Weather Delay

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by Thomas Thorspecken

Albany Airport in New York State, had some very serious security measures. When I went through the full body scan, my crotch showed up as a bright red block on the security screen. I had to be patted down. The security officer explained that he was using the back of his hand when he patted my groin and the inside of my calves. I turned back and front to have my aching leg muscles patted down. It was exciting, but he missed the weapon in my pants. What they really missed was a can of bug spray that I had mistakenly left in my art bag. That stuff is probably a flame thrower. I didn’t discover the bug spray until I got back to my home studio.

The flight out of Albany New York was delayed by an hour because of thunderstorms in Orlando, Florida. While we waited on the tarmac, I sketched. Rather than having TV screens on the back of seats, this plane had adjustable holders for people’s cell phones. People could attach to the internet and play movies on their cell phones. They had to have ear phones however which were not supplied. The two Germans next to me didn’t understand the flight attendant warnings about not playing video audio out loud. They eventually understood and stopped watching the Disney Feature Animation movie, Encanto.

Mount Dora Homestead

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On Sunday, several days after my birthday, I went to see the Mount Dora Homestead. I set up my art stool across the street and started sketching while I waited for my Real Estate Broker, Cheré Carr to arrive. She arrived right on time, so I interrupted my sketch to say hello. There was some technical difficulties with the codes for the key lock box, so I dashed back and completed the line work while she worked through the technical glitch.

The place feels so much like the Umatilla Homestead that slipped through my fingers several months ago. It was built in 1890 and has so many of the original touches while having been updates with modern appliances.

The living room is spacious and I have already begun planning where my Disney Desk, flat files and large art bookcases would go. I am in the process of drawing a map that shows the placement of studio furniture I have, and the  furniture I will need to get. In the Chatsworth Studio I had a couch right beside the Disney Desk so that I could relax after a long stint of animating, teaching or sketching. I hope to set up this new studio the same way as a living and creating space. There is a retractable movie screen on one wall and a notch in the opposite wall where the projector would go.

Upstairs there are two large bedrooms. Closet space is limited but I am just a single guy with a small pile of sweat shirts. With the last move, I threw out many pairs of pants ans shirts which had shrunk in the Florida humidity. They are called sweat shirts because the shirt gets dark with sweat any time I do yard work. There is plenty of space in the back yard for dreaming of planting a food forest. All the grass in front of the house would have to be replaced with ground cover and or wildflowers. Thankfully there is no grass behind the homestead or on the side yards.

All the walls are white clapboard which makes the rooms fill with light. There are long hallway rooms on the east and west side of the house. One I am planning to use as art storage and the other might be used for oil painting. I will be visiting former Disney Feature Animation Artist Ronnie Williford this weekend at his studio where he is doing very large paintings. I am hoping that seeing the space he has created will inspire me to start working larger.

The Mount Dora Homestead has been on the market for over 40 days and my broker feels that might be because the asking price is too high. I am taking a trip to New York State next week and hope to make a final decision about making an offer right after that trip. I hope the home is still on the market when I get back. So will I be moving onto the Mount Dora Homestead? A lot of stars would have to align for that to happen. But that doesn’t stop me from dreaming big.

Salt of the Earth

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My dear friend Stella P. Arbelaéz Tascón, was looking for a piece of furniture and found it on Facebook Marketplace. She went to pick it up at a garage sale. Chris, who was conducting the sale had the item neatly tucked away and they closed the sale.

I let Chris know that I would be doing a sketch, saying “don’t mind me, I’m the weird guy sketching in the shade of the tree.” He said, “You must get that a lot.” Which I do. I don’t usually announce that I will be sketching, but I would be sketching his private property, so I thought it was the polite thing to do.

In the front yard, hundreds of items were organized on folding tables on the lawn. I noticed a beautiful bright yellow hammock and Stella noticed it about the same time. She purchased it, along with several other small items for about $5. She was stunned. “Are you sure?” she asked. “For you, absolutely.” He said. Some people are destined for sweet deals.

Stella had an appointment and left, but I stayed behind to sketch. I liked the look of the giant oak tree that dwarfed the home and all the activity as people came and went.

Some people seemed quite seasoned to garage sales and estate sales. One woman regretted not buying an item that had sold the previous week for dirt cheap. Another woman purchased a large piece of furniture which he helped her tie down on top of her car roof.

Chris must also collect items at estate sales, I can’t imagine any other reason he would have so many knick-knacks. He had to run down the street to fix a garage sale sign which had fallen over. One of the shoppers must have told him about it. While he was gone, I wondered if I was in charge. Maybe I could close a sale! However it was very quiet while he was away. There were no shoppers inspecting items. I didn’t sell a thing. Typical.

A husband and wife searched the sale together. She joked that it took her 30 years to train him into the obedient man he is today. He wore a T-shirt that said,” I turn wood into things, what’s your superpower?.” Chris asked how I was doing. We spoke for a bit and he said to me, “Folks that show up to garage sales are the salt of the earth.” I added that they are also creative. After I said that, it sounded self serving, but I was thinking of the guy with the “I turn wood into things” t-shirt. It would be fun to sketch that guy’s woodworking shop.

Chris had worked with Lon Smart a former Disney Feature Animation colleague of mine years ago. It therefor stands to reason that Chris must be creative himself. He is moving next month and I have to wonder what new adventure he is embarking on. One of the shoppers was a return visitor and he said, “Why did we meet only last week? You are someone I would have liked to have as a friend.”

I showed Chris the sketch when I was done. I thought it would be rude to just leave. He was delighted and said, “I am a new fan.” As I drove away I spotted the garage sale sign, several blocks away, standing perfectly erect.

Pandemic Studio

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I did this sketch of my pandemic studio for one of my online students. Today I find myself doing a similar sketch as I plan for a tight space.

The Disney Feature Animation desk is huge and heavy along with the flat files and a hand made bookcase.

Since I am doing a similar sketch today I will probably do it the same way by adding a bit of depth using one point perspective.

In July of 2020 about 8200 Americans were dying due to COVID-19 each week. Much larger waves of death would follow, and I sat in this studio documenting the vents each day through my surreal paintings. The COVID Dystopia animated short film is doing the rounds at Film Festivals ad the 200 page book with over 600 illustrations is nearing completion. The pandemic is not over and a new virus, H5N1 is spreading in California. That new virus has a mortality rate of 50% while COVID has a mortality rate of an estimated 1.4%. If H5N1 starts spreading from human to human the devastation will make COVID look like a walk in the park.

Disney Feature Animation Building Demolition

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I got an unexpected shock to her that Disney is planning to demolish the Disney Feature Animation Building on the back lot of Disney;s Hollywood Studios.

I stated work in this building and the trailers in the parking lot with Lion King, Pocahontas, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mulan, Lilo and Stitch and Brother Bear, to name a few. It was an amazing decade and this studio produced some real gems.

Disney is planning to replace the Feature Animation building with a Monsters Inc ride. Apparently, the folks in the building were told on Friday August 16, 2024 that they will be relocated to new offices. Unfortunately Disney Executive never fully grasped the creativity that went on inside these walls. The  legacy of all the artists will probably be destroyed to make way for a roller coaster. It is kind of ironic that Roller Coaster Rabbit was also created in this building.

Disney Feature Animation Internship: Final Thumbnails

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This was one set of thumbnails I did to plan out the final project animation for the internship. The assignment was to have Baloo from The Jungle Book pull something.

I had him scratch his back against a tree so  much that he caused a fire. He then ran, and pulled an elephant into the scene by the trunk to put the fire out.

This was an insanely over ambitious project involving animating two characters along with the effects animation of fire and water. I attempted it simply because I didn’t know any better. I still have the animation on a huge VHS tape that I haven’t looked at for over 30 years. I tried to convert the tape to digital a while back and they didn’t have any way to play the tape in order to convert it. The scene was pretty much a train wreck of mistakes and yet surprisingly Disney still hired me to work on animated films for the next 10 years.

Disney Feature Animation Internship: Baloo

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The final project for the Disney Feature Animation internship involved animating a scene in which Baloo from The Jungle Book, pulls on something.

These are just a few of the quick studies I did to get a feeling for how to construct the character. These are just a few of the many sketches I did to get a feel for the character before animating. There were just 22 days to go before the internship ended. I was going quite stir craze and longed to get back to NYC.

My plan was to have Baloo pull an elephant’s trunk. I don’t know why I couldn’t just have him pull a rope or a vine. I always have to over complicate things. This would mean I would be animating two characters instead of one.

Disney Feature Animation Internship: MGM

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Since the Disney Feature Animation Studio was on the back lot of the Disney MGM Studios theme park, I often walked into the park to sketch at lunch time. I didn’t have an art stool, so I would always sketch from whatever bench happened to be available. Benches are seldom situated in scenic spots.

I do believe that is the Brown Derby Restaurant. They had a really good Cobb Salad that I liked. A very rough sketch of the Tower of Terror is off to the left.

After a day of animating, I would see the search lights probing the sky above Epcot. It always resembled an air raid over London although I doubt that is the effect they were looking for. Perhaps my impression just matched my mood. The final project was an ongoing battle. I didn’t feel I was fully grasping the animation principles that had been thrown at me the past few months.

A day of work on Lion King production felt like a welcome vacati0n. Production work felt real and practical.

Disney Feature Animation Internship: Disney Resorts

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There was a boat launch near the animation studio which was an easy way to boat over to the Disney Resorts. I liked to walk around this lake to clear my head. It was also an easy walk to Epcot. I started a series of sketched around the Epcot lagoon. The idea was that each sketch would be a full 180 degree view and lead into the next sketch so they could all work together as a scroll. That project got sidelined since I had so much animation to do.

My idea for a final project was approved and I began animating. From this point to the end of the internship I would have my head down animating full time. It is odd that I never showed these sketched to the Disney approval board. These sketches were done for myself to ground myself in reality.

Disney Feature Animation Internship: Epcot Center

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Roy Disney was visiting the Florida Feature Animation Studio. I spotted him near the animation camera.

I was feeling a bit like the walking dead since I had just spent a day reworking my final project animation idea. I had Baloo scratching his back against a tree and he spontaneously burst into flames. He was extinguished by an elephant squirting water on him. After all that work however I realized I had overlooked the basic premise of the scene which was to have Baloo pull on something. I had to go back to the drawing board and start over.