50th Annual Mount Dora Art Festival

Posted on by Thor

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.

38th Annual Festival of the Masters

Posted on by Thor

From November 8th to November 10th, 130 artists set up tents in Downtown Disney for the 38th Annual Festival of the Masters. The parking lots in front of Downtown Disney were ripped up and fenced off due to construction. The back lot parking lot I usually park in was completely full. I had to loop around and was directed to a staff parking lot beside the cast services building. I had to drive up and down all the isles before I found what must have been the last spot in the lot.

The parking situation didn’t stop people from attending the Art Festival. The crowds were dense. I walked through the festival surveying all the art.  Behind the Circ du Soleil Circus Tent, the view opened up with a grassy knoll overlooking the lake. I relaxed on the grass and started to sketch. An artist sat in front of his tent joking with patrons and showing them prints. When another artist entered his tent, he shouted out to everyone that she was the winner of $1000. He later looked over my shoulder saying, “You’re among friends here.”

One lady had a tent full of dog paintings. Every canvas had a banner across it that said, “No photos.” I understand where she is coming from since I share my work everyday yet want people to know that the image has a copyright, which means, “don’t steal the image”. I place a 10% ghosted copyright banner across every sketch now. It is barely noticeable.  Whenever someone reproduces my work without asking, that copyright banner grows bolder. Policing image theft is difficult in the digital age. The Internet is the wild west of copyright theft. People want music, video and art for free. I love when people use my work, so long as they pay for the rights.I love it even more when people link back to this site to share my work or a particular sketch.

Much later I felt two other people standing behind me. My first thought was that they must be Disney Security intent on stopping me from sketching. It turns out they were former students of mine. This married couple had taken the 2D Animation class together and they were both stellar students. Having graduated, the couple is enjoying the tourist attractions in Orlando. Russ is planning to do an internship at Full Sail. As the sun set, the shadows grew longer. Getting off Disney property was as much of a challenge as getting on.