Dezerland Park – Analog Artist Digital World

I joined the Orlando Urban Sketchers for a sketch out at Dezerland Park (5250 International Drive Orlando FL). Though there are thousands of cars om display, my eyes were immediately drawn to the 007 Tank from the movie Golden Eye. Red dice and playing cards with silhouettes of characters holding guns also hint at a casino angle to the movie. I made sure to check out the tank chase scene online, but I haven’t seen the whole movie.

To get this angle for the sketch, I had to sit in the middle of a wide walkway with dual yellow lines running down the center like a roadway. I was a little concerned that tanks might rumble down this roadway often but only groups of tourists walked by. Very few people noticed what I was doing even siting in the middle of the road.

In the movie Golden Eye. This tank moves insanely fast chasing a small European car. The tank swerved and did a 180 and somehow kept right up with the car. In real life, most tanks do not go faster than 18 miles per hour. I was sketching this tank because I was so caught up in a time when patriotic generations of Americans were shipped over to Germany to fight fascism.

After all the Orlando Urban Sketchers met near the clown car and did a throw down along with several group photos, we then went to the 007 Themed Restaurant for lunch. In the room behind the 007 themed restaurant there was an entire plane from a James bond film along with other vehicles which I assume were from the movie. An intrepid short film maker could shoot an entire movie using the movie props at hand.

There were few vegetarian options. The choices all seemed to be meat and caffeine. I ordered a loaded potato which seemed like a reasonable vegetarian option. The menu didn’t say what it was loaded with. It turns out it was loaded with thick sticky Velveeta cheese and crumpled bacon bits. I had just started a plant-based diet but this was my first week, so I let the Bacon and artery clogging cheese slip past my lips.

It felt so good to gather with fellow artists at the theme park. Not many stayed for the “food” but it was still awesome to meet artists I had not seen before and see their work. One fellow did a really fun sketch of Fred Flintstone’s Yabba Dabba Doo Car that I really liked. Other artists focused on the carousel, the arcade games and the insane collection of autos. This was a great sketch opportunity.

I joined the Orlando Urban Sketchers on a sketch out to Dezerland Park (5250 International Drive Orlando Florida). Dezerland is an eclectic adventure park. There are go carts, arcade games, and a huge classic and movie car collection. There is also an auto museum for a small fee but I didn’t venture inside.

Perhaps about a dozen Orlando Urban Sketchers were gathered at the entrance in the morning before the park opened. There are some classic cares outside including one of the cars from the Pixar move Cars, so there were already sketch options before entering the doors.

As soo as we entered, I was drawn to the clown car and a tank. I wavered between the two and ultimately decided to set up near the tank which I spent a long-time sketching. After I finished sketching the tank I walked al around the park to see what else was there. The sketching opportunities are endless with the blinking arcade games and even a carousel.

We all decided to meet near the entrance which is where the clown car was located. When I finished the sketch of the tank and my walkabout, I settled in to do a quick sketch of the clown car. This was a rare case where I could have my cake and eat it too.

The little elephant on the car’s windshield looked like dumbo. The clown with the top hat reminded me of a paint by numbers painting of a clown that my brother Art did. It hung in the basement of our little home in Dumont NJ. Bugs Bunny can be seen in the background of the sketch. He is behind the wheel of another car. There are literally hundreds of unique and crazy cars on display. I could sketch in there for a year and not sketch them all.