ODD6 at Falcon Bar and Gallery.

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Orlando Drink and Draw (ODD) ventures to a new bar each month to sample beers and sketch. There is no model fee and no instruction. This is just a chance to get out, meet fellow artists and draw. I’m hoping to sketch in Central Florida’s best dive bars, so suggestions are always welcome. Mondays are usually slow event wise in Orlando so ODD usually happens on the First Monday of each Month. In December I changed the date to a Tuesday since Kirt and Maxine Earhard had a wedding ceremony on Monday. In their honor, January’s ODD will be at Maxine’s on Shine.

Melissa Marie was gracious about letting artists descend on The Falcon Bar and Gallery (819 E Tosh-0, Washington St, Orlando, FL) on December 8th. I never know how many artists will show up, I might sketch alone, or there could be up to a dozen artists who stop out. On route to the Falcon bar, I learned that Melissa
Marie’s sister, Anthea, had just died at the tender age of 32 from a pulmonary embolism.The message appeared in my Facebook news feed and then flickered off to show a more recent post. My heart goes out to Melissa and her family.

The bar was empty when I arrived around 6pm except for the bar tender. I ordered a cider and started sketching. An open mic night was scheduled to begin at 8pm so I hoped some of the stools would fill up by then. Brian OHalloran who has attended past ODD events stopped in. I told him the news about Melissa Marie’s sister and then he did a black somber sketch of the Falcon Bar o his iPad. The only color in his sketch was the red candles which to him represented sacred funeral candles. My sketch, has a similar dark feeling. All the art on the walls was by local artists. The theme seemed to be pop culture, super heroes and manga. Perhaps there was no theme.

The bar tender was watching a show called Tosh-O on TV. There was an insanely long clip of a woman tweaking, so I sketched the gyrating butt on the screen. Another sine, sh shouted “gross! and I glanced at the tube to see a weight lifter vomiting as he lifted the dumb bells over his shoulders. I wished I hadn’t looked up It seems a sad commentary on what Americans need to see to be entertained.

Brian and I chatted for a while after our sketches were done. I had missed a sketch opportunity he had given me a tip about. It was a candle light service at an angel statue for women who had lost children in childbirth or at a young age. He and his wife Maggie attended and he said it was one of the most emotional experiences he has ever had.

I had brought in a stack of paper for an ODD sketching concept I wanted to try out. I call it a $ketch Off. Artists face each other on bar stools and are given 5 minutes to sketch each other. Neither artist is posing, so it is a bit hectic and the results can be unexpected especially after a few drinks. Since there were just two artists, it was a chance to try it out. I switched to pence and paper since me tablet battery was low. Brian was game, and he worked on his iPad, although he said he was a bit intimidated at first. He is an architect, so people aren’t his specialty. While doing the sketch, he laughed off his concerns, and the result is far more interesting than a realistic depiction. Asking people to pose for five minute is actually outside my comfort zone as well. I tend to usually keep my distance and watch a seen unfold from afar. At some galas and costumed events I should start asking people to pose so I can capture some quick close up sketches.

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ODD3 had about 15 artists drinking, drawing and collaborating.

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The third Orlando Drink and Draw (ODD3) fell on Labor Day. Artists were to meet at Redlight Redlight (2810 Corrine Dr, Orlando, FL). I was afraid there might be holiday hours so I searched the web and found out the bar would be open from 5:30pm to 9:30pm. Since artists would start arriving around 6pm, I could relax. I went to see the movie Mission Impossible Rouge Nation, so I ended up arriving about an hour late. When I arrived,I bumped into Gay Geiger who was getting napkins from the food truck parked in front of Redlight Redlight. The building used to be a refrigeration sales store and the signage is still out front. The bar signage uses the same colors so it all blends in.

Gay was in the back room of the bar with her daughter. I glanced through her daughter’s sketch journal latter that night and there was a stunning collage of characters from the Japanese animated film “My Neighbor Totoro.”  I ran my fingers over the image to feel the amazing depth created. After that image I explored every page as if searching for Braille messages. This is what I love about this monthly event, I always get to discover and meet amazing artists.

In the front room Carlos Basabe was at a long table in the corner along with about 6 other artists. There was one seat available but when I sat in it, I found myself blinded by a projector which was projecting an image on the wall behind me. The blinding light wouldn’t do so I set up at a table near by. Colin Boyer and a friend sat at my table. I’m learning names slowly and sent around a sign in sheet that I forgot about, so it was left behind. Once I started my sketch I was lost in thought. I started my sketch by drawing Brian OHalloran at the end of the bar lightly in pencil. A young couple sat at the table in front of Brian blocking my view. They became my center of interest. Brian did a digital sketch of the beer he was drinking. Later in the evening he took a picture of the bar maid and he took a shot of me at work. Brian is now doing a series of sketches of people.

I made a small accordion sketchbook and invited any interested artists to fill a page or two. When the sketch is unfurled you can see the stream of consciousness as each sketch builds off of the sketch preceding it. I’ll bring the sketch to the next ODD event since it is a work in progress. Two young women were visiting Orlando from Walla Walla, Washington state and they heard about the event and joined us for the evening. They had bright markers and they added a splash of color to the nights sketch. Artists came an went in waves. All told I would say about 16 artists came out to mingle, drink and draw. I got to meet artists I’d never met before so to me the evening was a success.

Cosby Observatory

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On Friday evenings this summer, the Cosby Observatory is open to the public till 10PM at the Orlando Science Center (777 East Princeton St.). Riding the elevator to the observatory, I felt like I was entering the bridge of the Enterprise as the glass elevator slipped above the circular ceiling panel.

A high school volunteer greeted me when I got off the elevator. Out on the balcony, a small telescope was set up. The sun was about to set and the scope was pointed directly at the sun. Special filters removed harmful radiation. All that remained was a dark round disk.

I then climbed the circular staircase to the much larger Telescope. The domes two large sliding panels had been pulled aside to expose the night sky. To find Saturn, the entire dome had to be rotated clockwise a few degrees. It was an impressive sight watching the dome groan and rotate on a track with the push of a button. The telescope usually tracks a planet automatically using high tech servos, but the tracking was down, and a volunteer had to re-center the planet each time a new visitor took a look. Parents held their children up to the eye piece and they had to stand on tip toe themselves. There was a movable staircase for shorter guests. A little girl became fascinated with what I was doing and she snuggled up to my drawing arm so much, I couldn’t move my elbow. Her mom finally stepped in and said, “Give the man some room.” Brian OHalloran was there with his wife and children. They claimed they had just seen me outside Downtown Theater  on the drive over to the Science Center, so they were convinced I had a clone.

Each time people climbed or descended the spiral staircase, the platform I was sitting on shook. At times the line to look through the eyepiece got quite long. I took a look after my sketch was complete. Saturn was visible with it’s rings along with Pica, a distant star. I heard over and over again that Saturn looked like a sticker. Sure enough that is the impression since it looks flat since it is so far away. Carl Darden who is the observatory caretaker pointed out that the city of Orlando had a haze over it that night, and that contributed to the light pollution which hinders crystal clear sky viewing. I could see the gradient haze as the sky grew bright towards the city lights. The first time I went to the Observatory, it had rained all day and the observation doors were closed, so be sure to stop by on a clear night.

View from Ivanhoe

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When I was at the Palmer Feed Store Grand Opening, Brian OHalloran suggested I do a drawing of the Orlando skyline from a spot on the far side of Lake Ivanhoe. There were no big events going on, or I just didn’t know about them, so I drove to the spot he suggested after I got off work at Full Sail. It was a quiet suburban neighborhood off Princeton near the Shakes, OMA and Science Center. A street circled the lake and the homes had this wonderful view from their front yards.
There was a park bench, so I sat down and started sketching. The sun was setting so the light grew warm. The quiet peaceful scene was shattered for a moment by a speed boat pulling a water skier. A cormorant swam by on the near shoreline. I felt completely relaxed. Now I know why artists do so many landscapes, they don’t have to worry that people will move or just walk away.
Yesterday at the Florida Film Festival I saw an animated clamation film called “Venus“. In the short, a young couple, Caroline and Rasmus, had a passionate relationship, but years later find that they haven’t made love for over four months. Rasmus feels they can remedy the situation by going to a swinger’s club. Caroline is reluctant to go and embarrassed. She is about to leave alone, when another woman in the locker room describes the thrill she feels when men lust for her. Caroline looks at herself in a mirror, then goes back inside and meets a man seated alone who is a bit shy himself. They quietly, then passionately make love. In the meantime, in another room, Ramus finds he can’t perform. Embarrassed, he looks for Caroline and finds her in the throws of passion with a crowd watching. Rasmus sees how beautiful she is and when they get home, the passionate spark is re-ignited between them. This is a very European ending. In America if you knew your partner was with another man, it would end the relationship.

Palmer Feed Store Grand Opening

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The Palmer Feed Store was established 65 years ago at 912 West Church Street in Parramore. 0n March 28th of 2O11 an electrical fire gutted the building. Bill and Michelle Palmer were devastated but thanks to the support of friends, neighbors, church members and long time costumers, they rallied and brought the business back from the ashes.

Days before the grand opening, a one ton, six foot high cement chicken was painted bright red adding an unmistakable new landmark to the Parramore business. The kids who painted the huge chicken got covered in paint themselves. The chicken is just one example of the many folk art touches that now grace the store. The grand opening took place in the parking lot next to the business. A stage was set up and a gospel singer was performing when I arrived. My goal was to sketch that one ton chicken but it looked lonely all by itself in the corner of the lot. Chicken hen houses lined the back of the lot full of doves, ducks and chickens. I sat behind the stage near the hen houses and decided to sketch the line of people waiting for some barbeque. A small grill puffed out sweet smelling smoke as burgers and hot dogs were flipped. Members of The Rock Church helped keep the food rolling off the grill.

I bumped Brian OHalloran and his lovely wife and child in front of the food truck parked in front of the store. Brian suggested I sketch a view of the downtown skyline from across Lake Ivanhoe and I actually did that sketch last night. There is a perfectly placed park bench with a gorgeous view of downtown. People were breaking down the sound equipment as I finished my sketch. The grill was dumped over and the coals raked into a metal garbage can. A teen touched the still hot grill lid. He shouted out and the two adults with him laughed. He wasn’t burned bad. In a matronly tone, one adult said, “So, what did you learn today?” “Not to touch anything that is hot.” the teen responded, then he laughed.