Tea Time

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Is there such a thing as an animated horror movie? Tea Time was done as a demo with one of my online art students. She had a definite story she wanted to tell about one sister poisoning her sibling. I did a series of thumbnail sketches to explore how the scene might be staged.

If this was to be pushed towards a finished illustration I would need to research the furniture the dresses, and the type of room that would best set the mood.

I didn’t push this further since my goal was to get my student’s work to shine. I offered multiple suggestions and helped push the student work along.

Students who have definite ideas they would like to pursue are the most fun to work with. Today is Saturday and I will be working six hours with 4 students. Tow of them are working on story ideas they are developing. I will be doing thumbnails like this to help inspire them to consider all the possibilities in staging a shot. The goal isn’t for them to copy what I do, but for them to come up with an idea that works best for them.

Tonight after the classes, I might go to Winter Park’s Knowles Memorial Chapel where Dvořák’s Stabat Mater is being performed. I would sketch the chapel and see if the music is audible as I sketch. I also need to re-paint the background in a Shakespeare Theater poster. I suspect I will be painting the poster until I collapse and go to bed.

Mozart and Dvorak

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Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra performed with Benjamin Hochman, Pianist and guest Conductor, at Saint Luke’s Lutheran Church (2021 West SR 426 Oviedo FL). It was a bit of a drive but well worth it for this concert. If fount it visually fascinating how Christ floated above the orchestra with his staff and lambs. The stained glass grew dark as the sun set.

Pam Schwartz and I managed to get a front row seat near the cello section. The church was packed yet few people ever choose to sit up front. Dvorak is widely regarded as the most distinguished of Czech composers and of course the prolific Austrian musician Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was among the most
versatile, and popular composers of all time.

The program included Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 12 in A Major and Dvorak’s: Serenade for Strings in E Major.

Cirque De La Symphonie

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Merrill Lynch was a primary sponsor for the Cirque De La Symphonie concert on March 30th. Terry invited quite a few of her clients to the concert and the VIP reception held beforehand at the Bob Carr. I started sketching the buffet while Terry entertained clients. Within moments the line for Food grew. I was faced with a wall of people’s backs and an occasional glimpse at the spread. Outside, the sun set causing the sky to flash orange. For the longest time I left the middle table empty because I couldn’t catch a glimpse of it. Carol Connor joked that by the time I finished the sketch, the food would all be gone so leaving the table empty might be correct. When my sketch was done, the line had died down so I quickly ate a small plate of food as the lights flashed to get people seated in the theater. Merrill Lynch financial advisers purchased tickets for their clients to attend the concert. David Shilhammer announced that it was the largest number of tickets ever sold to a single corporate sponsor.

At the concert, Cirque and the Orlando Philharmonic collaborated in a thrilling program featuring music by Bizet, Tchaikovsky, Dvorak and others. Acrobats, contortionists, jugglers and strongmen performed and aerialists soared overhead as the orchestra supplied the musical suspense. Elena Tsarkova did an amazing act in which she performed quick costume changes on stage in a matter of seconds behind a glittering curtain. I have no idea how it was done but every woman should see this act to realize it shouldn’t take long to get dressed to go out.

When Elena performed as a contortionist, Terry leaned over and said, “I bet you would like to sketch her.” She was right.