Pre-Pandemic: Miami Beach

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In October of 2019, Urban Sketchers Orlando went to Miami Beach to do find sketch locations for our participation in the upcoming Art Deco Festival in Miami Beach. We went to the art Deco Museum to plan a series of workshops to be held during the festival and then as a group went to several sites to sketch.

Here we are sketching the Essex House, (1001 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL) one block from the ocean. The Hurricane of 1926 wiped away the exclusive hotels of the past, and there was little cash flow available to re-build following the Stock Market Crash of 1929. Jewish families were able to lay claim to land south of Lincoln Road, developing what would become South Beach. The beach became accessible to middle-class families. Architects and investors favored terrazzo floors over costly marble and employed architectural features like “eyebrows” above windows to keep rooms without air-conditioning shaded from the Florida sun.

Henry Hohauser gained recognition for his unique architectural style and his work on other hotels that lined Ocean Drive. In 1938, he was tasked with designing and supervising the construction of the Essex House. Hohauser took on a nautical theme for the project. His work featured porthole windows, a tall spire, and decorative railings to reference the ocean liners of the 20th century. Local artist, Earl La Pan to paint an Everglades scene over the fireplace.

Miami was able to recover from the Great Depression much quicker than many other cities in America thanks to illegal gambling. In these Art Deco hotels, it was not uncommon to have “secret” gambling rooms tucked away behind the lobby.  Al Capone hosted his weekly card games at the Essex House. In January of 1942 the Essex House was raided and the owner was arrested on charges of operating an illegal gambling house.

Miami Beach Art Deco Festival

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Art Deco Weekend is the longest running free community cultural festival in Miami Beach with over 85 unique events. I will be going to sketch live music, the Art Deco marketplace, the antique promenade, the classic car show, the free dance classes, the Woman’s Suffrage Centennial Parade, the Art Deco Dog Walk along with special exhibitions and other unexpected pop up events.

I will be giving 2 sketch demos where I will sketch on the large leathery round leaves that can be found in the beach front park. The leaves are so strong that they can be sent through the mail as post cards and I want to try sending an Art Deco post card back to my studio through old fashioned mail.

Street performances can pop up at any time so the sketch opportunities are endless. I will have fun sharing what I love to do sprinkled in with some of the vibrant local history that makes this area so exciting.

Art Deco Weekend

Posted on by Thor

Orlando Urban Sketchers, Miami Urban Sketchers, and Tampa Urban Sketchers, will be a part of Art Deco Weekend in trendy South Beach Miami  this year. You can sketch with us at the Miami Beach Historic
District to capture the essence of the 1920 Era in your
sketchbook. This event is FREE. All ages and all drawing levels and skills are welcome.

The Art Deco Weekend festival by the Miami Design Preservation League is thrilled to include for the first time the Urban Sketchers in their official program with a series of Sketch walks, Urban Sketching
demonstrations and “Drink and Draw” events. Join us as we draw the
architectural gems of the Miami Beach Historic Art Deco District and
capture the essence of the 1920s Art Deco Weekend Festival Events.

A Sketchwalk is
an interactive walking tour run by urban sketcher leaders, where participants stop to pull out their sketchbooks and capture the scene in
a drawing. These on location from observation sketches tell the story
of place, time, and community. Equipped with inks and colors, urban
sketchers use their personal drawing techniques, interpreting their view
through their own styles. At each walk, through a ceremonious
“Sketchbook Throwdown”, the incredible variety of work captured is
shared and discussed, providing inspiration and a fascinating show and
tell for all.

The primary leading instructors are; James Richards,
Thomas Thorspecken, Gaston McKenzie and Greg Bryla, together with
instructors members of the FL USk chapters.

I will be hosting two demos, called, Leaf Something Behind.

Location: Versace Mansion – South beach park, opposite the Villa Casa Casuarina (1116 Ocean Dr., Miami Beach, FL 33139).

Description: As artists our goal is to leave something behind with the sketches we create.

Using found object Grape Leaves to do a pen and ink sketch of the active festival street scene.

On the beach front there are Sea Grape trees that have large round leathery leaves.

We will hang out in the beach front park or on the street as I do a sketch of the scene in pen and ink on one of these leaves.

The leaves can be mailed as post cards and I plan to test this out with the finished sketch.

Should
you like to do a leaf sketch yourself, I can’t guarantee there are
enough lying on the ground, but there were plenty last time I visited.

What to bring:
Bring your sketchbook and sketching supplies of your choice. As this
event is OUTDOORS be prepared with drinking water, portable chair/stool,
and appropriate clothes for the weather.

Where: Sketch walks commence at the Urban Sketchers tent (1001 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach, FL 33139).

21st Annual Car Show at the Art Deco Weekend.

Posted on by Thor

On day two of the Miami and Orlando Urban Sketchers crawl at South Beach in Miami, most artists were set up a block away sketching an Art Deco building on Collins Avenue. I wasn’t thrilled about just sketching a building, so I walked towards the crowds and commotion on Ocean Drive. I decide to sketch a long line of cars on display. Two Mini Coopers were at the front of the line. Pam Schwartz joined me and also sketched one of the cars in front of the Sury Hotel. The owner of the second Mini Cooper in line looked over my shoulder and was pleased to see his car in the sketch.

Pam was still busy when I had finished and I decided to rest in the shade of a palm tree and watch her work. I was amazed at how many people stopped to look over her shoulder. That must happen while I am working as well and I seldom notice. One young girl in ballet tights stopped to watch and she stood right in front of Pam blocking her view.  I have had people do that as a joke as if posing might get them in the sketch, but I think this girl was oblivious to the fact that she was blocking the scene Pam was sketching.

We stopped at the cafe in the hotel in front of us and ordered a huge iced margarita to split. A parade of giant puppets began to dance its way down the street. They were about 15 feet high. There was a merman whose arms dangled listlessly at his sides but he danced and leaned over to look at the crowds. Charlie Chaplin walked arm in arm with Marilyn Monroe.

Other artists started to explore the festival, and we watched them sketch as we sipped our drink. All the artists gathered in about an hour to share their work in front of a courthouse about two blocks away. The Miami Urban Sketchers had a rubber stamp that could be used to place the Miami Urban Sketch logo on each sketch. We then took a huge group photo and walked across the street to a vintage silver streamlined diner. Sitting near the couple from Puerto Rico, I got to learn about their struggles after hurricane Maria.