About February 17, 1945, Le Havre Cathedral Notre Dame

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Cathedral Notre Dame in Le Havre, France suffered minor damage from WWII bombings. It is the oldest of the very few buildings in central Le Havre to have survived the devastation of World War II. While 82% of the city was destroyed by Allied bombing raids in the space of 5 days, the cathedral walls remained standing.  Arthur Thorspecken arrived in the port about February 17, 1945.

The church was built in the 16th and 17th centuries. The bell tower dates from 1520 and there are some impact scars from the bombings to this day. It is a Roman Catholic Church. My father was raised Roman Catholic but was excommunicated when he married my mother, Elvira Corr who was Methodist. They were married while my father was still in Military training in North Carolina. My oldest sister, names after Shirley Temple was born in 1943 while Arthur was in training.

As I was doing this sketch, a sea gull waked right up to me and sat down at my feet. I don’t think he was begging for food, he was just curious as to why a human was sitting still for so long. The street I was sitting at was under construction so several cars turned in and realized they had to back out and turn around.  As they did their 5 point turns the tires got close to the seagull and he was ready to move but sat still when he know they tires would not hit him. I respected his bold tenacity.

From this port city, Arthur would have likely been transported with other replacements, by truck to one of several 75th infantry headquarters that were set up as the 75th Infantry troops moved north by train to Panningen Netherlands.They had just finished operations in the Colmar Pocket where they pushed the Germans out of France.At first I thought Arthur Thorspecken  might have been involved in the fighting in  Colmar, but the timing was not right.

In early February 1945, he 75th infantry headquarters were in headquarters were in Charleville-Mézières France, Charleroi Belgium, Namur Belgium, Tongeren-Borgloon Belgium, and Weert Netherlands, before arriving in Penningen Netherlands. I decided to stop in each of these cities since Arthur probably would have reported to a command post before joining the troops assembling in Panningen Netherlands.

On February 17, 1945 the 75th Infantry was assigned to the  Ninth Army, 12th Army Group, atta hed to the British Second Army for operations. Arthur’s first experiences in battle would have been on the west bank of the Maas River. Allied troops held the west bank while the Nazis held the east bank. The Germans would constantly fire mortars at the allies. The unit history I have seemed to paint the Netherlands defensive position as an easy assignment. But as I was looking to learn more online, I found one question on Reddit that wanted to know how his father might have died in the Netherlands. His father served in the 75th infantry as well. There were endless dangers. Had my father not survived, I would not be here.

About February 17, 1945 Le Havre, France

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Traveling to Le Havre, France by train from Paris was a challenge. Le Havre is the French port city that the 75th Infantry history notes at the port troops arrived at from South Hampton, England. I might be flying to England later in this trip to sketch South Hampton and to buy several weeks away from Schengen European countries so that I can attend a huge WWII reenactment in Belgium which features the 75th Infantry. I have 90 days to finish this project and I might need to extend the time spent by skipping away to England for a time.

I got several hundred dollars in Euros at an ATM machine in the airport for emergencies. Today at a restaurant the waitress told me they don’t take credit cards. I tried a credit card, a debit card, and neither worked. Thankfully I still had a few Euros inn my pocket. I spent an afternoon trying to get Euros from Western Union but was tld, they can not use a credit card to exchange money. It has to be cash to cash. I don’t have much American cash, s I am stuck.

My first day in Le Havre, I sketched this WWII Memorial, called the Monument Aux Morts. It was built in 1924 to honor the dead from WWI but later plaques were added t honor the dead from WWII. This monument would have been standing when my father, Arthur Thorspecken first arrived in Europe. It commemorates the 6,638 residents of Le Havre who gave their lives in the first World War, the Second World Wat and in Indochina and Algeria. One plaque was a tribute to the resistance fighters of Le Havre who were deported and died for France during WWII. Another plaque was for the Soldiers who died for France between 1939 and 1945. Another plaque was for the civilian victims who died during theh bombings of Le Havre during WWII.

Besides the dark metal plaques at the foot of the sculpture the large stone base was covered with names of the dead carved into the stone. Lady liberty spreads her wings on one end of the sculpture while the grim reaper bows his shrouded head looking over the names of the dead.

This was a good first day of sketching. At night I ate at a restaurant right in the building I was staying in. Then I went upstairs and started to book a room for the next day. The next stop was several hundred miles east of Le Havre just West of Colmar France. While trying to book a room, Seacoast Bank contacted me and said they suspected fraud with my Debit card. I had only bought a train ticket and several meals. The Le Havre room had been booked from the United States. Looking through the expenses they questioned, everything checked out except an attempted purchase of a plane ticket to Amsterdam. I had no intention of flying to Amsterdam, so sure enough someone had somehow hacked into my debit card account. Maybe I should not have ordered a Nathans Hot Dog at the airport. I still had the card, but was told I had to cut it up. I had a Revolut card that I decided to get for emergencies before I left the states. It now became my life line. Seacoast Bank however is holding my savings hostage and will not let me transfer funds to my Revolut Visa travel card. I also have an American Express card but it keeps failing, when I try to use it. Every day has become a battle, wondering if I will end up homeless in Europe with no access to my bank account. Raymond, a service rep for my bank refused to help saying, “I don’t know anything about that Revolut card and neither does my supervisor.” It seems ignorance is a sad excuse for poor costumer service.  Though the victim of card fraud, I feel like I am being treated as the criminal. Fourteen days into my Europe WWII project and the banking battle continues.  I have started eating fallen pears and apples to keep food expenses down so that the funds don’t run out before a solution is found. I just keep moving forward and hopefully it will all work out.  “Always get there somehow.”

Waiting for the Flight to Paris

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The flight out of Orlando went to Atlanta, Georgia. There was a several hour layover before the flight to Paris. I had read warnings that flight to and from Paris would be delayed once the air traffic controllers went on strike. Thankfully that strike would start a week after my flight. I did not book a return flight since I am not exactly sure where I will be once the 75th Infantry journey is complete. I know for sure that I will end up in Germany. I just need to figure out which airport is best to fly out of. that is a choice for another day. My goal right now it so keep pushing forward, following in my father’s footsteps.

I thought my subject for this sketch was sound asleep. He must have had one eye open however since he stopped by to see how the sketch turned out as I was packing it away. This is Robert Varis who is a very accomplished artist. He was returning from a convention where he sold his work which is bold and fluid n a style that is easy to read from a mile away.

I wish I had the ability to drop off to sleep like this. My mind races at a thousand miles an our contemplating all that can go wrong. I can’t turn that sound track off an relax. Trust me, if things can go wrong, they do go wrong in my world. Every sketch is just a compilation of thousands of mistakes.

There was a duty free store being Robert as e slept. Do people actually buy duty free alcohol at the airport? What is the point? I didn’t have a lick f alcohol the entire flight, though I bet a single glass of red wine would have knocked me out. But would it e a good cup of wine? If it was a fine beautifully blended wine I might have considered it. I think airplane wines come in a box. If I drank wine then I might have to pee before we landed.  Those airplane toilets have that strange trap door and I always think it might rip open and I would fall thousands of feet to my frozen death. I didn’t pee for 8 hours. I am quite proud of myself, my body couldn’t have done that months ago when I had a softball sized prostrate making me have to pee like a pregnant woman every half hour or so.

When we landed, I got several hundred dollars in Euros as pocket change for emergencies. I should have gotten more. It turns out the trip has been one endless emergency.

Flights to Europe

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my goal was to have everything in place so I could fly out of Orlando on the first week of September 2025. My roommate lease agreement was up so everything went into storage. The storage facility was actually rather nice since it was air conditioned. My Lake Country studio wasn’t air conditioned so my art was now in a better place for long term storage.

My goal for this a trip was to follow in my father’s footsteps as his 75th infantry, C-Company made its way through Europe. My original plan was to execute sketches over the course of 6 months. However in the last week of planning I learned about the Schlengen country rule which limited travel to 90 day or about 3 months. On the final 2 days in Orlando I researched and drew up a very concise plan which covers about 45 cities in 4 countries. I have maps and battle plans for many of the engagements but I learned that my father was a rather late replacement. The 75th Infantry had fought in the Battle of the Bulge and the Colmar pocket, but at that time my father was still in military training school in North Carolina. The 75th Infantry was at first referred to as the Diaper Division since the soldiers were so young. My father was 22 when he went overseas which was an old man for the 75th.

I at first was looking for ships that made the transatlantic trip but I get seasick and I absolutely hate cruise ships. My father left the states on February 10, 1945 and the sea voyage should have taken about 7 days. This was my key to cutting my trip back to 90 days. I would only look at cities and engagements that happened after February 17th. My father was a 1st Lieutenant so he would lead a company of about 50 men. The 75th Infantry was finishing the final battles in the Colmar Pocket where they pushed back Germans out of France. As the troops were being sent north, that is the time My father would have been arriving in Europe. The 75th Infantry map shows troops arriving in Europe via La Havre France, so that was my goal to get to La Havre on my first day. I flew into Paris and then found a Train heading to La Havre. It was an insanely long day, and I don’t think I slept a wink.

The Hound of the Baskervilles: Final Poster

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For the final Orlando Shakespeare Theater poster for the Hound of the Baskervilles, I kept the seated poses for Watson and Sherlock Holmes. In the Hound of the Baskervilles, Watson actually plays a much larger role than Holmes since he goes to the Baskerville estate to investigate alone. It is a chance to see him use his powers of deduction, but he is as swept up in the legend of the huge hound as the townspeople.

Through the mystery and intrigue Sherlock was actually investigating from afar. The Hound of the Baskervilles has been adapted so many times for movies and theater production that it is a perfect fit for a comedic farce. Most people are well aware of the story. It was required reading for me in high school.

mangling, murder and mayhem can be extremely funny when resented with tongue in cheek. In this production actors hod ornate picture frames to portray the historic Baskerville family lineage. I always love paintings that come alive, by expressing emotion.

If you get a chance to see this production, I would highly advise it. It should be laugh out loud funny.

The Hound of the Baskervilles: Third Pass

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Each time I work on a poster the image evolves. Changes are all part of the artistic process. The first pass at the poser was rather menacing. I decided with this pass to hav Sherlock and Watson sitting in easy chairs contemplating the mystery they had to solve. I gave Sherlock a quizzical look as if he were one step away from solving the crime. Watson on the other hand just looks a bit flummoxed.

I kept the misty forest in the painting of the hound between them. I considered putting them in Sherlock’s apartment but decided they too needed to be seated in the forest. I later changed my idea about the setting. The dog is rather lanky and sinister still. I remembered that picture frames played a role in the stage production, so framing the hound made sense to me.

The feedback I got to this pass was as expected. There wasn’t enough information to let the audience know they were going to see a comedy. I needed to push the expressions more for comedic effect and the hound was still too scary. I needed to push for a little more Scooby doo without getting cartoony. The new creative challenges kept the poster evolving.

Having seen a staging of a similar production, I a say that you will have a blast if you go to see this show. I was laughing out loud as I sketched.

 

The Hound of the Baskervilles: Second Pass

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The second pass at the Hound of the Baskervilles poster was simply a sketch I had done several years ago of the production. My primary concern while sketching live in the theatre is always to catch the key characters in a scene together. It is less about character and expression and more about doing anything possible to get the sketch done during the course of the play.

i knew this sketch would not fly, but I like to offer plenty of options. If this sketch was approved, I would then refine the poses and push it to more of a polished look. I do remember laughing out loud at the show. There were obvious theater doorways and frames were used which actors would hold as if they were posing for a portrait.

It was a very fun show to watch and sketch. The poster however serves a different purpose. It isn’t about portraying what happens on the stage but about conveying an idea of what you might expect to feel watching the production.My sketches from life are almost always a long shot trying to show what is happening on the entire stage. The poster image needs to be more of a close up, offering a chance to see the actor’s expression. The challenge for me of course is that aI never know who the actors will be. This created a catch 22 where I need to be specific but also generalized in the approach to the image.

Hound of the Baskervilles: First Pass

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My first pass at The Hound of the Baskervilles poster was done thinking this was a serious drama based on the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle book. I wanted a mysterious and ominous hound to be the primary image to catch the attention of anyone looking at the image. I wanted a deep forest with plenty of looming fog. I then decided to make to hound huge and integrate it into the surrounding landscape. The idea was a bit abstract but it represented the psychological spirit of the beast.
I then added the more straightforward image of Sherlock looking through his magnifying glass.

Of course this idea didn’t fly because the play is an adaptation  that is a comedy. My image had nothing to do with a comedy, I was looking for intrigue, mystery and a dash of horror. Most of my paining for the past four years have had all of those elements, so it is hard to shake off the dark nature of the images that first come. Out of my hands.

The Hound of the Baskervilles will be running from September 24 to November 2, 2025 at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater 812 East Rollins Street Orlando Florida. Be prepared for a hilarious time.

First Sighting of My Hound of the Baskervilles Poster

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While writing an article from France, I noticed that the Hound of the Baskervilles is coming up at the Shakespeare Theater (. This was a fun poster to work on.

I played with the replicate pattern aspect of Procreate to quickly find a pattern for the wallpaper. As usual there were multiple iterations of the poster until I dialed in this comedic image.

With my first pass at the poster I had no idea that it was a comedy. I watched several of the classic movies based on Arthur Conan Doyle‘s book and the movies were outright scary. I am never one to shy away from horrifying imagery, so I jumped in and played up the horror.

Of course the relationship between Sherlock Holmes and Watson is always rather comedic as Sherlock tests Watson’s ability to make deductions. Watson always does a passable job of making deductions based on the evidence but then Sherlock makes astounding deductions based on the smallest evidence, and of curse he is right.

I did sketch this comedy years ago and remember laughing out loud.

What I love about this version of the poser is the grinning rottweiler. With a smile like that how viscous can the hound truly be. The silhouette and sheer girth of the dog seen from the distance are what make most feel terror.

The type treatment is very much like one of the early movie posters for the Hound of the Baskervilles. I think my favorite move version of the story was in black and white starring Basel Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes.

The entirety of my poster color treatment is in warm tones except for the mysterious green glow emanating from behind the hound. I love working digitally on these posters because I can add new layers over the painting to make changes while keeping the original concept in tact. Sometime an eliminate isn’t needed and I can just turn it off. If I was painting traditionally I would have to redo the entire painting any time there was a change.

Elementary my dear Watdon. I would strongly advise you to check out Hound of the Baskervilles for yourself, starting September 24, 2025 at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater (812 East Rollins Street, Orlando FL.)

Forest to Mausoleum

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A day or two before I left for Europe to follow in my father’s footsteps in WWII, a roof was thrown up on the home being built next to the Lake County studio I was renting. The lot had been a lush forested area just a few weeks before. The sand mountain the home sat on had been leveled and built up in a day. The cinder block mausoleum had gone p in a day, and now the roof structure went up in a day. This was now the largest home in the area on its own mountaintop/

The roof beams had an interesting inverted series of beams which I suppose are to keep the roof from collapsing inward in the high winds of a hurricane. All the triangular sections were delivered to the job site pre-assembled. They were each lifted int place where workmen quickly hammered them into place.

All the workmen spoke Spanish which made me concerned for their safety in the new hate fueled policies of ICE, seizures and deportations. I have seen photos of rooms filled with workmen still in their uniforms in detention centers, having been rounded up from their work sites.

I am in Europe right now in Northern France about to cross the border into Belgium. Russia has just sent military drones over Poland  and it feels like WWIII is about to break out with Trump, a wanna be dictator, in the White House who is owned by Putin.

80 years ago America helped defeat dictators and bring about world peace. Nuclear bombs were used to stop the war in the  Pacific. That was a questionable decision which I hope is never repeated. It only takes a few petty, power hungry men to break down democracy and embrace autocracy in a lust for land, power and a desire to stay in power indefinately.