Tech Romance

Posted on by Thor

While on a long road trip my iPhone would not take a charge. I was using Google Maps to go to a location deep in the Florida back roads, an hour and a half from where I am renting a home.

The red warning blinked on, saying “low battery. I had no idea if my phone would have enough battery to get me to my destination before blinking out and becoming a useless brick. I had an iPad but it was useless since it needed a Wi-Fi connection to show the maps. If the phone died, I would have no maps, and would not be able to call my friend for directions. I have grown so dependent on the pleasant voice of my female navigator. I stopped in a Dollar General parking lot and quickly wrote out the remaining series of directions on the back of a sketch. Sure enough the phone shut down after driving a few more blocks. My pencil notes got me to where I needed to go.

I conducted a virtual art class from what felt like a peaceful country cabin on my iPad. The trip back would involve even more twists and turns but more pencil notes got me home. Actually before going home, I stopped at the Apple Store in Millennia Mall. The place was packed. Clearly everyone’s charging ports had failed at the same time. I sat at the Genius Bar and a tech quickly helped me out. He took the phone out back to find whatever had clogged the port. I had spent hours trying to clear the port myself the night before with a toothpick, but every attempt failed. I kept plugging the phone in, hoping it might miraculously decide to charge.

While I waited for the tech to come back out with my phone, I sketched. It felt good to have this low tech option to record the moment. Pencils never run out of charge and they never crash. The tech brought the iPhone back out and plugged it in. I kept sketching while the phone charged. Thankfully there was no cost for clearing the port.

Back out in the parking lot, I plugged the phone back into the car charger. I turned on Google Maps and set a course. The first thing the pleasant and familiar female voice said was, “Head North to Conroy Road.” Sigh… She understands my every navigation need. She had me at “head”.

In the East Village of NYC.

Posted on by Thor

I was asked to teach an Urban Sketching Workshop in NYC. The hotel was located in the East Village which has changed quite a bit since I lived in NYC close to 25 years ago. Hip new bars and eateries proliferate the neighborhood. When I got to this street corner of Clinton and Houston the age old feeling of the city returned. I took the time to sit on a bench in the middle of the intersection and sketch the neighborhood. I  imagined myself living in that cylinder shaped corner tower on the corner on the top floor. From there I could see the bustling city life as I painted in the studio.

I went to college in the city and wish I had the patience and perseverance to sketch the scene as I can today. A homeless man on the far corner to my left was begging the entire time I sketches. His mantra for a dime became the soundtrack for the scene as I worked. It was a rather crisp day which I am not used to, so I had to put on my gloves to keep sketching. Direct sunlight helped when it struck  my hands.

The sketch workshop went well. We did quick studies while e were gathered in a dance studio which had mirrors on the walls. Mirrored walls are perfect for showing where a vanishing point is in a scene. For the second part of the workshop, we went to Grand Central Station. I wanted my crew of artists to see the main floor from the second level. We walked up the steps and overlooked the expanse. The amazing this is that the second floor of Grand Central Station is now exclusively an Apple Store. Phones and iPads were everywhere. The store staff didn’t seem to mind us leaning against the marble railings and sketching. After sketching at Grand Central, we all went to a German pub for drinks and to share sketches. The New York City Urban Sketching community is vibrant and exciting. I kind of miss being in the city that never sleeps.

Apple Store Line

Posted on by Thor

Terry suggested I go to the Millenia Mall to see if there was a line of people waiting for the latest iPhone release. I don’t go to the mall very often so this was an adventure. I had been to the store before and I swore it was on the second floor. I walked the full length of the mall and had to double back. It was actually on the first floor and I had walked over it in the first five minutes of my quest. I decided to stay on the second floor and look down at the long steady line of people waiting. A brick of a security guard stood by, should any riots break out.

It was less than a week since Steve Jobs died. A storefront window was turned into a shrine. There were flowers and a small box of candy at the store’s display window. Colorful stickie notes covered the glass with short notes like: “Keep thinking different.” “RIP Steve, the world loves apples.” “iCame, iSaw, iMiss you.” As I sketched, two former students stopped to say hello. I asked Phil if he was here to get an iPhone. “Are you kidding? Those things cost like $400. I have a student loan to pay off!”, he said. My old iPhone is working just fine. I will not upgrade unless the glass breaks or I drown it. The new iPhone apparently has loads of new features but I just need a phone that works, and sometimes I feel a little too connected. Most people I draw have their eyes plastered to that tiny screen. I want my eyes to keep taking in the bigger picture.

In 1984 Steve introduced the world to a new form of computer. I desperately wanted one of these early Macintosh’s. Terry had a contest going at her new job at Shearson Lehman Hutton. If she brought in enough clients through cold calls, she could win a Macintosh. She worked incredibly hard in part because she knew I lusted for that machine. She got it. I used that tiny Mac to design a whole book, which I self published. I knew this new digital age would change everything. I still have that old tiny Mac. I brought it to Full Sail in Steve Jobs honor the day after he died. I plugged it in and the machine hummed to life sounding like a 747 after 20 years of hot storage in our garage. Terry and I have worked together to bring our dreams to life. Today is our 20th wedding anniversary. It was my dreams that brought us to Central Florida. Dreams change, but my hope for an ever brighter future never dies. “Maybe all the plans we made would not work out, but I have no doubt, even though it’s hard to see. I’ve got faith in us and I believe in you and me.“