Kicked out of Sam Flax. The story of an Otter and the Gun.

Posted on by Thor

When I got back from NYC several weeks ago, I checked on Facebook to see what sketch opportunities I should pursue in Orlando. One of the first images I saw was a photo of a person posing in front of a Sam Flax event poster that had a low resolution harshly cropped version of a sketch I did at the art store’s grand opening celebration. The original article promoted the store and the artists. The image had been lifted off the internet without my consent or knowledge. Later I learned that the sketch ran as an animated banner on the art store
commercial website, as fliers, ads in newspapers, call to artist forms and the list
goes on. This has happened many times before, with the The Winter Park Chamber of Commerce, The Galley at Avalon Island, the Downtown Arts District, others like Ivanhoe Village District and the Orlando Weekly  ultimately went on to do the right thing, by paying for the reproduction rights. I aired my frustration and annoyance on Facebook at this copyright infringement from a store I had shopped at for years.

What followed was a long thread of comments about similar cases and advice on the best course of action to take. It also however,  opened a dog eat dog divisiveness in Orlando’s tiny arts community. Because of that, I regret making this issue public until it was resolved. Then a troll entered the fray. He was furious that I had expressed my frustration and annoyance publicly before I spoke with Sam Flax.  He used the thread to promote a recent mural he did and then cursed, and berated everyone who tried to reason with him. I thought he was joking so I toyed with him a bit, but he didn’t have a sense of humor. His stance was basically shut up and draw, although he seemed to feel I was too old to draw. Such an angry, bitter person is fascinating for a moment, but then I got bored with his tirades and stopped reading. My apologies to anyone who tried to reason with him.

The troll is a member of the B-side Artists. Asaan ‘Swamburger’ Brooks
who helped found the group asked me to call him since he didn’t understand my frustration. We both discussed our viewpoints and although we didn’t agree on all points, we both shared a mutual respect. I gained insights that will help me redirect my energies with future infringements. We all make mistakes, but what a person does when they realize their mistake tends to define them. Sam Flax and I ultimately talked on the phone. We negotiated some form of compensation for the reproduction rights and he told me the check was in the mail. A sketchbook manufacturer also wants me to do a demonstration at the store, so I respected Sam for putting the incident behind him, and moving forward. I was invited to a workshop on using stencils at the art store, so I couldn’t resist the urge to go in and sketch now that the air was clearing. Danny Rock had given a similar workshop at Blast Studios and I learned quite a bit.

That morning I put on a black T shirt with a sea otter on it. Sea otters are constantly active, very curious, and rather playful. They were hunted to near extinction, and they were decimated by huge oil spills, but their population is making a slow recovery. Sea Otters have been known to playfully climb on tourists kayaks just to see the reactions. At Living Room Theater, actors start off each show by saying to each other, “Can l call you Otter?” with the response, “Sure, can I call you Bear?” I was Otter for the day.

The workshop was at 5pm which meant I had to drive through hellish rush hour traffic on Colonial Drive to get to the store. I arrived about 15 minutes late. I wasn’t concerned though, since I mostly wanted to sketch the students at work. When I entered, an employee shouted, “aren’t you Thorspecken?!” That was an odd welcome. “Yes.” I replied. “Where is the workshop?” I asked. “Have you met?” he asked, gesturing to a man at the far end of the check out counter. I approached the man warily until I realized it must be Sam Flax, who I had never met. We shook hands, but I was distracted since I was late to start the sketch. He asked if I got his email that the check was in the mail. “Yes, thank you.” The only person who understands my distraction as I hunt down a sketch is my wife who has had to live with it for years.

The workshop was upstairs. There were four students and a store employee with plenty of empty chairs to choose from. The instructor was wearing a T shirt with a handgun pointed towards the students. The total number of gun related deaths in the US in 2014 was 12,569 the death toll in 2015 is already 11,811. The US leads the world  in guns per capita with 270 million guns in the hands of citizens according to a 2007 survey. The gun explained that he prefers to paint on walls rather than show his work in galleries. He offered me supplies, but I didn’t want to be a bother, I was already concerned since I had arrived late. “I have my own supplies.” I told him. Then he froze and his eyes darkened.  “I’m alright.” he said. I sat down. “No, I’m allllright.” He said again. “Me too.” I said pulling the smallest sketchbook out of my bag. “No, I have to ask you to leave.” Great, here we go again, I thought. I needed to buy a little time to block in the sketch. “I thought that this was a free artist workshop. I don’t have to sketch you if that is an issue.” In New Mexico in an outdoor public market, an Indian woman got upset when she saw me sketching. She was concerned I would steal her soul if I sketched her. I put a large basket in her place, and sketched everyone else. I don’t think that was the issue here.”Is this my workshop?” he asked the employee.

The staff woman went downstairs to get “the manager.” I threw quick pencil lines on the page. I had only minutes to work. The gun’s face was etched with deep lines of anger. His hands were fists in his lap. “He is here for a reason.” he said. Then he sat mute. Sam Flax came upstairs and escorted me to the store exit. “You have to be kidding me.” I said to Sam. I get it however, Sam was stuck between a rock and a hard place. It was the guns workshop and if he wanted fewer students, he was entitled. Sam explained the the gun doesn’t want me promoting his events. Best to leave him in his cage of anger, although I’ve admired and discussed his work in three separate articles in the past on AADW.  As I left, the female employee said to me,” Thanks for bringing ‘that’ in here to a safe place.” All I had brought in was my curiosity and I sketchbook. “You’re welcome?” I asked. I posted the incomplete sketch just to let you see what I put on the page in the panic of the moment.

The next day, I returned to the art store to complete the sketch. All the empty seats remained. I figured that with the instructor gone, I could relax and study the room. My rough sketch had already established  where I should place the figures. Even before I had my sketchbook out of the bag, an employee came up the stairs and asked me what I was doing. “Oh, I’m just finishing up a sketch.” I replied. “You can’t be up here unsupervised.” he replied. Ugh, he’s just following orders, I thought. “All right, I’ll just shoot a few photos and I’ll get out of your hair.” This is a rare case where the sketch had to be finished back in the studio. 

Did I have to walk into the lions den? Perhaps not, but at this point in my life I would prefer to try and understand someone who has a different opinion than my own, rather than avoid them. I want to listen and learn and of course sketch. Hatred needs to be stared in the face. When the KKK demonstrated in Maitland, I stood face to face with a grand poo-bah or dragon as he aimed his large mace can at my face. If he sprayed the mace he would be arrested. I’ve seen the look before. I don’t get it. After I got kicked out of Sam Flax, there was an ocean of possibilities. I went to a Base Orlando, Body Painting Circus event where I was welcomed with open arms. Time to play and enjoy the uninterrupted sketching process again. Creativity among the chaos, I was back in my happy place. “Hey, I love you’re otter shirt.” a model shouted.

Forgery, Piracy, or Artistic Licence?

Posted on by Thor

This is a sketch of the opening of Danny Rock‘s show “The Urban Art Forgers” that was hung in March. I did a drawing of Danny working in his garage studio on one of the pieces for this show. In response to that article, I got an e-mail from a Tampa artist named John LaFree. This is part of that e-mail…

“On February 23, a Facebook follower of mine messaged me with the discovery that another artist (Danny Rock) had not only forged an illustration of mine, the “Arrogant Airedale” and signed it as his own original idea…. and proudly proclaimed on Facebook that he had SOLD IT. And not only sold it… But had the audacity to state in his post “Support Local Art Always.”

Now, first and foremost, I am flattered that Mr. Danny Rock thought so highly of my illustration that he felt compelled to replicate it. That’s what he does. I get that.

The issue that I want to point out to you is that your article quotes him as saying that “All the reproductions are open domain.” However, the artist that you featured forged MY artwork – the work of a local artist – placed his signature on it and sold the piece…. Without giving any indication that he recreated an original idea from an artist an hour and a half away… Without consent. The artwork is absolutely NOT open domain. I own the copyright and intellectual property. Yet, he forged it and gladly accepted payment AS IF it was his own original idea. In fact, the piece that I drew was one of over 50 different illustrations that I created as a commission for a children’s dog-themed card game produced by Greymalkin Designs.
My commission and involvement ended with the final illustration. But
because of the recent events, I have reached out to them. Looks like the game is “coming soon” and has been
renamed as “Pooched”.

Once we learned of the forgery, we immediately contacted Danny Rock via his Facebook page and voiced our displeasure. Within hours, the post was deleted. And as a “Thank You” to the Facebook follower who alerted us to the issue (who is a volunteer with the National Airedale Rescue), we created a week long sale on our site to benefit the NAR.

I encourage you to view my website as well as Facebook and Instagram to get a full understanding of how hard My wife and I work to market myself as an artist.”

The irony is that this show at  Loft 55 Gallery and Boutique, (55 West Church Street, Suite 114 Orlando FL) was a show about forgery. All the paintings were replicas painted by Danny Rock. Ashley Small is a partner and director of marketing for this small storefront gallery. These types of boutique galleries are becoming increasingly popular. Ashley has an amazingly kind heart. She spoke to several disadvantaged individuals who stopped by the opening, and she took the time to listen to their stories, which is in itself a gift.

I asked Danny about the issue of the Airedale. He explained that the client had insisted that he use a very specific reference to do the painting. This client could have probably purchased a print from John in Tampa for less than the commission paid to Danny. Danny admitted that he made a mistake in copying the art and he is willing to head to Tampa with me if or when I sketch John’s studio. John has moved on from this incident deciding it isn’t a large enough issue to stay upset about. Danny said it was an isolated incident and he learned from this mistake.

There have been quite a few incidents where people have lifted my sketches offline to promote their events or neighborhoods. The Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival used one of my sketches without asking me to promote this event which features Artists from around the country, so I understand John’s frustration. My work, done at art openings often has small postage stamp sized reproductions of others artists paintings in the context of the sketch. These sketches are meant to promote that artists work. Part of me wonders if I am infringing on that artists copyright. Is a sketch of another artists work always a theft?  Since these drawings done at openings seldom sell, I might be safe. My work is so loose, rough and simplified that there must be plausible deniability. So many artists in town work from reference from photographers they have never met. Pop culture seems up for grabs. Is every image online considered public domain? Movies proclaim that piracy isn’t a victim less crime. Are all artists in this digital age pirates? Pablo Picasso said, “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” Perhaps copying means a direct forgery but when we steal, we make it our own.

Danny Rock presents “The Urban Art Forger.”

Posted on by Thor

I went to the studio of artist Danny Rock in Casselberry as he put finishing touches on ten forgeries he will be showing at Loft 55 Gallery & Boutique (55 West Church Street, Suite 120, Orlando, Florida).”Urban Art Forger” will open this Thursday March 19th as part of the Downtown Third Thursday art scene.

 

Danny explained that the work “Is a recreation of classics done in a new world trying to
relate to what is real verses what is not. The point of this exhibition
is to bring the awareness that fine art collectors and patrons  would rather
spend millions on forgeries than support local fine artists with real
skill and poise. All  the reproduction made are open domain.”

 

On his work table was a book about how the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre by a former staff member, Vincenzo Peruggia. He didn’t steal the painting for profit. He loved the painting and wanted it for himself. His tiny garret had a wooden stove and the Mona Lisa leaned up next to it for years. Pan drippings and spatter from boiling soups might have splashed the painting. After two years, he took the painting to Italy and kept it in his Florence apartment.  He wanted the painting returned to it’s homeland. Magazines had just come into vogue and the image of Mona Lisa circled the world until she was found.  Vincenzo only served two months in an Italian jail when convicted. Now behind bullet proof glass, it must be the most visited and photographed painting in the world. I went to see the painting and was shocked by the crushing crowd of tourists all viewing her in their digital devices. It was a surreal scene, which I call the digital salute. A digital picture takes a second to create and then is
forgotten on hard drives or lost. Danny on the other hand is taking the
time to apply delicate glazes and trying to understand the subtleties
of the masters. Recently a second Mona Lisa has appeared painted on canvas. Da Vinci usually worked on wooden panels. In this painting there are two columns on either side of her. Some experts claim that this was a study done by Da Vinci for the final painting. Others believe it is a forgery. Danny decided to create a forgery of both.  Digital 3-D printers can now duplicate a painting with all the thick impasto paint and color. Though accurate it would still lack the human touch. It also could not replicate the deep pools of glazes applied. Perhaps we are becoming a society that only wants reproductions instead of originals. Everyone expects Wall mart prices even in art. Danny’s forgeries are available for only a couple of hundred dollars each.

Anyone Can Learn to Airbrush at Blast Studios

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On June 6th, I went to a Danny Rock, Stencils workshop at Blast Studios, ( 922 state rd 436, Casselberry, Florida). Blast Studios boasts, “Color and Creativity Collide with Canvas and Wine”. Danny has used stencils to decorate several Utility Boxes around Orlando. He have a brief history of the use of stencils in graffiti and art. When the British graffiti artist Banksy spray painted his work around NYC, industrious inner city youths covered the art and would only let people see if they payed a viewing price. People always find a way to profit from someone else s creation.

Scott Pantke and his wife Nicole owns Blast Studios and they kept me company at the wine bar as Danny taught the class. Scott was commissioned to do a mural in a hair salon, and rather than do all the painting himself, he taught others how to use the airbrush. He enjoyed teaching others and seeing how excited they became. That is how Blast Studios began. One entire wall of the studio is covered with a partly abstract and partly figurative mural. People are invited to make their own contributions, and then Scott goes over certain areas picking out the shapes of characters inside the chaos. It is much like seeing sheep in the clouds.

Three students showed up for the Stencil Workshop. Danny demonstrated the filters to use in Photoshop or any cheap image editing program to create the bold black and white image needed to create the stencil. A very sharp exacto blade was then used to cut away the negative shapes that would eventually be spray painted. Each student created their own stencil and got to transfer it to canvas. In honor of Andy Warhol they all worked on Marilyn Monroe. Each person painted a bold pattern on their canvas before applying the stencil. This is where each artist’s individuality shown through. Spraying the stencil itself was a rather quick and painless process. The trick is to keep the stencil pressed tight up against the canvas if you want a hard edge. If the stencil is loose, the edges would be soft, which also could be a good effect.

Danny Rock is teaching classes at Blast about every other week. Check the Blast calendar to see if there is a class for you or a friend. This place is also great for a date night.

Loft 55 Gallery and Boutique

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Via Facebook, I got an invitation from Ashlie Lawson a partner and director of marketing at Loft 55 Gallery and Boutique (55 West Church Street, suite 114, Orlando, Florida) to paint live on Wednesday nights. For $10 artists can set up outside the gallery which is in the breezeway between Urban Flats and 7-11 in front of the fountain. All local artists are welcome to join the resident artists every Wednesday night to paint live. It is the perfect time, (7pm to 10pm) and day to take advantage of Wind Down
Wednesdays at Urban Flats which is a very crowded outdoor happy hour only a few steps away from the gallery. The live painting event is a great opportunity for artists to gain exposure and build up their presence in the arts community. If anything is sold, then the gallery gets a 20% commission for gallery efforts. If you bring another artist, the gallery offers commission discounts.

On Wednesday August 28th, I went to the gallery to sketch. Ashley referred to Loft 55 as a micro-gallery. Apparently these are all the rage in NYC and Chicago. The space is only about three feet deep, just enough room for you to stand back a little bit from each painting. It is all store front and the work is easily viewed without going inside. A large pyramid shaped fountain trickles in front of the entrance. I started sketching immediately and I waited patiently for the other artists to set up and start to work. Artists who painted that evening included Danny Rock, Leroy Santos, Robert Moore and Darrell Johnson. I spoke to Darrell for sometime about his art. He uses intricate ink line work and watercolor washes so we had much in common.

On display in the Gallery were paintings that revolved around the theme of autism. Artists were given three months to create a
painting of their meaning of autism. 100% of all sales went to The Academy of Autism. This sort of selfless giving sets Loft 55 apart as it makes a difference in the Orlando community. Since all the resident artists donated their artwork, Ashley showed her appreciation by inviting them for the judging and ceremony of the “Artist for Autism Challenge” on
August 29, 2013.  There were some appetizers and a few refreshments. All
art work was judged the night of the ceremony by three local
advocates of the Orlando Arts and Culture community, Barbara Hartley the Director at City Arts Factory, Ashlie Rolfe, Showcase Director at RAW Artist and Samuel Rivera  Owner and Curator of Loft 55 Gallery and Boutique. The first place piece was a collaboration between Travis Smith and Ralph Verano. The second place piece was by Peter Van Flores III. All of the art from the “Art for a Social Change Project” will be exhibited at the Academy for Autism once it leaves Loft 55.

Ashley is an artist herself and she was a constant whirlwind of activity as I sketched. She sold several paintings, spoke to every artist and was returning art to an artist from a previous exhibit.  She set up fans outside the gallery to keep the artists comfortable in the twilight heat. She was working on small square paintings that were abstractions of flowers against a light blue sky that worked together as a triptych. All the artists bring different sensibilities to the gallery. Beautiful women in high heels clomped past the gallery to the downtown clubs. Other less fashionable locals used the water fountain I was sitting next to, or tried to use the bathroom which was unfortunately locked.


Mark Your Calendar! If you would like to join Ashlie Lawson and her resident artists on any Wednesday night, contact her by email: info@Loft55galleryandboutique.com or by phone: 321-298-3806. Downtown is buzzing with creativity, be a part of the hip art scene.