DRIP is Closing their Internationsl Drive Location.

Posted on by Thor

I was there sketching as DRIP opened  its International Drive Location with its grunge underground bar vibe, the shows featured modern dance, water effects and colorful paint. The walls were painted black and would get covered each performance with bright splashes of color. After 5 successful years of bringing innovative, edgy dance shows and
art events to the I-Drive area, DRIP will be closing the location to
focus on new projects.

“Closing this location is bittersweet but exciting for our team.  We put
a huge amount of passion into everything created in that space and have
amazing memories from the team interacting with the guests. We had
terrific experiences over the last 5 years and are eager to re-focus and
inject our creativity into the next project.”  explains DRIP founder
and creative director Jessica Mariko. “We appreciate our fans and are
looking forwards to playing with them again soon.”

Since DRIP
opened their International Drive location, they have produced over 700
shows, artistic events, concerts, festivals, fashion shows, private
parties and corporate events. Experiences in the DRIP venue have
included a super-hero show during the Megacon Convention, The Blind Date
experience for couples during Valentine’s Day, the Underground Vampire
Bar experience in October, Gay Days events, Local Art Night, BASE Body
Painting Art Events, and many more. DRIP has also been commissioned to
develop creative experiences for companies such as Timex, Siemens,
L’Oreal, Wrestlemania, and Kawasaki.

The sketch above is from a DRIP Art Night which always featured the talents of local artists. Paint the Trail was using cut out stencils to create quick colorful portraits of celebrities. As soon as he was done spraying another artist would blow dry the paint to get it to dry fast. The same portrait might involve 5 different layers which were built up, one on top of another. A pile of the portraits build up to the table on the artists right. People rifled through the art as the artist worked.

I produced a small book about the history of DRIP. I am amazed that it now documents a past history. The venue did so much to help promote the arts in Orlando. It is a bright beacon that will be missed. I hope that the cutting edge dance company will resurface in a new and unexpected form. The loss of Drip reminds me that I need to continue documenting unique Orlando culture. Even the brightest lights will fade or transform.

Base around the World Body Paint Art Showcase.

Posted on by Thor

The Base Around the World Body Paint Showcase was held at
DRIP (8747 International Drive
Suite 102, Orlando, FL.) This showcase is one of the few places
in the world where guests can witness a body painting event of this magnitude.
Pam Schwartz and I arrived early so I could sketch the amazing models when they were
just beginning to be painted. It is fun to sketch as they
turn into creative living canvases. Each body paint show is centered around a
theme. Each model this evening became a different country or exotic port of
call.

Over a dozen body paint artists’ works could only be seen for several fleeting moments of artistic
completion at the end of the evening. Music was provided by
Dub Masters. Besides the body painters, artists also had tables to sell their
wares.                                                                       

I focused on the models in front of a paint splattered rainbow
of color that had the saying, “What Color Are Your?”  One model was being painted all the golden
colors of the Savannah with a large lion face being painted on her butt.  The other model was being painted with green
flames and a Chinese dragon wrapped around her torso.  

The Orlando
community of body painters spent years gathering in bars or homes to practice
and exhibit their art. Mandi Ilene Schiff founded BASE Orlando in an effort to reach
out to a wider audience and produce events
as a complete art show.  Now three years
later the showcases keep getting better. It is always a sketch opportunity like
none other.

Mark your Calendar. The next BASE showcase is going to be a black light extravaganza held November 30th starting at 8 PM at DRIP (8747 International Drive, Orlando, Fl). I am excited to see the glowing colors in the dark. 

Senor Frogs on Interntional Drive.

Posted on by Thor

I drove down to International Drive thinking I might sketch a monthly Drip Artist showcase event. Unfortunately the events are now bimonthly so the venue was closed. Rather that just leave, I decided to sketch Senor Frogs the restaurant that is in front of Drip. This place is always bustling with tourists who go for the sweet drinks and balloon hats. I have never eaten at Senor Frogs but I have always been curious as to what the appeal is.

The last Drip artist event I am aware of was in April. There is a Facebook page for artists interested in future events at Drip. If you haven’t been to a Drip show yet, you really need to make the trip to International Drive. It is a sexy dance experience that will rock your world. Water, sand colored light, a live rock band and plenty of dancing provide an amazing interactive experience. Every member of the audience is in the splash zone. If Orlando is now known for its rainbows, Drip explodes that rainbow with a wild splash.

A Live Urban Sketch Class at DRIP.

Posted on by Thor

I offered a Live Urban Sketch Class at DRIP (8747 International Dr #102, Orlando, FL). You enter DRIP from a loading dock giving the venue a mysterious speakeasy vibe. My eyes had to adjust to the dark black light interior. I was running about 15 minutes late thanks to rush hour traffic. There were close to a dozen artists in the bar area.

A volunteer agreed to model. She was tall and chiseled with beautiful dreadlocks. We discussed basic human proportions which I break down into four units. Half way between the head and feet is the waist. Half way between the waist and the feet are the knees, and half way between the head and the waist is the heart. I discussed how your eye line should relate to the figure and I had everyone draw this line on the page.

We did five minute poses and each time I asked student to make each drawing smaller than the last, while keeping one aspect of the models body lined up with the eye line. The result was receding figures that looked like they could be standing on the same floor plane. We then moved to longer poses where the model sat on the couch and looked at her iPhone. I encouraged everyone to include background elements.

Our model had to leave, so Jessie Sander, a DRIP dancer, took over. She offered the class plenty of action lines and gestures to work with. I came up with a new exercise in which everyone broke up the page into four panels to create thumbnail or storyboard sized panels. I had everyone just draw the background, or staging elements. They were encouraged to find interesting new angles for each sketch. Then Jessie returned to the set, and students added her to the scenes. Some really fun work came out of the exercise. I  plan to recreate the exercise for my younger Urban Sketch students today.

Finally, we went on a field trip to the parking lot next door, to sketch The Boston Lobster Feast car. It is a tiny red beetle that has a huge mean looking lobster on top of it. Anytime people entered the restaurant, the sweet buttery smell wafted outside. Every tourist walking down International Drive has to stop to take a photo of the huge lobster. The artists scattered around the monster and began to sketch. Some tourists were curious about what we were up to, so it was a good initiation for beginning artists to realize that no one ever judges your work when sketching on location. I was pleased that one artist was asked, “Are you an artist?” I’m always tempted to come up with a snarky remark, but end up responding, “Yes.”

Overall, I had fun giving the workshop and it would be fun to repeat. Jessica Mariko, DRIP’s founder suggested having the model under a sand shower or paint can chandelier while artists sketch. The possibilities for fun, wet, spontaneous sketch opportunities is endless.

Underground Vampire Bar brings sexy gore to International Drive.

Posted on by Thor

I went to the grand opening party for DRIP’s Underground Vampire Bar, 8747 International Dr Suite 102 (Behind Denny’s and Senor Frogs), Orlando, Florida. Through October 31st, 2015, DRIP Orlando, is creating a safe haven for the Vampires and their human friends. Finally there will be a place in Orlando for Vampires to be themselves, sip “Blood” from the Blood Bar, watch dancers enjoy “Blood” baths, take a “Blood” shower, witness human sacrifices, enjoy live music, and full theatrical show featuring performances in paint, sand, “blood”, flying water and more.

The Underground Vampire Bar will be at DRIP for a limited time in October on International Drive just down the street from the New Orlando Eye.

EXPERIENCE:
Limited Edition Vampire Shirts
Killer Paint Station (Complimentary),
T-Shirt Artists ($5 cutting),
Performance artist in Liquid Blood Bath Hammock.
Special twist on a Full DRIP show featuring vampires, live band, red paint, red sand, dancers, flying water and more!
A theatrical story about eternal love and heartbreak.

I sat at the Blood Bar to sketch and ordered a “Bloodyrita” which [ think was a strawberry Margarita. Since I knew this would be a low light situation, (vampires need low light), I used my Cintiq Companion 2 for the sketch. One thing I missed from a traditional watercolor sketch, was the ability to spatter the page with red paint. The tablet was  perfect to catch the day glow blue of all the white T-shirts in the darkness. I was wearing a dark shirt but the zigzag stitching pattern glowed blue making me look a bit like Charlie Brown. The bar filled up quickly. Once vampires started dancing on the bar, I packed the tablet away since it might be destroyed in the bloodbath. Soon the sexy vampires were offering to pour blood into spectators open mouths. The first female volunteer ended up getting drenched when the entire pitcher was poured on her head.

After the main show, a projector showed a 15 minute count down on the wall. The countdown was for the human sacrifice. At the appointed hour, two female vampires took to the stage and beckoned to a young female volunteer. She might have been a bachelorette, because she was with a rather large crowd of friends. She was a willing victim as she gyrated along with the vampires to the pounding bewitching music. Then she was asked to kneel on the bar top, and the vampires began to bite her delicate wrists and neck. Blood squirted everywhere and pooled on the bar. The crowd went wild as the gory scene unfolded. After the sacrifice, men and women danced in the Interactive Blood Shower.  Everyone had raffle tickets for a DRIP “Bloodeaux” Wine giveaway at 11PM.

DATES! 
Open every Friday and Saturday in October, 2015
Doors and activities start at 8:00PM. Show will start a little after 9PM and will be followed by an afterparty until midnight.

Mark your calendar! Closing Party featuring an after party with “The Bloody Jug Band“: Saturday, 10/31 (Halloween).

More details and tickets. . .