Demonstrating blind contour

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At the Rocket Thrower statue outside the Rep Theater, I decided to do one more demonstration bu doing a sketch using blind contour. Blind contour is actually anything but blind. It is more of a state of constant starting and attention to detail. This sketch was done without ever looking at the page until I felt the sketch might be done. There is a faint sketch underneath this demonstration where I was laying out the composition for a sketch of a modern red sculpture outside OMA. My student finished his sketch of the same subject so fast that I had not time to add detail to that sketch. I therefor left it and drew right on top of it.

This is also a good demo since it show that a sketch doesn’t have to be accurate to be interesting. This could easily be pushed to a finish by adding details in the head and adding a few watercolor washes to tie it all together. Having done several sketches of the statue however, my student wanted to move on and find another subject.

I noticed a grandmother walking with her grandchild as I finished this sketch. She looked at me with what looked to me like disapproval, probably because I was wearing an N-95 mask. Then again she might just have not liked my shirt or this sketch. Getting past the mass delusion and amnesia of the return to normal has been my goal ever since I started my pandemic series back in March of 2020.

Urban Sketching Class Notes

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This page is an example of the types of notes I jot down for students on our sketching excursions on location. We met at the Rep Theater and the first sketch opportunity was a large modern red statue outside OMA. My student works pretty fast, so I just offered a quick thumbnail sketch to give him ideas on how to think about the composition.

Next we sketched the Rocket Thrower sculpture which can be intimidating for a beginner. The last time I sketched the Rocket Thrower, he was wearing a Fringe Tee shirt. I used the sculpture for several different lessons. The small thumbnail sketch shows sweeping gesture lines with no detail. I then showed how to block in the three body masses, the head, rib cage and hips as three simple shapes. Then we did a separate exercise where we just looked at the negative shapes around the sculpture which I colored blue. The negative shape exercise allows the student to get away from the distractions of anatomy and just think about puzzle piece shapes.

I always fell the urge to want to cover the page with watercolor washes as well, but there isn’t always time. Honestly blocking things in extra quick like this for a student is good for me because it reminds me to avoid distracting detail at first and think about the big picture. I also find that being able to verbalize my thoughts help cement them in my own mind.

Rollins Dock

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I was sketching with an Urban Sketching student at the Rollins College campus.The student was just working with pencil so we ended up sketching about three different locations. I had to pick up my pace to get something resembling finished sketches for each. I am used to going to a location and spending all my time completing one sketch during the course of an event.

In this sketch I was pointing out the perspective in the scene. I put a lone house on the far shore where the vanishing point would be for the boats in the foreground. Since my student was seated to my right, his vanishing point would have been slightly different. We spent a moment figuring out the perspective from his vantage point.

I also pointed out that just the closest boat had to be rather accurate. If that boat read as dimensional then the other boats would seem dimensional even if they were just quickly sketched in.

I have taken sailing courses so I could probably handle one of these sail boats fairly well. I was discussing this with Pam this weekend and we came to the conclusion that the course I passes was over 20 years ago. I am not sure if sailing is like riding a bicycle and you never get rusty.

Sizzle: Corsets and Cuties

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Corsets and Cuties were performing at the Abbey for Fringe.Pam and I had arranged to see three shows in quick succession and Corsets and Curies was the last show of the evening. We arrives early and relaxed outside in the outdoor patio. When we did go inside people were crowded around the bar and we waited near a large black curtain that lines the back of the seating area. I could hear the occasional song inside the space and figured they must be doing some last minute rehearsals inside.

Pam and I were some of the first inside the theater and we decoded to sit house right one row back. Honestly we could have sat front row since the two seats in front of us never filled up. The theater did get tight. My right arm got pressed up against a metal balcony divider which meant I couldn’t draw using my whole arm. My elbow got locked against my rib cage.

The thing I love about Corsets and Cuties is that they combine humor with their performances. The audience was laughing as well a hooting and hollering. Once again Pam and I were the only ones in masks. For whatever reason this space was the one that made me most uncomfortable when it came to possible COVID infection. Thankfully we seem to have skirted getting symptoms once again.

Many of the performers walked up and down the aisle and once they did that I lost sight of them. There was no point in craning my neck and looking back since the audience was so thick that any sight of the performer was lost. I just focused on the stage or the guy in the baseball hat in front of me.

A row behind us there was a guy on the aisle and he had a cast and sling on his left arm. Every performer seemed to cozy up to him leaving strips of clothing around his neck. I tribute it to the notion that he couldn’t get very grabby as they performed. Apparently one tassel popped of because of the humidity but I missed it, I was looking elsewhere as I sketched.

 

Fringe: The City Beautiful

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On the evening of my Fringe film premiere, dancers from The City Beautiful dropped off cards and talked about the show as we drank beer at the beer tent. Now Pam is the director of the Orange County Regional History Center so of course she would be curious about the history being presented.

The show was presented in the green venue which was packed to the overflowing. Pam and I were the only ones masked up. The show was more of a musical than a burlesque show, though pasties did appear a few times. One singer, Marissa was a lead in the Key of E which was very familiar with since a singe from that show was the backbone of the soundtrack for the short film I just finished. As always she belted out the songs with professional aplomb.

The history seemed to jump around quite a bit. Some momentum was lost as dancers were asked to simply read from the history book. The show does have a lot of potential however and I am glad I had a chance to see it. I have lost practice in sketching inside a dark theater but I just had to accept what I could do.

Fringe Favorite: Bugged Lady

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This was my favorite show that I saw at Fringe this year. It was a site specific show held at Leu gardens. Sandi Linn played the part of Professor Levi instructing a class of Invertebrate Biology 101. Sandi actually works at Leu gardens teaching similar lasses to school children as her daytime job. She wanted to present a show that was a bit edgier than her day to day classes.

In this show professor Levi presented real live insects to the crowded Fringe audience. Invertebrates make up over 80% of life on earth. You could tell form her presentation that the professor had a true love of insects, particularly the most venomous and frightening. When in undergraduate studies she was the only woman in her class. She was teased and told she should pursue an occupation more suitable for a woman.

On a field trip with classmates and a professor, she wanted no part in the lewd campfire banter so she retired. She was startled awake with the drunken professor forcing himself on her. She got even when she discoverer a huge nest of these cockroaches and mistakenly dropped them all over her sleeping professor.  She had a terrarium full of hissing cockroaches that she massaged with her hands to make them hiss. She walked the room so we all could hear and flinch.

The moral that threads its way through her presentation is that insects only will attack if they are threatened. Though she was the best student in her class she was passed over for promotions. Strangely the unqualified student who was promoted over her also was attacked by thousands of insects. he swatted at then which only made then angry. Over time she had to settle on teaching for as she said those who can not do, teach.

We got so see glowing scorpions, tarantulas, venomous grasshoppers. centipedes tape worms and of course hissing cockroaches up close and personal. The show was educational and horrifying.

COVID: Premiere

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The film, COVID had it’s premiere at Fringe this year in the visual artists area. I had screened a film several years ago and that screening happened in the outdoor tent behind the Shakes. In my Facebook invite that is where I directed people. I got to the outdoor tent about half an hour before the screening began. It was surprisingly light outside but I started blocking in my sketch, thinking I would sketch the audience as they arrived.

I was still blocking in my sketch in pencil when I began to realize that the movie screen had not been set up yet. Pam and several friends arrived. And Pam decided to go in the shakes and figure out where the screening was happening. Andy Matchett, who wrote the amazing single that is the basis of the short, showed up and we went inside together to see if the screening was indeed inside.

The screening was actually in the round planetarium room which was being used for visual Fringe. There was a full crowd. I realized that I didn’t have the time to complete a sketch, so I sat and relaxed for the show. The pencil sketch I had started is under the sketch I have posted here. I didn’t have an erased so it can be seen faintly underneath this quickly executed sketch.

Most of the seats were taken so we sat at the kids table to watch which was separated from the main audience. Since chairs had run out a comfy recliner was pulled away from the wall and I offered it to Andy. He deserved it since his music is amazing and the show Key of E had premiered at Fringe 10 years prior. The singe I built the short around is “I just Can’t Wait (for the game to end)” and every word feels like it is about the COVID pandemic and a desire to return to normal. The song was written in 2013 but it feels like it was written in 2020 or today. I consider Andy a profit, though he hates for me to say that.

My film COVID was the only one that required a warning in case people wanted to shield themselves from the reality I was showcasing. After the screening we went to the outdoor beer tent. I was masked all night except for the moments I was downing a Hefferweisen beer. Being unmasked I was calculating wind directions and my distances from others. I usually insist on 22 feet of distance but that distance broke long enough for me to drink the beer and try the schnitzel. Pam went to order some schnitzel and in the time she was getting that I finished this sketch. I realized that I had left my pen at home, so this sketch was done with a colored pencil.

Before I finished the sketch, a singer in a captains cap and a uniform came over and asked if I was Thor. He thanked me for the work I had done for the opera in the past and he was glad I was out sketching theater on location again. It was nice to sketch live theater again but it is exhausting navigating in a world where people think the pandemic is over and I know the pandemic is far from over. A black N-95 is now a part of my everyday sketch uniform.

 

COVID: Shot 8

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Shot 8 shows Fun Spot which refused to close its doors when the pandemic hit hard. They put out some hand sanitizer stations and called it a day. For those who aren’t aware, COVID is airborne, it floats through the air like smoke waiting to be inhaled to infect a new host. Sanitizer is a nice gesture but it does not stop an airborne virus.

This shot was created with landscape mode of VoluMax Pro 7. I then re did the shot using a depth map for the background and separate layers of each group of hazmat workers. The challenge then became to keep the workers solidly placed on the ground. It took some work to get that right.

Things never got quite this bad in Orlando but with well over one million deaths in America, I wasn’t far off the mark in the paintings I produced in the first weeks. According to USA Facts,  Orlando Florida has had 88,288 COVID deaths so far and that number continues to grow. Where are they all buried? Someone dies about every three minutes from COVID.

Americans have been duped into accepting mass infection. They can accept the risk of infection as no worse than a possible auto accident. However with an auto, you at least can wear a seat belt and steer clear of oncoming traffic. There is no steering clear of COVID when literally no one masks.\

 

I am starting to enter this film in Film Festivals. I have come to realize that it is a film no one wants to see. I therefor have to pay festival entry fees to get an audience to see it.

 

Arts and Culture Procession

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COVID is taking a toll on arts and culture. It seems like every day there is news of another musician canceling their tour due to “illness.” The C word is never mentioned. I have heard that performers and athletes are forbidden by contract from mentioning if they are infected with COVID.

Michael Osterholm, a notable talking head in the pandemic scene was taking every precaution against infection. If he had a gathering of friends at his home, everyone would need to be tested beforehand. He masked everywhere but decided life needed to return to normal in some sense. He decided to got to a Bruce Springsteen concert. He was one of the few people in the stadium wearing an N95 mask. The next week on his COVID podcast he announced that he had been infected. He attributed the possible moment of infection to a brief elevator ride. Now he is fatigued and suffering from Long COVID.

The Rolling Stones announced on June 13, 2022 that it was postponing that evening’s show after front man Mick Jagger tested positive. The rockers noted that Jagger was “experiencing symptoms of COVID” after arriving at the Johan Cruijff Arena.

Elton John, announced January25, 2023 that he was postponing the Dallas dates of his farewell tour after contracting the virus. He shared in his Instagram stories: “Hi everyone, wanted to send a message to let you know that I have contracted COVID and so have had to reschedule my shows in Dallas.”

Adele shared a tearful video Jan. 20 in which she announced that she was postponing her Las Vegas residency, which was scheduled to kick off the following day. “I’m so sorry, but my show ain’t ready,” she said. “We’ve tried absolutely everything that we can to pull it together in time and for it to be good enough for you, but we’ve been absolutely destroyed by delivery delays and COVID. Half my crew, half my team are down with COVID. They still are. And it’s been impossible to finish the show.”

After her appearance at the Met Gala, Lizzo had to cancel her Montreal Concert due to “health concerns.” As she said, “I had a sore throat last night and a headache and went to bed,” Lizzo remained apologetic throughout the video “I woke up this morning, and my body is weak, and I have chills, and my head hurts. Normally, if it’s just a cold, I’d shower, I’d eat, take some medicine, and it gets better. But this is getting worse.” She was later diagnosed with strep which has been surging after COVID infections deplete the immune system.

A 21 year old Keyontae Johnson collapsed on the basketball court after his bout with COVID. He was rushed to the hospital in critical but stable condition. Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin, 24, collapsed during a game on Jan. 2 in front of millions of TV viewers. He has since been discharged from the hospital to recover at home. It is not yet known why his heart stopped, but experts say Hamlin’s cardiac arrest was likely caused by an arrhythmia following a blow to his chest. For people who have had COVID-19, lingering COVID-19 heart problems can complicate their recovery.

Sam Smith issued the following statement after walking off the stage mid-concert in Manchester… I don’t know what to say honestly. I fought off a virus a few weeks ago and since then we have traveled across Europe and had such incredible shows. Today in soundcheck I felt fine and was excited to give Manchester an amazing show tonight. During the first song, I noticed something wrong with my voice. I prayed it was just my voice waking up for the show but into the forth song I could feel something was really wrong. I came off stage and tried everything to get my voice back in gear but it won’t. I am honestly heartbroken I couldn’t finish the show tonight for you all. I love you all. I’m Sorry.

Part of the new normal now as well is watching speakers drop unexpectedly while on stage. I shouldn’t have to say this, but this isn’t normal.

COVID: Shot 7

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In the first weeks of the pandemic people rushed to the store to hoard toilet paper and fist fights broke out in the aisles. Videos of fights broke out all over social media. Of all the survival needs this seems to be the most mundane.

This was the first shot in the film that used a fast paced zoom transition that I used for the remainder of the film. This effect at first was done by zooming in 75% each time. The timing of that zoom was consistent over time but very quick. After the whole film was edited together I abandoned that technique and instead used adjustment layers to create a transition that ramped up to happen super quick.

Most of the shots would involve a quick zoom in a settle and then zoom in again. This gave each shot the impression that they were part of a much bigger scene. I listened to the whole soundtrack and put down beats on the timeline by pressing the M key on the keyboard. Each shot would last for one or two beats at most.

The pandemic rushed towards us at an insane pace with some crazy story popping up each day. The pandemic continues with a person dying from COVID every 3 minutes but the media has become complicitly silent. The only way Joe Biden can get re-elected is if the country believes the war against COVID is over. Over 700,000 Americans have died since Biden became president but that is never discussed.

I have come to realize that what I have created is a film that no one wants to see. In the rush to return to normal, the nation has suffered a complete amnesia of what has happened and is still happening today.I offer harsh realities but people prefer false hope and denial.