The Chicago River runs west from Lake Michigan right through the heart of Chicago and then splits north and south. Boat tours leave from the River Walk and allow great views of the cities architecture.
Plastic lawn chairs were set up on the deck for passengers to relax and enjoy the view. There are plenty of bridges that cross the river to keep traffic flowing in the city.
This is definitely a worthwhile experience if you find yourself in Chicago.
This is a view from a hotel window looking down on the streets of Chicago. This was a good trip with plenty of time spent exploring the Chicago Institute of the Arts. I did plenty of quick sketch studies of paintings and sculptures but I will not share those here.
Flashy Jaguar car ads and plenty of flesh always spruce up any old city facade.
The Checks Cashed sign is on a much squatter building. This was an escape from Florida so it felt great to walk the street of a bustling city again and explore public transportation.
To quickly add paint to the sketch, I looked at an Edward Hopper painting and used it for the color theme. All the muted colors tie in well together.
By Thomas Thorspecken
KC Cali, an artist from Orlando came up to Lake County for a mini sketch crawl. I discovered during my visits to help my friend Stella P. Arbelaéz Tascón with her installation work. The Yalaha Bakery won the lottery as the best option for a sketch, coffee and pastry.
It was a super foggy morning. I thought it was raining at first when I stepped outside for my morning walk. I heard drops intermittently splashing to the ground. It wasn’t rain, but the dew dropping from the branches from the thick fog’s condensation. Such pea soup morning fog is a new experience for me.
I thought about sketching the exterior of the Yyalaha Bakery building which has interesting German themed murals, but it was still foggy and grey out, so the main pastry counter inside had afar more appeal. I ordered a Coconut Delight and an iced Vanilla Latte. That delight had to be one of the most delicious pastries I ever ate, but that is what I thought last time I was at the bakery and had a German Strudel.
On the morning my mother died I was 10. My father told me the news as I was getting ready for school. I didn’t cry. I disappeared into the bathroom and stared at myself in the mirror, numb. I decided I should go about my day as if nothing had happened. I always walked to school with a friend down the street. On that morning, his grandmother had made apple strudel. She gave me a warm freshly baked slice and said to me in her thick German accent, that she had heard about my mother and was so sorry. I took a bite of the strudel which was delicious. At that point I lost my composure and broke down and cried. She held me close, she was round, soft and enveloped me. When I recovered, my friend and I walked to school. At school, some kid told me that his father, who worked at the hospital, knew my mother had died long before I found out. What was the point in telling me that? I drifted from class to class like a ghost.
People would arrive at the German Bakery to get pastries in waves. Seriously bus loads of people must have entered the establishment to all order together. Sketching such a crowd lined up at the counter was a challenge, I chose to just catch a few. Beside the table was a large HEPA filter, which I appreciated. It exhaled heavily in our direction with its top flap sighing up and down, like a respirator. Oh that reassuring filter labeled VAGKR1, was actually a space heater, whoops, I just looked it up online. For some reason I had jotted the name on the back of my sketch.
It was a relaxing morning of conversation and sketching which left me feeling refreshed. Sketching is usually a very solitary experience but being able to share that experience, even sharing something as simple as a pencil is thrilling. Life can be overwhelming at times, but taking the time to create, and learn from another artists life experiences, does ease the burden.
On Sunday, I was going to sketch on the set of an independent film, titled Snow Globe, being shot locally. One of the actors got a bad case of the flu, so the shooting schedule was set back several weeks. Suddenly my Sunday was wide open for other sketch opportunities.
A neighbor across the street let me know that Mount Dora was holding its 50th Annual Art Festival all weekend so I decided to go. Parking for this event was going to be a challenge. Many residents opened up their driveways and yards charging $20 a pop to park. I decided to approach Mount Dora from the north and look for parking up there. Several side street had police signage saying parking was suspended temporarily. Side street parking was not an option, so I just kept driving north until a spot opened up. It was quite a hike to the event but I need the exercise. It was a gorgeous day but I was still sporting a hoodie and fleece. I was a sweaty mess by the time I got to Donnelly Park.
I walked one block through the narrow art festival tent valley. An online map showed that if I walked down one aisle ignoring what was on the opposite side of the street and then always turned right, I could see every booth. I saw just 1 woman wearing a mask. The crowd was way too thick. Seeing every booth stopped being a priority. I cut through a tent to the sidewalks which were getting little use except by artist vendors. I could see glimpses of the art from the sidewalk and nothing drew me in begging for a closer view. Donnelly Park had port-o-potties which I used. I settled on this view since I love that old Donnelly House which is also a Masonic Lodge. Much of the house was hidden by foliage but the corner tower stood tall.
Later this month, I will be having a laser shoved up my corner tower to core out my innards so that I don’t have to pee every half hour. I am glad to say I finished this sketch in one sitting. Once done I immediately ran to the port-o-potties. If the sketch seems rushed of frenetic, that is why. I was told I would have to do exercised before the operation. This is my form of exercise, which is sitting as long as I can to finish a sketch. It is the one form of exercise I love to do.
One of my online students canceled their 4 to 6pm class on Saturday, so that gave me time to get to Hickory Point Recreation Park before sunset. An artist friend had suggested I go there to sketch the fishermen.
I didn’t find the fishermen but was fascinated by the army of boats being hauled out of the water at the boat ramps. The setting sun lit up one Spanish moss coated tree a bright orange. The parking lot was full of pick up trucks with boat trailers. There were so many trucks and trailers that I couldn’t find a spot to park. The small road connecting all the lots spiraled in circles. At one pint I turned in and found I was driving the wrong way, since there were arrows painted on the roadway. I finally just parked on the grass.
There was a big private event going on at the clubhouse. I just walked towards the water to see what I could find to sketch. I settled on this view of the boat ramps. This is where there was the most activity. I sat in the shade next to the public bathrooms. Early on in the sketch a fellow walked up behind me and asked with a thick southern drawl, “You mind if I peak at yer sketch?” I held it up though it was only half started. He was delighted regardless. “Well hell that looks gooood.” A mother and her tow daughters approached much later in the process. Mom explained that if there was one talent that she could have, it would be to make art.
A Lake County utility vehicle parked right in front of me blocking my view to much of the scene. He walked away leaving the engine running. I considered putting the vehicle in the sketch but decided her would drive off soon. I looked at what could be seen around his vehicle to keep pushing my sketch forward. Sure enough maybe 15 minutes later he drove off.
It was fascinating watching the endless stream of boats being hauled out of the water. There was a line of pick up trucks behind me waiting to get to the water’s edge. I was impressed by one man who used the ramp to launch his kayak. The kayak was set up with all sorts of fishing implements. Now that looked like something I might want to try someday. The Highway 19 bridge had a polite and consistent flow of traffic. Most folks don’t tail gate around these parts. This was the last sketch in this Stonehenge panoramic sketchbook. It goes on the bookcase today. I need to find another one of these sketchbooks. Most scenes out here in Lake County are undeniably wide.
As I was exiting the spiraling parking lot, I saw a fisherman walking towards the water. He would get to his fishing spot just as the sun was setting. I will need to return to Hickory Point just a touch later in the day to find that sweet fishing spot. There are also hiking trails I haven’t discovered yet.
My flight to Chicago was delayed which brought me some time to sketch. This was a get away trip, long before COVID Dystopia won an award as the Best Short Animated Film at the Chicago International Reel Shorts Film Festival. This trip was strictly for sight seeing and hitting the museums and culture.
The sketch was done before I started my daily sketching routine. Lines are in pencil and more carefree. Right now I am searching for a pen that is responsive as I need. The pen I am using now might decide to stop putting down a line mid stroke which results in my staring down at the page in anticipation of the next fail rather than looking at the subject. The pen I am using now also tends to always run out as I am working on a sketch. It never fully reloads when I attempt to refill it each morning.
I am looking at old unpublished sketchbooks and playing with color since I am locked down teaching each afternoon and evening. It is kind of nice just making up the colors and values. The more of these I do the better I will get at coming up with my own color schemes on the fly.
I had a long discussion with a friend about the freedom of making a mess when painting. With oils, I focus on the subtle colors in the mid values by painting areas repeatedly with varying colors. Figuring out how to coach someone to make a mess is a challenge.
I suggested doing a Still Life but completing the painting in an hour or two. Since I had offered the suggestion, I decided to get out my old oils and do a quick painting myself.
My old oil tubes were covered in a sticky slick film. Making a mess became quite literal as I struggled to open each tube. Lids were screwed tight. I had to use my teeth as pliers to get them open. My hands got covered in oil paint repeatedly and I managed to get a dab of red on my nice green shirt. What was I thinking wearing a nice shirt?
It took about about half an hour to block the painting in. I spent the rest of the time adjusting colors repeatedly. I was trying to coach my student on the notion that painting is fun, but lets face it painting is hard work. About half way into the painting I did relax since at least things were recognizable. The mail goal of this painting was to make a mess and at that I succeeded. My main lesson was to make a mess and move on to the next.
As far as the subject, I didn’t give it much thought. I woke up and at first organized some fruit in a bowl. I wasn’t satisfied. I added pitchers and jugs but it all seemed too complex. Finally I just pulled a chair away from the table and put a skull on it. With my operation pending, going over my Will, Living Trust and Health Surrogate documents, this simple subject seemed on point.
On a trip to Chicago there was a bit of a layover at the Orlando International Airport. I like sketching in airports, exhausted rubes, I mean, passengers make good models as they doze off to a fitful sleep.
I am resurrecting sketches from a very old sketchbook which was started before I began my sketch a day practice. Executed in pencil, I rather like the line quality compared to the ink lines I put down with my broken fountain pen today. I want to buy a new sailor fountain pen, I should do that this afternoon while I am thinking about it.
I am starting work on theater posters this week so there probably will not be many Yalaha Florida sketches in the works. Since moving up this way I am ting to figure out how to reschedule my days so that I get location sketches done in the morning and then teach in the late afternoons.
With a surgery coming up I might face 4 to 10 weeks of post operation recovery. I assume that will mean no heavy lifting. I don’t know what that will mean in terms of sketching. I need to call today and set up that surgery date. It is a frightening prospect and my stomach knots just thinking about it. Getting older sucks. Or as Bette Davis said “Old age ain’t for sissies.“
This is a sketch done outside the 2D animation studio that used to exist at Full Sail University. Kathy Blackmore built this 2D animation studio to give students a grasp of the 12 principles of animation using pencil and paper before they started using computers.
Kathy hired me after meeting me at SIGRAPH, a computer animation conference in LA. Kathy and Sam Ewing would give the lectures and my job was to assist students with technical issues as they shot their drawings. There were always technical issues as students got used to the equipment. After several years I had to leave Full Sail because the salary barely covered the cost of gas to drive to work.
On the wall of the student lounge were framed DVDs of the movies that graduates of the program had worked on. With all the digital tools available to artists today, you don’t have to wait to be part of a huge team working on a blockbuster film. You can make a film for a very select audience right from home.
This is a sketch of the entrance to a housing development in in Lake County Florida. This little Fast Food Mart has the best price for gas in the area, so this is where I tank up my Prius after long road trips back and forth to Orlando. The owners of this mini mart must be doing pretty good since they have a large house down by the lake with a large pool. 48 is the busy road in front of the Mini Mart and it is challenging turning into Sun Eden the development since there isn’t much of a turn off lane and most traffic is going 55 miles per hour. I almost missed the turn the first time I drove into the development and thought I might slam into the community sign but I braked hard as I swerved right.
After the move I realized a large table I had, just didn’t work in the studio space. An artist I know had IKEA shelving that wasn’t assembled yet and it was a much better solution. I will have to get the same shelving the next time I move. It is hard letting go of something that has worked so well in the past. To save weight when I was packing the uHaul to move out of the Chatswoth studio, I left one piece of the table behind. It was a large slab of metal that extended down the middle of the table between the sets of legs. I figured I would have more space to store stuff under the table without that metal piece in the way. Well, when I reassembled the table as the Lake County Studio it wobbled like a drunken sailor. Without that metal support the table was useless.
Rather than have the heavy and solid table go to land fill, a short video and posted it on a community site. The table was free to anyone who wanted to pick it up. I kept it in my Prius. As I was driving to the landfill, a couple expressed interest to the online posting, and arrangements were made to meet in the mini mark lot. I parked near the air pressure station, which I couldn’t get to work. The table exchange happened like a clandestine drug deal but in broad daylight. It felt good knowing the table would have a new life probably sporting antiques or flea market goods.
I made a similar mistake with my Disney Feature Animation table. I left behind the heavy metal hardware that is used for adjusting the angle of the flat desk surface. I figured I don’t use any other angle that lying the desk flat to support my computers, so I could just hammer in some supports myself and spare myself the heavy hardware. It was a stupid decision and I rushed back to Orlando the next day to recover the hardware. Thankfully it hadn’t been removed. On the lawn it looked a bit like a lizard with a large square head. It took me hours to assemble, but I am glad the integrity of the desk remains intact.
