The Elk

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The Elk Fountain is located  in Portland Oregon. The Elk, is a  bronze sculpture by American artist Roland Hinton Perry. The fountain and bronze sculpture was donated by former Portland mayor David P. Thompson in 1900 to commemorate the elk that once lived in the area.

Originally a drinking fountain. The top section served humans, and the lower troughs were for horses, dogs, and goats. The unveiling of the sculpture was met with some controversy. “The Elks [Lodge] refused to come to the dedication because they thought the sculpture was a monstrosity of nature,” said Kendellen. The elk is disproportionate. The body, in relation to the head and gigantic antlers, is much smaller and skinnier than a real elk.

In 1974, Thompson’s Elk and the Plaza Blocks were designated as Historic Landmarks by the city’s Historic Landmarks Commission, under the name David P. Thompson Fountain.

Over the years, the statue has been vandalized many times. The elk was vandalized during the Occupy Portland protests (2011), and had the antlers repaired in early 2012. The statue was tagged with anti-Trump messages in 2016.

The monument became a gathering place for demonstrations by George Floyd protesters, who lit several fires in the troughs along the base in July 2020. The damaged bronze elk statue was removed for cleaning and safekeeping on July 2, 2020. The stone fountain was removed on July 17, 2020, after it was determined that there was severe damage to the stone and basin of the fountain. In 2024, the elk statue was repaired and construction on the fountain’s replacement is set to begin in this year.

 

 

Welcome to Matteson

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Welcome to Matteson is being performed at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater through March 29, 2025. Written by Inda Craig-Galván, the show is a welcome dinner for a couple who just moved to the suburb of  Matteson from the Cabrini projects in Chicago. The Cabrini projects are notorious for crime Regina and Cory Baker (Kerri Hollingsworth and Walter Riddle) make clear that there are also many positive aspects to the community from which they came.

Throwing the welcome party are Patricia and Gerald Griffith (Danja Le’Chelle’ and Christopher James Murry.) Gerald and Cory hit it off talking abut water heaters and plumbing and it turns out they came from very similar backgrounds.

Patricia is it turns out was a resentful host since she didn’t really want to see people from the projects settling in her neighborhood. Regina was taking communications courses and she and Patricia definitely didn’t get along. If anything can go wrong with a welcome dinner party, it does, although there are moments of absolute playful joy. The couples are trapped in their perceived places in the social class structure. I had read the script when I was working on the poster for the show, by the performances from this stellar cast truly brought the show to life. I love getting to see the seed which germinates into a stellar production.

The play was playful and fun while also having moments that are absolutely shocking. The audience would actually gasp. I would highly advise you get your tickets and see it for yourself.

Preservation Partnership

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On a trip to Portland Oregon, I sketched this sweet historic brownstone. For hundreds of years my family on my mothers side lived in old brownstones in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Therefor these old building hold a sweet spot in my heart.

Time was limited, so I dashed off the sketch rather quickly. I recall that downtown Portland had quite a few of these types of historic gems.

I love traveling and exploring a new city with my sketchbook. I thought I might be exploring quite a few cities when my film COVID Dystopia did it’s round in the film festival circuit, but lets face it, no one wants to be reminded of the pandemic. Certainly no one wants to be told the virus is still circulating and causing incurable long COVID symptoms.

Exploring new places is a joy with a sketchbook in hand. I will continue to explore Lake County after I finish up the series of theater posters I am now working on.

Follow Up

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This morning I went to the hospital for a follow up meeting to see how I have recovered from the Laser Enucleation of the Prostate with Morcellation Bladder Botox. The procedure is a minimally invasive procedure that uses pulses of laser beam to remove tissue from the inside of the prostate, which surrounds the urethra (the tube leading from the bladder to the urinary opening).

The waiting room was empty.

The first day of recovery, I was peeing blood while I was in the hospital. The procedure to be released was a whole day affair, and by the end of the day I had stopped peeing blood. More importantly I was peeing like a race horse rather than the trickle I had to endure prior to the operation. Prior to the operation my PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) was 128 and after the operation it went down to 65. Prior to surgery my prostate was the size of a softball and it strangled the urethra making it difficult to pee. After surgery I was told my prostate was the size of a chestnut or what you might expect in a 35 year old.

My recovery has been swift but I was told that epithelial cells still need to grow inside the bladder. Until that healing happens, I still need to get up several times each evening. My hope is that healing will continue.

Old Church: Portland Oregon

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While in Portland Oregon I sketched The Old Church (1422 SW 11th Ave, Portland, OR).

While living in NYC, I sketched the 50 oldest churches in the 5 boroughs, so of course I would have to sketch a church called simply, “The Old Church.”

It isn’t actually a church anymore, but, a  performance venue in a Gothic, former church with a pipe organ and stained-glass windows. It was built in 1883. It is also knows as the Sanctuary of Sound. It was, saved from demolition by community activists and volunteers in 1967. Concerts are a mix of musical performances, including rare opportunities to see groundbreaking national and international artists, in an intimate setting. They also produce and host free Summer Concerts and monthly Lunchtime Concerts, community social justice conversations (through We Can Listen), and ambient music concerts during new and full moons. If I lived in Portland, I know this would be one of my regular venues to sketch. It has a welcoming vibe. I was immediately drawn to it.

Teddy

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On a trip to Portland Oregon I took a stolen moment to sketch the Theodore Roosevelt, Rough Rider Statue. is a bronze sculpture by American artist Alexander Phimister Proctor.

The equestrian statue was completed in 1922 and depicts Theodore Roosevelt as the leader of the cavalry regiment that fought during the Spanish–American War called the Rough Riders. The sculpture was cast in Brooklyn, New York, and was shipped by sea via the Panama Canal to avoid cutting the work into pieces.It was toppled by demonstrators during the Indigenous Peoples Day of Rage in October 2020. The statue is set to be restored and re-installed at a yet to be determined date.

The creation of the statue was documented by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in its 1922 film, The Making of a Bronze Statue.

The Football

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I woke up this morning and felt inspired to do another sunrise sketch at the Lake County studio. Front and center in the sketch is the ginormous pine tree root ball that I have been cutting roots off of for the past several weeks. Looking at the sketch it looks like I have accomplished nothing and yet I light a root fueled fire every evening.

The bamboo are so tall and graceful. They clatter together with any breeze.

A compost pile is started in hay under the shed. I just realized that it needs to be watered and the last couple of days I did that and the thermometer temperature in the pile spiked up. The heat shows that the composting is taking place.

My Instagram feed is full of idyllic homesteads with lush gardens. I am starting my journey to start learning what to plant and when. I placed garlic in a cup held in place with toothpicks to see if I can get it to root and I am doing the same with a carrot top. I wanted to start a potato tower but I have to wait until November to start that project since it likes cold soil. Hopefully there will be mature compost by then. I am just starting to grow the vegetables I tend to eat every week and will expand from there assuming I have success. The Lake County studio, homestead is starting to show signs of new growth.

Studio Sunrise

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I seem to be following celestial movements with my last few sketches. I have been following the phases of the moon on each evenings fire pit burn and this morning I woke up before a bit early to sit on the front porch and watch the sunrise at the Lake County Studio.

I seem to be trying to ground myself to the earthly movements as we hurdle on this little rock through space.

It was interesting trying to sketch the sun rise. I was just finishing drawing the homes when the sun first peaked up above the roof line of the house across the street. I immediately switched to painting and added the brilliant sun. Then when the sun was fully exposed, my sight whited out because I was starting right at the bright light. I lowered the brim of my baseball cap to keep from being blinded and switched to painting the foreground. The lighting switched from dark to light and I had to decide what looked right for each passage of the painting.

When the sun sets, I am still online with virtual students. I often have to use a black curtain too help block the light from allowing me to see the computer screen. Because if this I have become quite familiar with the movement of the sun. There are many tall pine trees that block an unobstructed view of the sunset each evening. On past vacations as hoards of tourists lined up to take cell phone photos of sunsets, I would sit and sketch the tourists, completely missing the sunset myself. Painting a sunrise or painting a sunset are the most challenging painting assignments when on location.

Root Ball Blaze

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A huge pine tree fell next to the Lake County studio because of the winds from Hurricane Milton which blew through central Florida in October of 2024. Milton was the second-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded over the Gulf of Mexico.

I have been cutting off roots from the seven foot tall unearthed root ball. Native plants have already started to grow on top of the football shaped ball, like a chia pet. If only my balding head could be so resilient. I gather the roots I cut off and set a fire in the fire pit each evening. It is a slow mesmerizing way to get rid of the storm damage. I have started cutting off the larger roots now, so the fire burns brighter and longer each night.

I felt an incredible sense of peace tonight as I watched the blaze and worked on this painting. I have fallen in love with this hidden slice of Florida. The lot next door is completely undeveloped and I could hear critters foraging around in the woods. The gentle wind caused large bamboo stalks to sway and clatter against each other. Bamboo and tall pines pointed to the stars. The fire would snap and sparks would rise up also leading the eternal gaze to the night sky. These quiet moments are helping me ground myself. After four hours of virtual teaching the fire help me wind down.

A rain storm yesterday showed that the gutters to the home are clogged in one spot. In the afternoon I got the ladder out and cleaned the gutters.  I am also digging a trench to bring roof rain water away from the home to the edge of the property. I found that the gutter had a mesh on top of one of the downspouts to keep pine needles and other debris from clogging the spillover. The other side had no mesh so I added some screen as a stop gap solution. I also up-righted a fence that had been knocked down by the fallen pine tree. I just used 4 by 4s to shore up the fence until I dig new fence posts. It felt good to be outdoors and doing physical labor. I worked up a good sweat and it felt awesome.

Perhaps the physical labor is why I felt so at peace sitting by the fire. I had earned this moment of bliss and happiness.

Oregon Tree Stump

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I have been working on breaking down giant root ball for the last couple of weeks which is from a fallen pine tree knocked down by Hurricane Milton next to the Yalaha studio.

I am a bit like an ant trying to move a mountain. Each night I burn the roots that I have clipped off with sheers.

The section of the pine tree that fell in the yard was cut with chainsaws and carted away. The tree cutters were supposed to return to grind down the root ball, but they haven’t returned yet. In the mean time I am using the roots as fuel for the fire which  I  enjoy each night.

My virtual classes let out at 8pm and I quickly make dinner and then eat it outside beside the fire. The finest roots make the best flames. they ignite quick and furiously. The bulk of the pine tree that fell is in the undeveloped lot next door. Several other trees fell in that dense tropical forest of a lot. One of the fell on a house on the far side. Some roots develop into smooth pointy shapes that are quite menacing. I am saving them from the fire because they might be useful for a future sculpture or wood caving.

There was a huge rain storm the other day and I got to see what parts of the yard flood first. I am working on a drainage ditch but that only effects water coming from the roof gutters. The other areas that flood may have to be filled with sand, dirt or mulch so the water flows off to the edge of he pr0perty. The gutters seem to get filled with pine needles rather quickly. I clean out the back gutters yesterday and plan to clean the front gutters tomorrow.

From the chaos of destruction, comes the brilliant flames of inspiration for what may lie ahead. During the day, I have been doing theater poster designs. After class, I plan to start wandering out and paint nocturnes in oil or maybe digital. I will try both. The night time is when this artist gets to play and experiment.