The Copper Rocket Pub (106 Lake Avenue) held a fundraiser for the Mustard Seed Foundation. The Mustard Seed provides furniture and clothing to families is need in the Central Florida area. When I got to the Copper Rocket, I found the parking lot full of tents for food and merchandise. Finding a parking spot was a real challenge but I finally found a sweet spot on a grass lawn. I met Terry and the first order of business was getting some food. We sat down of a curb to eat. Behind us two women were dresses a hula girls with leis and grass skirts. I was torn between wanting to sketch and finishing my meal. My stomach won. There must have been costume contests inside because other woman were dressed as 1940’s bombshells. How is it that those fashions ever went out of style?
When we finished dinner, Terry gave me the freedom to find a spot to draw. Rather than focus on the constantly milling crowd, I decided to sketch this van covered in graffiti by Black Chapel Tattoo parlor. The sun was setting so I worked fast. A bunch of motorcycles were also parked in this area and occasionally men would come over and examine the sleek lines of these slick machines. A very drunk woman approached me from behind and demanded to know what I was doing. Slurring her words, she said, “Hey thass not bad.” She then tromped off to the bar talking to a friend on her cell phone. She approached me three more times as I worked.
AS I was finishing up the sketch, Terry came over and sat on the running board of a hot red 1940’s pickup truck. Dina Peterson came over and joined her. They had a long discussion about buying food locally and the finer points of being a vegetarian. Vendors started striking their tents. A bombshell and her man started loading stuff into the Black Chapel van. When I finished, Terry decided she was tired so we headed home. From Dina I found out there had been costume contests in the pub. Oh well, I will have to catch that action next year.
House Warming
For the past month artist Doug Rhodehamel has been living in a cardboard box which he sets up in peoples homes so they might have a “Artist in Residence “. Six different Orlando residents opened their homes and allowed Doug to set up his makeshift home. Doug always wanted to build his own home and he finally did so on a somewhat small scale. What did this artist in residence do? He made art! He constructed little cardboard bewilderbeasts for the homes. He just needed a spot in the house to set up his 6′ x 3′ home. The home can be folded up and transported to the next residence in his car.
On July 21st Doug set up his home on the red stage at Stardust Video and Coffee. When I got to Stardust I found a seat at a table up near the stage and then wandered off to find a beer. Carl Knickerbocker, a painter of primitive folk art, was also looking for a beer. He was studying the many bottles and I chose to go for what was on tap. We discussed our tastes in beer and found some common ground.
The sketch was a challenge since the place people tended to congregate and stand was right in my line of sight. It took nerves of steel and much patience to sketch areas I could see when I was blocked. On the loudspeakers, piano music from the Charlie Brown cartoons was playing setting a playful mood. So many beautiful people kept walking in to see. Doug would offer guided tours to select VIPs and they would crawl inside. I never went inside up I did take a look to see how the walls were decorated. A black hairy spider was perched on the roof above the entry and horse photos were galloping above the door. Window boxes held paper flowers and a small donate box was stationed near the entry.
From Dust to Life
I went to an art opening titled, “From Dust to Life” which featured the work of Jason Lee. The art was hung in the Peacock Room (1312 North Mills Avenue). The work will stay on display through August 15th. The Arts Hub and the Peacock Room sponsored the event. When I entered the bar, I immediately looked at all the paintings on the wall and then found myself a seat at the end of the bar so I could get an overall view of the room and bar patrons. Toni Taylor was seated right next to me on my left and next to her was, Jen Jacobson, a friend and fellow artist who has turned to Tony for painting advice. That is right just like in renaissance days, this artist has asked Toni to take her under her wing and share her working secrets. Together they are working on a huge 5 foot high canvas that will be on display at Tu Tu Tango’s on July 30th.
On the ceiling of the bar Doug Rhodehamel had perhaps a hundred brown paper bag mushrooms suspended upside down. On the far wall of the bar an Andrew Spear mural was staring straight at me. I started my drawing by focusing on that beautiful face. All the perspective lines point straight at her. Toni’s apprentice took an interest in my sketch so she sat next to me and watched for a while. I discovered she works at the Animal Kingdom training the birds that are in the shows. We talked parrots for a while, since I have a pet cockatoo. She lost interest and then she and Tony started talking girl talk.
Carl Knickerbocker, an amazing local artist is in the left hand side of the sketch. He noticed me sketching and came over to see my progress. I asked him about the idea of sketching him at work on one of his larger pieces. He agreed so I might visit his studio soon. Brad Briggs who helped organize the evening came over to say hi, he was with his partner Linda Brandt. I had sketched Linda as she worked with her pet dog, Otis, at Hip Dog Hydrotherapy. Brad checked back a few times and I felt he might be impatient with my slow progress. A group of artists stood behind me talking about various shows. Part of me felt I should be socializing more myself. I honestly know little about the Orlando Arts scene but I figure if I just keep doing my sketch a day, the rest will work itself out in time.
World Cup
I put out a request on Facebook asking where would be the best place in Orlando to watch the World Cup Soccer match. Someone responded Graffiti Junktion (400 East Washington Street in Thornton Park) so that is where Terry and I decided to go. When we first entered there was literally not a seat available. Terry wanted to go to a quieter bar down the street, but I knew this is where I needed to sketch. When we went back in the bar area, I found a spot in the corner of the room and I leaned back against the wall and started sketching. This meant I would have to stand for the duration of the game, but I thought it was worth it. Terry couldn’t find a seat so she asked me for my car keys and went back to get my portable stool. Right after she left a table opened up and I sent her a text to that effect. It turns out she had left her purse with me and her phone was in the purse. She ended up walking the 4 or 5 blocks and when she got back she realized she didn’t need the stool anymore.
At the table right in front of me there were several lesbian couples who were very affectionate. I found out that the two countries competing, Spain and Portugal, both recognize full marriage equality for all citizens. In other words, marriage need not only be the union of a man and woman. The fellow with the face paint was very boisterous. He was shouting and screaming the would game which then set the stage for a very loud crowd. He noticed me sketching and he climbed over to see what I was up to. The ink work was finished and I was about to start adding watercolor washes. Thankfully he loved what he saw and he took the sketchbook from me and started showing around to friends. When I got it back I started painting.
There were several moments where everyone in the room jumped to their feet and shouted. The moment the game winning goal was scored the place went ballistic. People were shouting and hugging, it was pure pandemonium. Since the people in front of me were rooting for Spain and had on orange and yellow face paint, I thought the team with the orange jerseys were from Spain. When the game was over I found out I was rooting for the wrong players the whole time. The orange jerseys belonged to Portugal.
Tomorrow Thor will be sketching “From Dust to Life”, the art of Jason Lee, at the Peacock Room (1312 North Mills Avenue) between 8PM and 11PM.
Follow Your Dream
Dina Peterson is co-Directing a short film called “Follow Your Dream”. The film is about an Elvis impersonator who dreams of making it to the big time. His wife doesn’t understand the dream. While he sings in a smoky night club a young woman tries to seduce him. His wife finds out about this incident. While arguing one night his wife has a brain aneurysm. At her bedside the impersonator vows to get a 9 to 5 job as a mechanic to help pay the medical bills. Over time the wife comes to realize that she has taken her husbands dream away.
These shots were set up at the Dog and Bone British pub (9 Stone Street, Coco). When I arrived the smoke machine had just been turned on and an assistant was waving a large sheet of board around to spread it around the room. Once the smoke was ready, then the shot could start. Elvis sang 5 tunes straight through while the cameramen used hand held cameras. They also shot the songs using a tripod. At the time I sketched him, Elvis was singing “I Gotta Follow That Dream.”
As Elvis sang, Dina was dancing in front of the video monitor watching the shots. When I first met Dina she was singing karaoke in a bar very much like the one this film was being shot in. The film was shot over the course of 3 days and will be edited soon.
I Can’t Help Falling in Love with You.
Although the Elvis impersonator’s wife wanted him to live a normal 9 to 5 existence, she soon realized she loved him more when he was chasing his dream, as crazy as it might be. She found out about a talent contest where some talent scouts were going to be and she insisted he sing again.
This is the last shot in the film where he sings “I Can’t help Falling in Love with You” to his wife. This is a 360 shot where the cameraman, director and an assistant circled the table as Elvis sang. The film ends with the couple embracing. This was a challenging sketch to get because the whole bar was black except for the spot light above the couple. I was using the book light as they set up but one they started shooting, I had to turn it off because they didn’t want to see anything in the background. I worked between shots and painted a bit after it was all said and done.
Later in the afternoon there was going to be a scene where a woman in the audience flashed Elvis. I had to get to Gatorland so I had to miss it.
Tanqueray’s
Leslie Lormann, her cousin “Bane”, Dina Peterson and I met at at Ceviche for Tapas Tuesday’s. Ceviche is at Church Street Station. The servings were small and varied. A light salad with beans asparagus and tomatoes was wonderful. A baked salmon was delicious with it’s light sauce. The Mojitos were really tasty and I drank 2. I was surprised to discover both Dina and Leslie had been inside Disney character costumes in the past. I wonder how many other locals share this dark yet fun past.
Dina Peterson introduced me to Tanqueray’s (100 South Orange Avenue) where Damon, Warsing and Wynn were going to play. Tanqueray’s is located around the block from Church Street. The historic building houses the Mercantile Bank and the bar is located in the basement. In the corner of the room where the band was to play, the old bank vault could be seen behind an iron grate. We met Dina’s sister, Kristin Lippens before heading downstairs. The place wasn’t very crowded when we go there. The Orlando Magic was playing at the Amway Arena and the band wasn’t going to start playing till the game was over. The Magic was ahead by like 40 points so it wasn’t a game worth watching though it was on the big screen TV. After the game was over, the bar started to fill up. A table right in front of the band was available so we all ordered drinks and sat down. When the band took their places I got up and sat at another table so I could find an angle where I could fit them all on the page.
This sketch was created over the course of 2 sets and 3 beers. I had sketched Thomas Wynn before at Enzian Theater. He had played for the Florida Film Festival’s opening night party with Thomas Wynn and the Believers. Tonight half of that group was playing. The players were Thomas Wynn, Todd Warsing and Thom Damon. The music was loud, vibrant and exciting. “On Cripple Creek” had my head bobbing. Thomas Wynn was smoking most of the time and the smoke would billow out of his nose highlighted by the blue stage lights. They were as lost in the music as everyone else in the room was. A young couple sat in front of Dina’s table and started talking loudly. Dina got them an extra chair and let them know there was a much quieter table at the back of the room. The couple took her advice and were making out later that evening.
Dina worked on an Independent film called “The Ah of Life” and she hopes that “The Believers” will contribute a song for the sound track. Rick Lane, and old time friend of Dina’s, sat at the front table and was constantly moving to the beat. Later that evening he was invited to accompany the band on his harmonica.
When my sketch was finished I put it away and just enjoyed the good music. At a break Thomas asked to see the sketch and it was passed around for everyone to see. Others asked to see my work as I was sketching and I gave them the sketchbook I wasn’t using to flip through. I managed to spill a bottle of Becks on one of my sketchbooks when I came back from a bathroom break. I saved it and the beer before the pages got to soaked. Thomas really seemed to like what I am doing and he asked me to stay for the last set. I agreed. I wandered out of downtown at 2AM feeling great, smelling of smoke and proud to have been introduced to a true Orlando Dive.
Paxia
I went to Paxia (2611 Edgewater Drive, College Park) to see the start of a $30 wine tasting crawl. For $30 these folks could order a wine at each of five different bars on the route. As I approached the Mexican themed restaurant and bar, I noticed a crowd of women strutting towards the place in tight low cut dresses. Inside I was told that tonight was also five dollar tequila night. The crowd gathering for the bar crawl congregated down at the far end of the bar. I sat in a cushy red leather chair in the corner of the room and started sketching. A waitress came over and asked me if I wanted anything, I decided to order a tequila so I would blend in. I didn’t know what tequila to order so I let her pick one for me. A few minutes later my dainty little glass arrived half full of a clear pink fluid. I tool a small sip and swallowed. I had to exhale at it went down my throat and my eyes watered. I would take another sip periodically allowing the liquid to evaporate on my tongue. I avoided the whole, swallowing step, for as long as possible.
The crowd that had gathered for the crawl soon left for their next stop. Singles would sit at the bar periodically and order appetizers and a drink. Eaves dropping I found out one woman had worked as a waitress in Vail Colorado and she told the couple next to her all about how beautiful Colorado was. The couple had been to Vail and they thought it would be an expensive place to live. The woman assured them that if you know where to shop, Vail is very affordable. I started feeling like I was among jet setters. One woman ordered a drink then started counting a thick wad of bills as she sat at the bar.
Terry called from work and she agreed to come to Paxia for a drink since I was almost finished with my sketch. When she joined me she ordered a Margarita and an appetizer. I put my sketch away and turned to my cup of tequila which I had barely touched. Terry was shocked that I had ordered a tequila and she asked the waitress if she could water it down with Margarita mix. The waitress agreed to do so at no extra charge.
The TV was showing some game show where a woman was trying to blow a soap bubble through a hoop a few yards away. Three people at the bar were watching intently and shouting encouragement. The woman got the bubble through the hoop and won something like $75,000. She later lost everything when she was trying to blow a deck of playing cards off of the neck of a beer bottle without letting the Joker fall. I became mesmerized by all the close up shots of the woman pursing her lips and gently blowing. I am convinced this is card trick is impossible, and I am still annoyed that she didn’t keep the bubble money. Now I know what I am missing since I no longer have time to watch TV.
The food was good and the Marguerite Terry ordered was delicious. I swallowed my tequila plus mix in one last gulp. I was really tempted to order a Margarita but I had to drive home. I left satisfied with a sketch under my arm and I am so happy Terry decided to join me on one of my outings. I suspect we will return some day for a full dinner.
Saint Patricks Day
I loaded up my watercolor palette with the last of my sap green paint, and headed downtown right after work to see what the bars looked like. I got downtown around five thirty and things were already packed. I considered a small Irish pub down on Magnolia but I didn’t notice a nice place to lean back and relax while I sketched. I walked towards Wall Street and discovered that the whole area was fenced in and a cover charge was being collected. There was going to be a band playing U2 songs later that night. I didn’t want to pay a cover charge just to sketch, so I walked down Orange Avenue and stopped in the midst of three pubs in a row. I was impressed by the size of the security guard and decided he would be the anchor for my scene.
There was plenty of activity with people coming and meeting up then moving on. There were many women in very tight mini skirts even though it was a rather blustery afternoon. It actually started raining which caused me to panic a bit as I threw down lines. One fellow was shouting into his cell phone at his girlfriend. “You f*#%!ng C*#”t you are a lying piece of S%*^t. This lively exchange continued for some time, after which he stormed back into the bar. I suspect that relationship might not last too long.
As I worked I was getting cold leaning against my light post. A homeless man stooped to pick something up on the sidewalk in front of me. I am sure the drama in the scene would unfold as the night progressed, but I decided it was too cold to do another sketch, so I packed up and headed home. I still had tons of work that night to get ready for my “Mobile Art Show” across from City Arts Factory the next day.
MOOM at Blank Space
MOOM stands for Meeting of the Orlando Minds. I attended the sixth MOOM hosted by Mark Baratelli’s TheDailyCity.com at Blank Space (201 East Central Boulevard). Eighteen people were present. Jeff Wirth called the meeting to order and we all started by introducing ourselves around the table. Once the introductions were out of the way, Jeff asked us all to break up into groups of four or five people, with each person expected to quickly outline what they might need in the following year to help in the creative work they were doing. I was skeptical. I have never been one to specifically ask for assistance, and yet people have found me over the course of the last year and assisted in ways I never would have imagined. Well when it came my turn to talk about this blog, I said I just needed people who could assist me in trying to locate interesting cultural events at which I could sketch. To my amazement, the young woman seated next to me named Amber Mundinger said that she could help me on all counts. She is the Marketing and Special Events Coordinator for Downtown Orlando. My jaw dropped. She is as excited as I am to discover Orlando through sketches. It is a New Year’s resolution to finally contact her at her office and discuss how we can help each other reveal to the world Orlando’s growing cultural community.
My other humble request was to find out if anyone knew a web designer who might be able to help me update and improve Analog Artist Digital World as it rolls into 2010. To my right was seated Arianne Pemberton, and she said she knows an artist named John who could easily assist me. I am so excited. The arts community is proactively gaining strength from within its ranks and we all benefit.
Brian Feldman was with my group as well, and discussed how he might need help with a project he is planning with the Orlando Public Library. The project promotes literacy and I hope it can happen in 2010. Ambers humble request was for some timers, so that a lights display at Lake Eola Park could turn off automatically each night . I had two timers at home, but they were both in use and I felt bad not having any to lend to her.
I am reflecting on the supportive atmosphere that I felt at MOOM, as I face a whole new year with a rededication to post one sketch a day documenting Orlando and its art scene.