imagine the room has mirrored walls. The vanishing point
would be right between the students eyes in the reflection. With this
room, They didn’t have to imagine.

Mark Leibovitz the NYC go to guy acted as a model and students had to
draw him as well as other students and the reflections. I did very quick
sample drawings to demonstrate the concepts I had shared. I think some
light bulbs lit up that day. Some students brought in copies of my book,
Urban Sketching: the Complete Guide to Techniques for me to sign. After
class we all went out to lunch and then we met again at Grand Central
Station for another series of sketches in which we places crowds of
people in perspective. The second level of a grand Central Station is
now a huge Apple Store. We gathered at the edges of the balcony in the
store to draw the crowds of commuters below.


The last sketch of the day was done outside Grand Central Station of the
facade. The goal was to demonstrate three point perspective. In three
point perspective there is a vanishing point in the clouds and the lines
of buildings all converge up towards that third point. I cut my sketch
short so I could walk around and share the love by giving one on one
advice to students based on the sketch they had started.

After the last Grand Central sketch, we all went to a German beer hall
to share sketches and war stories from the day. There I could look at
students entire sketchbooks and offer advice. It was a fabulous day. I
hope to arrange similar workshops in the future. I love sharing what I
have learned from doing a sketch every day for the past 7 years.