Casa Feliz

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I often venture off to sketch Casa Feliz with my Crealde Urban Sketching students. Since I have sketched the same structure many times, I get to play with how I treat the subject without much concern about the final result. I don’t focus explosively on the sketch but also circulate among the students to give them tips and show them my progress.

I think it is a good idea for students to see how much time I spend on each stage of the sketch process so they can make adjustments to their time management. Finishing a sketch in the course of two hours is a challenge if you are studying every detail. The key to this sketch is the blue door. Even outdoors, I remain masked when sketching on location.

Crealde Urban Sketching classes resume on Sunday January 27, 2023.

Casa Feliz

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On May 13, 2021 the CDC had announced that fully vaccinated people can participate in many of the activities that they did before the pandemic.

I still refused to hold Crealde School of Art classes indoors choosing instead to take my students to outdoor sites to sketch. On this weekend we went to Casa Feliz in Winter Park.

My first lesson was to make sure you are always in the shade because the Florida sun can be hellish. Most of my students scattered to shady shops under trees but this student decided to sit on the stone wall around the back patio. Within 15 minuted she was baking in the sun.

No one wore masks outside but I wore my mask any time I approached a student. I approached this student and suggested she back up into the shade since the basic outlines of her sketch were established. Adding color to a sketch needn’t always be done in the exact spot where the sketch was started.

I had to do this sketch super fast since I spent most of my time visiting each student and offering feedback and suggestions. The backs of most of my sketches in this sketchbook have the rough sketches I did for each student to advise them on how to set up compositions.

On July 18, 2021 it was reported, that the latest Covid-19 hospital patients are unvaccinated and increasingly younger. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government reported 1,008 daily coronavirus cases with just one week to go before the start of the Olympics.

Casa Feliz

Posted on by Thor

I took my Urban Sketching students from Crealde School of Art to Casa Feliz in Winter Park to demonstrate using perspective to sketch a building on location. This sketch was done to show which visual clues to look for when trying to decide where a vanishing point would be on the sketch.

Casa Feliz was designed by James Gamble Rogers. The building was constructed in 1933 and has become known as Winter Park’s parlor. Prior to the pandemic, the music series hosted weekend concerts in the ground floor living room behind the blue bay windows in my sketch.

My intrepid students kept their masks on as they sketched, but driving down Park Avenue in Winter Park, very few residents wore masks.

On November 15, 2020 the United States had surpassed 10.8 million cases  and 245,000 deaths, as states continued to break daily records. Ohio, Governor Mike DeWine told CNN coronavirus “fatigue” was a serious problem. Dr. James Phillips, chief of disaster medicine at George Washington University Hospital, said he was “terrified” about the imminent holiday season. “We’re going to see an unprecedented surge of cases following Thanksgiving this year, and if people don’t learn from Thanksgiving, we’re going to see it after Christmas as well,” Phillips said.

Weekend Top 6 Picks January 4 and 5, 2019

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Saturday January 4, 2019

8am to 1pm Free. Parramore Farmers Market. John H Jackson Community Center, 3107, 1002 W Carter St, Orlando, FL 32805. Purchase
quality, fresh and healthy food grown in your own neighborhood by local
farmers, including Fleet Farming, Growing Orlando, and other community
growers.

10am to 4pm. Free. Sanford Farmers Market. First and Magnolia Sanford Fl. 

8pm to 10pm. Free. Shuffleboard. Orlando’s Beardall Courts 800 Delaney Ave Orlando FL.

1st Saturday of each month. 

Sunday January 5, 2019

10am to 4pm. Free. Lake Eola Farmers Market. Lake Eola Park, 512 E Washington St, Orlando, FL 32801. 

10am to 2pm Free. Heartfulness Relaxation and Meditation Class. University, 5200 Vineland Rd, Orlando, FL 32811. The Method of Heartfulness A simple and practical way to experience the heart’s unlimited resources. 

Noon to 3pm Donation based. Music at the Casa. Casa Feliz Historic Home Museum, 656 N Park Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789. Members
of the public are invited to visit our historic home museum on a Sunday
afternoon to listen to live music and take a tour of our historic home
museum and the James Gamble Rogers II Studio by trained docents.

Casa Feliz

Posted on by Thor

This is another demo sketch from my Sunday morning Crealde Urban Sketching Class. We sketched the historic Casa Feliz (656 N Park Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789) as an exercise in perspective. I was very pleased with this group of artists they applied the principles I suggested and some amazing work was created. Each student had their own particular way of putting lines and washes on the page and that is what makes sketching a pleasure to look at. Like handwriting each artist brings their own touch to an image they create.

Since I would walk around and offer individual notes and suggestions to each student I didn’t take much time on this sketch. I’m finding that dashing off a sketch quickly has it’s advantages. The has to look more spontaneous when you are throwing things on the page with wild abandon. Teaching students to be this careless is one of the most important lessons. When they start they want photographic accuracy, but a camera is much more suited to capture that. This is a case where teaching is making me much more aware of where my work needs to go moving forward.

Weekend Top 6 Picks for October 6 and 7, 2018

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Saturday October 6, 2018

8am to 1pm Free. Parramore Farmers Market. The east side of the Orlando City Stadium, across from City View. .Purchase quality, fresh and healthy food grown in your own
neighborhood by local farmers, including Fleet Farming, Growing Orlando,
and other community growers.

8pm to 11pm No Borders Breast Cancer Awareness Edition “Save 2nd Base”.   The Geek Easy 114 S Semoran Blvd, Ste 6, Winter Park, Florida 32792. No Borders presents “Save 2nd Base” our Breast Cancer Awareness Edition.

8pm to 11:30pm $15.95 Science Night Live. Orlando Science Center, 777 E Princeton St, Orlando, FL 32803.  It’s social. It’s science. It’s 21 and up! This is also one of the best opportunities to  check out my solo exhibition of Science Center Paintings on display on exhibit on the second floor near the Founer’s Room.

Science Night Live
at Orlando Science Center is your chance to spark your curiosity
through fun exhibits and programs…with some adult beverages, of
course! Bring your friends, or make it a date night, and join us for a
unique and ever-changing experience that proves there’s no age limit on
curiosity!

This event has been known to sell out and tickets are available online only for just $15.95, so get yours before they’re gone!

[TICKETS] www.osc.org/snl

FEATURED EXPERIENCES:

• Hear a presentation from our guest speaker

• Immerse yourself in the world of superheroes, crime fighters, gadgets and spies in our traveling exhibit, Hall of Heroes

• View stars and planets with telescopes in the observatory (weather permitting)

• Experience giant-screen films in the Dr. Phillips CineDome

• Conduct lab experiments in Dr. Dare’s Laboratory

• Enjoy the latest exhibition on display in Fusion: A STEAM Gallery (Work of Thomas Thorspecken of Analog Artist Digital World)

• Delight in food and adult beverages available for purchase

• Experience the Science Center in a whole new way…without kids

Admission to Science Night Live is free for Orlando Science Center Members and $15.95 for the general public.

Sunday October 7, 2018 

10am to 4pm Free. Lake Eola Farmers Market. Lake Eola Park, Orlando, FL 32801.

10am to Noon Free. Heartfulness Relaxation and Meditation Class. University, 5200 Vineland Rd, Orlando, FL 32811. The Method of Heartfulness A simple and practical way to experience the heart’s unlimited resources.

Noon to 3pm Donation based. Music at the Casa. Flamenco Guitarist Omar Miguel. Casa Feliz Historic Home Museum, 656 N Park Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789. Members of the public are invited to visit our historic home museum on a
Sunday afternoon from 12 to 3 pm, listen to live music and take a tour
of our historic home museum and the James Gamble Rogers II Studio by
trained docents.

Weekend Top 6 Picks for September 1 and 2, 2018

Posted on by Thor

Saturday September 1, 2018

1pm to 4:30pm $20 16th
Annual Sunburst Showcase of Celebrity Impersonators  The Showcases are TODAY (Friday) and Saturday! The Florida Hotel and Conference
Center located at The Florida Mall 1500 Sand Lake Road, Orlando,
32809.  impersonators
will perform, delight and entertain the masses, including a special
Sunburst edition of “The Tonight Show”.  Plus, guests can get their
picture taken with their favorite “celebrity” during intermission and
following the showcases. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.SunburstShowcase.com.

3pm to 1am Free. 7th Annual ‘Great Irish Hooley’. Raglan Road Orlando Disney Springs™ The Landing, 1640 East Buena Vista Drive, Lake Buena Vista Florida. Raglan Road Orlando will host its 7th Annual ‘Great Irish Hooley’

celebrating
Irish song, dance, food and drink and kicks off with performances
beginning at 3 p.m. Friday, August 31 and continues each day and night
through late Monday, Sept. 3 until 1 a.m.

A traditional Irish
social celebration, the “Hooley” combines music ranging from trad to
rock tunes with entertainment and fun for the whole family with no cover
charge. The Hooley also will feature Celtic face-painting Saturday
through Monday.

8:30pm to 10pm Free. Shuffleboard at Orlando’s Beardall Courts. Orlando’s Beardall Courts 800 Delaney Ave Orlando FL. Shuffleboard at Orlando’s Beardall Courts at 800 Delaney Ave on the 1st Saturday of each month. Free fun!

Sunday September 2, 2018

10am to Noon Free. Heartfulness Relaxation and Meditation Class. University, 5200 Vineland Rd, Orlando, FL 32811. The Method of Heartfulness A simple and practical way to experience the heart’s unlimited resources.

Noon to 3pm Donation based. Music at the Casa. Casa Feliz Historic Home Museum, 656 N Park Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789. Guitarist, Singer, Songwriter Rev. Shawn Garvey. Members of the public are invited to visit our historic home museum on a
Sunday afternoon from 12 to 3 pm, listen to live music and take a tour
of our historic home museum and the James Gamble Rogers II Studio by
trained docents.

10pm to Midnight Free but get a coffee. “Comedy Open Mic”. Austin’s Coffee, 929 W Fairbanks Ave, Winter Park, FL. Free comedy show! Come out & laugh, or give it a try yourself.

Music at the Casa.

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The Orlando Urban Sketchers group met at Casa Feliz Historic Home Museum, (656 N Park Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789), to sketch. I work on Saturdays, and this was the first time the group met on a Sunday. When I got there, I didn’t notice any other sketches, so I went inside The historic home and set up in the parlor where chairs were set up facing the bay windows. Michael Blumer was just setting up his electric bass. A small amplifier was set up behind his seat along with a recorder that played some supporting rhythm and background music. The tracks were all shuffled and his biggest issue was finding the supporting track he wanted.

I’m starting to really like the line quality I am getting from the digital pencil on an iPad Pro. Color is more vibrant than I would get with watercolor a ad I’m starting to get better judging color and value on the tablet. The digital medium seemed appropriate since the instrument was electronic. It kept the general outline of the traditional instrument, but really he could have played just the central column and the sound would have been the same.

 

Mike Bloomer’s world changed recently when an MRI showed he developed
glioblasoma brain cancer. It came as a shock to those near and dear to
him. Mike has already undergone brain surgery to remove most of the
tumor and has started an aggressive chemo and radiation plan, with
positive results. Fellow
musician and friend Stephanie Doucette has created a compassionate
crowdfunding web page at YouCaring.com to raise funds for Mike and his
family while he is unemployed and fighting cancer. A benefit concert was
recently held to raise funds for Mike, but the fundraising efforts are
continuing. Visit the Mike’s crowdfunding site to contribute funds for his
medical needs, to show your support, or find out more information.

Noga Grosman who organized the Urban Sketchers outing, sat several rows behind me. She finished a quick sketch and left while I was still working. When I was done, I we at outside to see how many sketchers showed up. About eight artists were on the grounds sketching the historic home. They all gathered in the courtyard to share their sketches. In the bright sunshine, my digital sketch was barely visible, another disadvantage of the digital world. One artist showed me how to use a simple sketch program that is integrated into Notes which is on every tablet. Had I known about that program I might have taken up digital sketching a long time ago.We all stood for a group photo. As a new chapter to the international Urban Sketchers organization, the Orlando USk group is growing steadily. The Orlando Urban Sketchers group just passed 100 members! If you know of a friend, a co-worker or anyone who loves to
draw, will you mention our Orlando Urban Sketching group and invite them over? Life is short, capture it with a sketch.

Carrie and Doug Gesiorski Reception

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The reception was in a large clear tent behind Casa Feliz, 656 N Park Ave, Winter Park, FL. Heat trickled out of the Casa into the tent but it couldn’t keep up with the cold. The wedding planner suggested I stand at a table behind the wedding couple, but that made no sense to me to sketch them from behind, instead I sat on a low brick wall that looked across the space towards the wedding couple. The loose flaps of the tent billowed open in the cold breeze. The brick wall was cold, so I asked a server if they could just get me one of the chair seat cushions. That did help keep my butt warm.  

Carrie and Doug Gesiorski sat in large ornate wooden chairs. Carrie had a warm cream colored shawl to warm up her shoulders. The Cook Trio performed during the reception. They were in a large archway behind the wedding couple. There was no tent to block the cold wind from hitting the band. They were troopers and did an amazing set.

Couples who had never met before sat across from each other. Many couples were from Washington D.C. so I overheard some tips on great restaurants in D.C. The place was opulent.  The animated conversations slowly grew louder. There were full place settings with ivory and gold chargers, champagne linens on the tables with nugget crushed organza runners. Ivory draping and a chandelier illuminated the setting. Rose bouquets stood on tall wrought iron stands on each table.

At one point, guests at a table started a football stadium styled wave. The guests stood and raised their arms in the air while whooping. Not every table was on board, by by the third try, the wave had swept around the whole tent. I’m guessing it was a good way to warm up.After dinner everyone quickly went back inside to warm up. I heard the cake cutting going on inside as I finished this sketch. When I was done, I got a plate of ravioli. As I ate, Carrie and Doug came over to say hello and see my sketches. Carrie was digging out some wedding cake from between her cleavage. They had planned to serve each other wedding cake with quiet dignified reserve, but as Doug raised the fork to Carrie’s mouth, the cake slipped off the fork and down the v-neck her dress. The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray, but it doesn’t matter as long as you are still having fun. I left feeling truly honored to have documented this pivotal moment in the young couples life.

The Carrie Eshman / Doug Gesiorski Wedding

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Carrie Eshman, a journalist from Washington D.C. asked me to document her wedding on Saturday, January 18th at Casa Feliz, 656 N Park Ave, Winter Park, FL. This is the second time I have been hired to sketch a wedding. It makes perfect sense since I document events every day and a wedding is fairly stationary. I discovered that the actual ceremony would only be half an hour which is too quick for a sketch. I went to Casa Feliz an hour early to sketch in the building and empty chairs. It was late in the afternoon and the golden light of the sun was just clipping the tops of the trees as it set. As guests arrived, I placed then in the sketch. No one ever sat in the front row, so I erased it.

Luis Alfredo Garcia was playing guitar as guests arrived. I have sketched Luis performing once before at the Casselberry House. His soothing music helped me relax into the sketch. Carrie greeted me in her wedding dress before people arrived. She was so much younger than I expected. Doug Gesiorski was just as young, excited to get the wedding started. Tony White was the officiant filling out his long dark robe. He smiled broadly to Doug setting the tone of the ceremony. It was a picture perfect story book wedding with the Spanish style tower looming behind the wedding party.

What was unexpected was how cold it was. For a while I used my Dickens styled glove with three finger tips cut off. The glove made my hand too bulky however, so I took it off and just blew hot air into my fist periodically.  Carrie and her brides maids must have been freezing. At least the groom and groomsmen had suits. Before I knew it, the wedding vows were over. People moved inside the Casa quickly to soak in the heat and get cocktails. I was only half finished with the sketch so I stayed until it was done. The sun set, and the temperature plummeted. I pulled out my book light, but it wouldn’t turn on. I finished the sketch in the darkness only seeing bold values. My cold fingers spilled the water in the grass. Fearing I would shiver and ruin the sketch I had, I finally went inside. I sat at a table in a courtyard away from the crowd and looked at what I had. A space heater near the table kept me warm as I added a few more color washes to finish up.