Latitudes

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I need to find a downtown spot which will work for an Orlando Urban Sketching Workshop about sketching the Orlando Downtown skyline. Pam and I decided to go to Latitudes (33 W Church St, Orlando, FL 32801) which has a rooftop bar. After getting drinks we walked upstairs to another platform above the bar to see if the view might work for a workshop. The New Year’s Eve ball or orange was still on a pole having ushered in 2019 in January.

Unfortunately this rooftop bar is surrounded by much taller skyscrapers which cut off the views. I rather liked the intimate view of the couple sitting on the bar stools chatting with the bartender. During the week this spot if rather quiet until the crowds arrive much later at night. We discussed the idea of renting an upper balcony apartment just for the workshop. Another building was nearing completion across the street.

If anyone has suggestions of building which might offer good views of a 360 degree view of the downtown skyline please let me know. My next thought is the courthouse but of course there is tight security to get into the building and art supplies tend to confound most security guards. Another thought is to just sketch the skyline from Lake Eola Park. There is however a definite added drama of sketching a city skyline from an elevated vantage point.

Lauren Jane in Blue Box 11

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27
Blue Boxes are painted on sidewalks in Downtown Orlando. These boxes
are for panhandlers and buskers. Busking is now possible day and night in these blue boxes. Although set up for panhandlers, police have insisted street
performers must use the blue boxes. Artists are labeled as performers by this city law. Performing outside the boxes can
result in 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.

I am working towards  scheduling 27 sketch opportunities in which performers utilize these
Blue Boxes. I am about half way through the project. These Boxes represent the only places downtown where
there is theoretically freedom of speech. This group page is set up to
organize the systematic documentation of these 27 Boxes using sketches
and articles about what results.

Lauren Jane is a talented local visual artist in Orlando. Her representational work is large and bold. She decided to sketch me as I sketched her. The legs of her easel fit neatly in the blue box but one leg jutted just outside the confines of the box. If a police officer wanted to cite her on a technicality that inch might have been interpreted as blocking the flow of traffic on the sidewalk. This blue box is right near the downtown post office. You might think there wold be a greater flow of foot traffic justified by people going to the post office to get stamps. I think I am one of the few antiquated individuals who still sends bills via the mail.

Jane and I settled in to our task at hand. Very few people wandered by or even noticed that she was creating art. Lauren has started a business called Lauren Jane Inc. that teaches artists how to show, promote and sell their art. She has a free art biz blueprint book for anyone who joins her Art Biz Secrets Facebook Group. Secrets offered include:
-How to Sell your art
– How to Get in shows
– Learn what other artists are doing… what works and what doesn’t
– Learn how to talk about your art
– Join a close community of like minded artists who want to see each other thrive, in art Creations and Sales. It is all advice I desperately need. I am doing expense reports for 2017 and some months did not generate enough income to justify my staying in Orlando. I love creating, but sales don’t justify all the commitment to this city’s arts community.

Silent Surveilence

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There is some sensitive content and disturbing details included within. If you feel you may be affected, please do not read this post.

Today I witnessed the most shocking evidence in the Noor Salman trial. The prosecutors displayed the Pulse Nightclub surveillance videos for June 12, 2016 starting around 2:02 AM. People could be seen partying and dancing near the bar with large blue Japanese lanterns decorating the ceiling. Then Omar Mateen was highlighted as he walked into the room. I have been in that room partying with actors in the past. I am familiar with the tightly packed space. The surveillance video was silent. For the next seven minutes we watched as Mateen ruthlessly gunned down everyone in the room. People dropped to the floor. We watched as he walked the room, pacing back and forth, shooting prone victims multiple times. Bodies writhed from the impact. At times I wondered if they were still alive or just the impact of the bullets was causing their limbs to react. One person, unable to get up, ran in place as he lay on his side. It was like a horrific nightmare, wanting to escape, but unable to move. Another lay face down on the stage. People lay stacked together on the floor near the bar. Each time someone moved, I prayed that they would not be shot next. One person lay silent on the patio. The time code displayed minute by minute the carnage in utter silence along with a Computer Graphic map of the club that tracked Omar’s movements..

Omar stopped to reload and then began shooting helpless people at close range again. The surveillance camera switched to the front entry where police entered the club. I couldn’t draw. I was numb. I hadn’t expected to witness the mass murder first hand. What was seen cannot be unseen. A police body cam showed police lifting a woman who was shot in the leg into a pick up truck. She screamed in agony. The sound of wind whipped the microphone as she moaned and then they had to remove her, and then her screams were even worse and more ear piercing. Those sounds sceams bear down deep into your soul.

The footage switched to a helicopter night vision view of the club from above. The white forms of police could be seen in the dark field at the back of the club. A charge was set and detonated then police could be seen using a manual battering ram to further open the breach in the wall near the bathrooms. Gunfire flashed and the operator shouted, “Shots fired!” Two police dragged a body through the grass towards the street leaving behind a subtle heat trail on the ground.

39 bodies lay dead on the floor and FBI agents and police both noted
the constant ringing of cell phones that filled the room. Two others were dragged across the street behind Einstein Bagels where they were pronounced dead. The remaining
victims were pronounced dead at Orlando Regional Medical Center.
That means 8 people died on route or at the Medical Center. The Medical Center claims that every person who was alive when they
arrived at the ER survived, but that is an optimistic PR white washing of the
grim reality of the triage.

Walking the streets of Downtown Orlando after leaving court, the ceaseless activity seemed annoyed, impatient, and hurried. A block north, under the I-4 overpass, multiple police cars were flashing their lights due to some extensive police activity. I kept walking. Was this life as usual? What is the new normal in Orlando?

Day 1 of the Noor Salman Trial.

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Courtroom sketches are available to purchase for use by the media. No phones allowed in court. Text or call (407) four five zero – 0807. I will get in touch after court lets out. 



Day one of the Noor Slaman trial held at the Federal Court building in Downtown Orlando was a solid day of jury selection. AS an update,  Salman is the widow of the gunman who killed 49 people at Pulse Nightclub on June 12, 2016. She is standing trial for aiding and abetting her husband. I got to the courthouse in the afternoon. Across the street from the entrance to the courthouse was a lone protester holding a sign that said something like “Fry her until she doesn’t have a Pulse.”

I have been covering the trial to date as a courtroom artist, but the day I was supposed to pick up my press badge, I was told that another artist underbid me for the assignment for the local media. It came as a shock since no one negotiated with me to iron out any details. Getting through security was awkward since I was no longer with the press. I was a private citizen wanting to sit in on the proceedings, but I also had a sketchbook. That sketchbook became the issue. The guards didn’t know what to do with me. I was told to go up to the press overflow court but the guard there had to send me back downstairs for a press badge at the clerks office. The clerk sent me to the main courtroom since I explained that I wasn’t press, but the guard there wouldn’t let me in with a sketchbook. I believe the issue was that the judge doesn’t want any jurors sketched. I understand the concern and wouldn’t have sketched a juror but it is day one and everyone is trying to get there bearings. The guards were a delight honestly. It was fun to joke about my plight as a rogue artist. I ultimately ended up in the press room having been issued a press pass. My press badge says that I am working for Channel 6 News. Another courtroom was set aside for survivors and family of victims. That arrangement is set up to keep the press and family separate.

I was told by an Orlando Sentinel reporter that only 4 jurors had been interviewed in the morning. By the end of the day 10 jurors were interviewed. Judge Byron had picked up the pace by the afternoon when I arrived. Each juror is issued a number to  maintain their privacy. Juror #1 was of the opinion that police are quick to judge sometimes. She had been profiled in her youth and it stuck with her. Juror #35 had a step daughter who was arrested in South Florida. She said her daughter served just a couple of weeks in prison and has grown up since. When asked about what she felt about recreational shooting of a gun at a gun range, she stopped and asked why someone would want to shoot a gun at a range. She was pretty sure she would hold it against Noor if she knew that the defendant had shot a gun at a gun range for fun and recreation. Juror # 6 had experienced grand theft and domestic abuse. She said that in Brooklyn where she came from it was a rite of passage to get your car stolen at some point. She also had a daughter who had several co-workers who died at Pulse.

Of the 10 prospective jurors interviewed, 6 were selected to possible be on the jury of 12. On Friday March 2, 2018 the plan is for 14 more prospective jurors to be interviewed. 60 potential jurors will be put in the juror pool before it is narrowed down to 12 jurors and 6 alternates. Judge Paul G. Byron asked all the questions and by the end of the day his voice was giving out a bit. Jury selection could take 7 to 10 days with the case being closed possibly by the first week of April. Although I never got into the courtroom, I could see on the monitors that the room wasn’t full. That gives me hope that someday I will get into the courtroom as a citizen with a sketchbook. I was shocked that the place wasn’t crowded. But the national media outlets don’t find jury selection very sexy. They will come out in force once the details of the case are being presented.

Juggling Spaghettti in Box 10.

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27 Blue Boxes are painted on sidewalks in Downtown Orlando. These boxes are for panhandlers and buskers. Busking is possible only during day light hours. Although set up for panhandlers, police often insist street performers must be confined to the blue boxes. Performing outside the boxes can result in 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. Using a map of the Downtown Core District, I am documenting each blue box with some of Orlando’s most unique performers.

Blue Box 10 on the corner of Orange Avenue and Robinson Street no longer show any signs of the original blue dotted lines that define the boxes. It must have been spray washed clean. The city ordinance however states that a performer can use the blue box even if the lines can not be seen.

Jeff Ferree who works at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater volunteered to juggle. He deftly juggled bowling pins but the crowning act came when he juggled spaghetti. He placed a message on Facebook announcing his performance and several of his friends showed up to watch. Drivers passing by also got to witness this spectacular performance. Juggling cooked spaghetti is a challenge, because you can wad the noodles up into balls to start, but those balls break apart in mid-flight becoming a sloppy mess of wet strands. Jeff tried wrapping the noodles around juggling balls but the same chaos ensued. The joy in the performance wasn’t his success, but the chaos and slop in the attempts.

This area where Jeff juggled has a nice grass covered empty lot and I have heard that food trucks might be able to set up shop there soon.This is only rumor however. I looked up the City’s policies on food trucks downtown, and it is not likely downtown workers will be offered the variety that food truck vendors would offer.

Which areas prohibit mobile food vending?

The City of Orlando cannot approve vending along International Drive or Semoran Boulevard; there are special zoning overlays that prohibit vendors.

The City prohibits the selling food or merchandise on city streets and sidewalks (Sec. 54.27).

The City prohibits sales of food and drink within public parks, recreation areas and facilities, except under concession agreement approved by the city council; these are requested at the City’s discretion.

The City prohibits vending, services and sales of goods on any public or private street, public parking lot or public property.

Special events with an 18A permit approved by the Police Department may include food vendors ancillary to events.

I did not find any city ordinance that prohibits the juggling of spaghetti.

Blue Box 8.

Posted on by Thor

27 Blue Boxes are painted on sidewalks in Downtown Orlando. These boxes are for panhandlers and buskers. Busking is possible only during day light hours. Although set up for panhandlers, police often insist street performers must use the blue boxes. Performing outside the boxes can result in 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. I  set up the Blue Box Initiative to get talented Orlando artists from all creative fields to occupy a blue box while I sketch.

To date, I have completed 16 sketches. I have about 9 more sketches to complete. If you know a talented local performer who might want to share their talents on a street corner for a couple of hours, please let me know. Originally the city ordinance only allowed busking in the blue boxes during day light hours, but now the ordinance was changed to allow their use at night.

Blue Box 8 is located near the Lynx bus station downtown. Local film makers Jen Vargas and Jay De Los Santos occupied the box as a form of protest for how the city discourages film production in Orlando. Most southern films are created up in Georgia since there are tax incentives up that way. It was a blistering hot May day with little to no shade when I  completed this sketch.

A space-themed film titled “Hidden Figures,” is about three African-American mathematicians who overcome racial and
gender bias to help launch American into space in the early 1960s from Florida’s Space Coast. But the irony is that no scenes from the film were shot at Kennedy Space Center, or
anywhere else on the Space Coast, for that matter, except for historic
stock footage.

Space Coast Film Commissioner Bonnie King said people
connected with the film had contacted her to talk about locations for
filming on the Space Coast. But, largely because Florida no longer
offers incentives for film and television productions, “the higher-ups
decided not to film here.”

Instead, much of “Hidden Figures” was shot in Atlanta and other locations in Georgia, a state
that has “fantastic film incentives” that make it attractive to shoot
movies there, King said. Those incentives include transferable tax
credits for the film productions. Film
Florida estimates that Brevard County‘s economy lost $10 million
because the film was shot in Georgia, rather than the Space
Coast. It seems like Florida was on the verge of amazing change in the 1960’s but today the state falls back on a lazy status quo as if we are just fine with our heads in the sand.

Angel Jones in Blue Box Number 3.

Posted on by Thor

27 Blue Boxes are painted on sidewalks in Downtown Orlando. These
boxes are for panhandlers and buskers. Back when they were painted, they were referred to as beggars boxes. Panhandling is possible only during
day light hours. Although set up for panhandlers, police often insist
street performers must use the blue boxes. If you loiter on the sidewalk, you are suspect. Performing outside the boxes
can result in 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. I have started a series of 27 sketches in which performers utilize
these Blue Boxes. These Boxes represent the only places downtown where
theoretically there is complete freedom of expression.

Angel Jones is a Fashion designer, stylist, model, writer, and artist from Melbourne Florida. Angel has spearheaded a Facebook group called, “Artists Unite! A group formed to protect all artists and our freedom” This page unites artists from around the state as cities like Winter Park and Saint Augustine create unconstitutional laws limiting freedom of expression. Orlando doesn’t have an ordinance specifically banning artistic freedom of expression, but the police do not see the difference between creative expression and panhandling. 

Finding these blue boxes is a bit of a treasury hunt. I arrived at the intersection of Amelia and Hughey and found a complex jumble of spray painted marks. Surveyors are marking up the sidewalks probably to keep track of electrical and plumbing lines. A block a way the “Creative Village” is now a desert of sand and dirt. Sidewalks and pavement are all being ripped up for whatever is to come. There are several Blue Boxes in this construction zone which may no longer exist. 

Angel was a bright splash of color on an otherwise drab and grey downtown street corner. She created handmade Victorian cupcake dress herself with countless hours spent sewing the brightly patterned fabrics. Her wig was bright pink an her necklace had every color of the rainbow. Angel’s Insanity and Bazaar Bazaar the clothing line, features her unique handmade creations. She chatted about her army brat upbringing and leaving home at the age of 15. Although considered the black sheep by her family, she clearly made the right choice to pursue an art inspired life. At protests she is the most exuberant champion for artistic freedom of expression.. She is a dynamic force who you definitely want on your side.

Students from Orlando Tech were the most common pedestrians. They would often stop to chat with Angel to find out what we were up to. A father and daughter on bike stopped to watch me sketch for bit. She is an artist and wanted to know how I sketch so fast. My advice was to loosen up and accept the imperfections. A sketch by definition is incomplete. A bright pink Lynx bus rushed by accentuating the pinks in Angel’s hair and dress for a moment. 

I never saw a police patrol car.  The police station is several blocks to the south of this Blue Box. Angel didn’t have an open case, or tip jar and if she did, I doubt any bills would have been dropped in. Once again the blue box was far removed from businesses where executives in suits might wander out during their lunch hour. They were safe from the threat of art. If you know someone who might want to join the Blue Box Initiative, send them to the group page which is where these sketch sessions are scheduled once a week.

Independent Bar is a cornerstone of the downtown Orlando scene.

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Independent Bar is a multi-leveled nightclub with state-of-the-art
sound and lights. They feature three bars, each with its own unique style;
two dance floors, offering separate genres of music; and cafe´ style
sidewalk seating, allowing customers to mingle with the ebb and flow
of downtown Orlando. It is located on the corner of Washington and Orange, (70 N. Orange Ave

Orlando, FL).

I arrived on a typical weeknight. The bar was full as was the dance floor. My friends danced while I sketched. Landmines and interplanetary orbs hing from the ceiling. The place got more packed as I sketched. A few people grew suspicious of me standing quietly sketching but they were fine once they saw what I was up to. I imagine the art on display must be permanent since it was hung so high.

With the sketch done, I watched people on the dance floor for a while, but I wasn’t tempted to dance myself. I imagined my art supply bag would be a problem to keep track of. For Dina Peterson and the others this was the first stop for the evening. They planned to crawl between a number of the clubs up Orange Avenue. I depend on others to introduce me to Orlando’s nigh life which offers so many sketching opportunities. I decided I had enough excitement for the night and I went home.