Urologist Waiting Room

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At the end of my trip through Europe, following in the footsteps of my father, 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken, I discovered that a double hernia had developed at the base of my pelvis. All the hiking I had been doing should have been good for my health, and it was. I lost plenty of weight but perhaps the weight loss revealed the hernia which may have already been developing. In my mind the hernia happened overnight. The Airbnb I was staying in had free coffee. I never drink coffee, but I decided to try a cup that night. It tasted good, so I had another cup.

In the morning, as I was getting dressed, I noticed the two rather large bulges at my pelvis. I panicked. My health insurance had been canceled because of my travels. I scoured the interned to self diagnose the situation. It was not life threatening as I at first thought. I was fine with it unless I had to lift something heavy.  My heaviest object was my backpack full of sketchbooks. I decided I could live with it and then I would get it fixed once I got back to the United States.

This trip to the Urologist was a check up on a previous operation I had which was to remove my prostate. For that operation a laser had been shoved up my flag pole and the prostate was burned away with the laser beam. It was a high tech solution. I wondered if a laser bean blast had ricocheted and caused the hernias. One internet article confirmed that was a possibility.

At this visit with the doctor’s assistant, she denied that the previous operation could be the cause. She gave me a referral to a doctor who handled hernia repairs. I had the prostate removed so that I would not need to urinate as often as I did. Traveling in Europe I found that I still had to urinate far too often. I took a pee in just about every German landmark that I sketched. A sketch takes about two hours to complete and by that time I would have to pee like a race horse. A side effect to the double hernia is a constant need to pee. The doctor’s assistant prescribed a pill that helps reduce the urgency, but my Ambetter Insurance refused to fill the prescription.

My sister in Punta Gorda Florida had the double hernia repair surgery. Her case was much worse than mine. She had to have the surgery done multiple times because the doctors botched the repair. One doctor finally fixed all the botched operations and she has been fine ever since. I started looking for information about that doctor online.

My primary goal, and the reason I was staying in Florida was to get this operation done. I would have to face sketching a series of doctor’s office waiting rooms. This wait wasn’t very long. I only had enough time to put some lines on the page and add three washes to cover the page.

The Inspection

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A home for sale in Azalea Park caught my eye and I was considering buying it. I liked that the front and back yard were full of native plants rather than grass. The front yard had a huge Live Oak which was hundreds of years old. The home was almost invisible from the street due to all the dense growth. I liked that. The home was built in 1947 and I have been researching events of 1945 at the end of WWII extensively.

When I first saw the place with my broker Rebekah Carr we did a quick walk through, and I noticed cosmetic issues but figured I could fix the place up in time. I was enamored with the yard which felt like an oasis. There were bamboo, firecracker bush, orchids and ferns amongst plenty of native Florida plants. Even more than the house, I was excited to maintain and expand on this plush landscape.

The air conditioner filter had not been changed for years, that is one thing I noticed and there were structural cracks in the walks and ceilings. I figured those could just be patched.  The shower didn’t work and a makeshift shower had been set up outside. That was odd, but I figured I could fix that in time. I noticed a hole in an overhead beam in the carport. I poked my finger inside and found the wood hollow. A chunk of the wood fell off when I pulled my finger out. Embarrassed, I delicately wedged it back into place hoping no one noticed.

I went to see the place for a second time with my sister and her husband. He has been a contractor his whole life so I wanted to get his thoughts on how much it might cost to fix the place up. He found a number of issues and in the end gave me an estimate of about 70,000 dollars for the repairs. He was talking about removing some walls and putting up new sheet rock and the carport had major issues. I wanted to use that estimate to bring into the negotiations. He said that if there were termites, he would be able to see little piles of sawdust and he didn’t notice any. I thought I saw termite damage in the carport but he said it was mostly water damage.

I went ahead and made an offer which was reduced by 25 thousand dollars. Before the sale could be finalized I had to have an official inspection. I went out to the home the day the inspector went there. He took drone footage of the roof and inspected every detail inside. I followed him around for a bit. While he was working the owner came home. The owner was slurring his words. That is when I decided to go outside to sketch and let the inspector do his work.

After the sketch was done, the inspector came outside and was packing his supplies in his SUV. He said to me, “I have some very bad news, there are rat droppings in the attic and more important termite damage in the roof rafters.” The home sale documents I had read showed that the owner did not believe there was any termite damage. I now knew that there was extensive termite damage. The roof would have to come off and be rebuilt from scratch. I considered getting a camper and parking it in the driveway while the work was done but the carport wasn’t tall enough for most campers. The place was far from move in ready. I don’t mind the idea of making repairs, but this was going to be a major rebuild. If termites were in the roof rafters, they very well could have also found their way into the wall joists. The place was going to be a money pit.

I had drawn up a floor plan from measurements I took on my first tour through the house. My studio fit, but with little room to spare. Now thinking back there really wasn’t enough light in the place. I dropped out of the sale and got my escrow back. The owner wanted to get rid of the property “as is.” He purchased the place years ago for 40 thousand dollars and ultimately sold the place to someone for a little over 300 thousand dollars.

I am glad I got out of the deal but I am still looking for a place that can work as a good studio. I want to be close to a downtown area where I can sketch arts and culture. I’ve been staying in Airbnb’s in Orlando and I like just walking to theaters and restaurants. Downtown places often feel cramped like the money pit I just avoided. After the sale collapsed, I lost interest in finding a home in Orlando.  New York State has been on my mind and my decision to stay or drive north is being reserved until the end of May when I finish my series of sketches documenting the Orlando International Fringe Festival.  Last night I started thinking about getting a rental place with a friend that could work as a studio for both of us. That prospect is exciting. I’m torn between New York and Florida but in general living in America has become less enticing.

David Plotkin Memorial

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I have been staying in an AirBnB in Thornton Park Orlando Florida for the past week. It has been wonderful to be able to walk to venues each day to sketch. One of the first places I wanted to sketch was at Stardust Video and Coffee. At this coffee house, Doug Rhodehamel has been assembling a magnificent display of brightly colored cardboard fish in honor of a dear friend David Plotkin.

David who was a close friend of Doug’s was a former Orlando Weekly staffer, WPRK DJ, a political activist and a cultural mover. Doug was asked by the Casselberry Arts & Sculpture House to do a solo show and he enlisted the help of David to come up with a concept for the show. Unexpectedly David died on April 1, 2025 from heart failure before the brainstorming session. Doug considered canceling the show, but decided instead to make the show a tribute to David.

Doug wondered what Dave would want to see if he were to go to the show. David was on a pickle kick. He had old drawings that Doug called war pickles. Doug decided he would build the show around pickles but also allow them to become something else. He ultimately decided to create a huge school of pickle fish swimming through the void. The fish are light and vibrant reminding anyone seeing them that there is light and wonder in the world which is often all too dark and drab. Besides the large school of pickle fish, Doug created a green pickle moon and blue corrugated cardboard columns that resembled coral. The opening reception for Flight of the Pickle Fish was on July 18, 2025.

It took Doug close to a year to cut out all the fish out of corrugated cardboard. I am familiar with Doug’s fish because he mails out a fish each year as a Christmas ornament to friends and supporters of his work. I look forward to seeing each unique fish each year. Some time in the future I hope to have a Christmas tree to display all the ornaments.

The David Plotkin Memorial Aquarium was unveiled on March 22, 2026 at Stardust Video and Coffee. Doug plans to keep making changes to the installation over time. The Stardust installation recruits many of the fish that were on display in the Casselberry Pickle Fish show along with new exotic species.

I went to Stardust Video and Coffee first thing in the morning to sketch. The online Stardust website showed photos of delicious looking waffles. At the front counter I asked for a coffee and the waffles. The woman behind the counter apologized. They no longer have waffles although they are listed in chalk on the blackboard above the counter. There was also an item on the blackboard called the Rhodehamel. I asked what the Rhodehamel was. I imagined it must be some kind of delicious sandwich. Maybe it was a pickle fish sandwich? She had no idea. The kitchen also does not open until 11AM. At least I got my coffee and set about doing the sketch. I was fascinated by a woman at the bar who was on a Zoom meeting about wine sales. Her earth toned dress had fish shapes all over it. When the sketch was complete, I went back to downtown Orlando to grab the waffles I craved.

Venetian Gardens, Leesburg Florida

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I went to Venetian Gardens in Leesburg Florida with a friend to paint. We made the mistake of getting to the gardens right before sunset. The golden hour light illuminated the far shore of the lake a golden orange. Two fishermen were out in small boats pulling in the last of their catch. It was a beautiful scene but we had to work supe fast to try and catch it.

The second it got dark, the mosquitos came out with a vengeance. We both scrambled to pack up our art supplies while getting bitten from all angles from clouds of mosquitos. I don’t even mind getting bitten, I just hate when the mosquitos buzz into my ears. I swear that every mosquito takes a kamikaze run at my ears. Hitting myself on the side of the head to try and kill the culprit is useless and deafening.

We both managed to get something 0n the page in the limited time we had. I of course would have liked more time to mix richer colors. I am considering making changes to my daily sketch kit to include gouache colors which can be applied opaque. With watercolors I can cover the page quickly with thin washes but there are times when I want to paint lights back into the sketch or mix rich pure colors. My watercolor palette is always rather dirty so finding pure color is a challenge.

In this same park there was a magnificent Christmas light display. Lights would flicker on and off in tempo with the music, and a series of reindeer would turn on in sequence making it seem like they were galloping across a bridge. I wanted to return to do a digital sketch of that display but I never got around to it. There were a few magical places to sketch in Lake County, but I have returned to downtown Orlando to search for the types of events that I have loved to sketch for years. I am on a sketching staycation in Thornton Park right now. I am staying at AirBnBs each week and walking downtown  to explore and sketch. My goal is to stay in Orlando long enough to sketch the Orlando International Fringe Festival in May.

Howie in the Hills Christmas Festival

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I went to Howie in the Hills to sketch a small town Christmas Festival. I fell on love with a home in Howie in the Hills which looked like a 1920s Hollywood hacienda. The home was on the main road where traffic is supposed to travel at 35 miles per hour, but the huge 18 wheelers seem to roar by at 55 miles per hour. The studio would have faced out on that main road.  I returned to the home a second time to see if the noise was an issue. The first time the real estate brokers had been talking constantly. This time I wanted a moment of peace to stop and reflect. There was a tall grouping of bamboo between what would have been the studio windows and the road. I considered planting more bamboo to further muffle the roar of traffic.

On the second floor the real estate broker confided for the first time that there was termite damage to a door frame. The termites had infested the home starting in the kitchen and then migrated through the walls upstairs. The door frame was so hollow that the door higes had nothing to hold onto. The door was resting 0n the floor. I hadn’t tried closing the door on my first walk through of the home. I abandoned the idea of buying that home. It was also too far from the events that I love to sketch each day. I like being able to walk to coffee shops and arts venues to sketch at a moments notice. Howie in the Hills is about an hour and a half drive from any Orlando events.

I am 0n a staycation at an AirBnB in Thornon Park, Orlando Florida. Since staying here, I have been doing several sketches every day. After I teach a virtual class tonight, I will be walking down the street to City Arts Factory to sketch Story Club. If I was still out in the country the hour and a half drive would have made the sketch opportunity a no go. The AirBnB is in a great location, but it has no WiFi, so I have to move again in a couple of days.

I parked across the street from the Howie in the Hills home I had decided was all wrong for me and I walked to the Christmas Festival. There was a stage for performers and I leaned against it to sketch the inflatable bounce houses. One of the staff who were supervising the bounce houses and slides set up beside me to eat lunch. He explained that he had to ask one kid to leave because the kid was bullying other children. By refusing the bully admission, the other kids could play without the harassment. If only politics were so easy.

I enoyed watching the kids trying to scale the rock climbing tower. One boy kept trying and failing at reaching the top. I admired that he never gave up. An older girl managed to get to the top on her second try. She raised her hands in victory and was lowered to the ground swaying on her safety rope. The little boy looked on in wonder and then attempted his climb with renewed determination. He failed again. He was dropped to the ground swinging on his safety rope with his arms dangling. I don’t know if the little boy ever made it to the top of the tower. As I packed up my sketchbook he was in the midst of another attempt.

I walked down the street filled with tents where vendors offered their Christmas knick knacks. I wasn’t tempted to purchases anything. To be honest I kind of skipped Christmas this year. My Christmas highlight this year was a Christmas market in Plettenberg Germany and sipping mulled wine while overlooking Wiesbaden Germany from a mountain top. This small Howie in the Hills estival felt overly commercial and shallow in comparison. There wasn’t much history behind the festivities. Being single and completely unattached, the holidays have less meaning. I might just treat myself to a new sketchbook or some new tubes of paint. I can’t order them online, since I don’t know where my next address will be.

Milk District Christmas Market

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I was giving serious consideration to buying a property on Forest Avenue in the Audubon Park district of Orlando. After walking the home and taking measurements, I decided to then walk the neighborhood. Several blocks away was North Bumby Avenue. I walked towards the Plaza Live Theater. Within a block I ran into this Christmas market set up in a parking lot. I decided to just sit down and sketch. This is exactly the type of event I tend to seek out and sketch anyway.

It had rained recently and there was a big puddle in front of me. On sale were vintage records and various arts and crafts. This neighborhood where the home was located felt right. A short walk from the front yard and I was already finding sketch able subjects. The Plaza Live down the street was having a Krampus event and I was excited to get there to sketch as well.

The home I was looking at had a wild and overgrown front and back lawn area. There was no grass, which I like. It had all native plants including bamboo which grows like wildfire. The house is a small 1 bathroom and two bedroom place. I had already drawn out a map of the rooms to see if I could fit my art studio furniture into the place. It was a tight fit. A huge live oak tree cut off much of the light that could make its way through the studio windows. Looking back the place was kind of dark. I could have controlled the light with natural electric lights but that would have run up the electric bill.

After spending $700 on an inspection, I decided the place wasn’t for me. Termites had infested the carport and they made their way up into the roof rafters. Though the roof hadn’t leaked yet it was structurally unsound. Rats had also taken up residence in the insulation in the attic. I figured that I would have to invest well over $100,000 to put on a new roof and it is also possible that interior walls were infested. What I would have been buying was a pile of cinder blocks. It would be a long time before I could move in. This was far more work than I wanted to get my studio set up. It is a good fit for a contractor who wants to flip the place.

Right now I am in between residences. I need a roommate situation or rental so I can stay in Orlando through the end of May since I plan to sketch the Orlando International Fringe Festival which runs from May 12 to the 27th . I am paying top dollar to stay in an AirBnB next week in downtown Orlando but that is very expensive. Apartments often want an 8 month commitment for the lease. I want to drive north in June to look at the possibility of setting up a studio in New York State. If anyone knows about short-term rentals in Orlando Florida, please let me know. I am living out of a backpack and scrambling to find a place. My studio and art supplies are packed away in a storage container and my Prius has my backpack a few groceries and my bicycle. I can view this as a problem or an adventure. I hope it is an adventure.

Florida Film Festival Poster Second Pass

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It was pointed out to me that I got the dates wrong for the Florida Film Festival. The festival actually ran from April 10 to 19, 2026. When I was throwing together the comp, I just lifted type from previous posters to get the impression of what the final poster might look like.

From several Airbnb’s and hotels in Germany I made revisions to the Florida Film Festival poster. First the soldier from my first pass of the poster had to be replaced because America is a country which embraces peace rather than war.

Since racial diversity was called for, I added a Chinese man, and an Indian woman. I didn’t know how many races to add, so I tested the water and waited to see if more was needed. Many of the distant audience was still just blocked in without detail. The festival asked to add details that are unique to the Enzian Theater. I sketched inside the Enzian when renovations were being done, so I was familiar with the look of the interior. I have never sketched the theater looking back from the stage. I searched Google images to see what the back wall of the theater looks like. I held off on polishing the painting to a final look since I was certain that more changes were to come. Working digitally is ideal for changes. Each character in the audience was drawn and painted on their own layer. If a character had to be removed, I could do that with the touch of a button.

For the rest of my trip through Europe, I heard nothing about the need for more Florida Film Festival poster changes. My assumption is that another concept was approved for the festival poster and promotional materials. The concept I was working on was a mine field of possible problems with hundreds of possible revisions and refinements. The poster concept I had been assigned must have been been rejected.

My attention shifted back to a full time dedication of documenting a time in 1945 when America defeated fascism at the end of WWII.

Nearing Capacity

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Hospitals in New York City are being flooded beyond their capacity. Doctors and nurses are stretching the limited resources available to them and doing the best they can. Every day they struggle to just keep their heads above water, while the numbers of patients entering the hospital system continues to grow.

The sick are arriving so fast that more than 5,000 new beds might be needed for next week. One out of every four Covid-19 patients is in intensive care. The longer a patient stays on a ventilator the more likely they will not live. Governor Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order to transfer ventilators from upstate New York to hospitals that have a dire need right now. The New York hospital system has 90,000 beds which are now filled to capacity.

Medical workers are the front line soldiers in this battle against Covid-19. Airbnb is offering $2 million dollars to provide hotel rooms for front line workers in this fight against Covid-19. A surge and flex system was set up to get needed supplies to the communities with the greatest need in New York State. Javits Center, Tents in Central Park, and the Brooklyn Cruise terminal should help with overflow patients as the numbers keep rising. Cuomo stressed over and over that testing is needed on a grand scale to control the spread of the virus.  Right now they are just trying to mitigate the damage from letting the virus go unchecked for so long. America has more cases of Covid-19 than any other country in the world. Before anyone can go back to work with any semblance of normalcy, there must be testing.

In New York State, the death toll continues at an astonishing rate.

April 4, 594 died

April 5, 599 died

April 6, 731 died

April 7, 779 died

April 8, 799 died

April 9, 777 died

April 10, 783 died

April11, 758 died

April 12, 671 died

The fact that the death rate leveled off is a somewhat hopeful sign. It indicates that the stay at home order might be turning the tide. However, 7,844 have died to date. New York asked for people to send photos of how their are staying strong though the pandemic and they edited a short video that stresses #Stay Home, #Stop the Spread, #Save Lives.