Drink and Draw

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Sarah Jane Rozman hosted a Drink and Draw at The Nook on Robinson (2432 E. Robinson St, Orlando, Florida). I host an Orlando Drink and Draw (ODD) once a month as well so I decided to stop in to see how this Drink and Draw differed. The biggest difference was that a winner got $$$ for their bar tab! The artists in attendance all were given a theme so all the at produced tied together. Finished pieces were taped to the wall. Since I was working on this sketch, I didn’t follow the rules.

The good thing about this venue was that the Drink and Draw directly followed Tasty Tuesday which is a food truck event that happens each Tuesday in the parking lot behind The Nook. This guarantees that Tuesday nights are going to be pretty crowded. I knew Sarah since she used to work at Art Systems in the print department. Unfortunately the color printer seldom worked so I started getting my prints at RT Art instead.

In 2019 I let ODD lapse since Orlando Urban Sketchers were hosting so many successful sketch events. Unfortunately those outing were almost all on days I was teaching art at Elite Animation Academy or Crealde School of Art. I still try and sketch every night so my best chance to meet fellow artists is to start hosing ODD events again once a month.

Urban Sketching at Panera

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At Elite Animation Academy (8933 Conroy Windermere Rd, Orlando, FL) I have a really talented student who is catching on to my sketch a day mantra quickly. Before class she shows me sketches she had done during the week and at the end of class she asks for home work. That is the kind of dedication that is truly needed to gradually grow as an artist. For the last class I took he out of the classroom and introduced her to the challenges of sketching in an American style cafe like Panera Bread.

My first works of advice wasn’t about techniques, or what tools to use while sketching, but to watch to see how much food and or drink remained on peoples tables. She laughed, but realized why I had mentioned it when the woman she had been sketching got up and left the restaurant. She lucked out however because the woman in red that I had been sketching moved to the empty table once again supplying my student with a model.

I ordered a fountain drink and focused most of my attention on the college students plugged in at the corner table. They surfed the web and maybe did some homework. It is hard to explain the joy and challenges of sketching on location to someone who is just stating out but my student this semester is very much up for the challenge. I also let he know that she should pay attention to the art on the walls and let the work inspire her as she develops her sketch. Proportions, composition and setting the stage were all covered as she progresses quickly in this class outside the classroom. When I get a student like this who is exited to explore the work while sketching I realize that I can really make a difference in another artists life.

Gaining Perspective at Elite Animation Academy

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After teaching students to draw simple shapes like circles and squares for several days to create compositions, the big challenge is to get them to draw three dimensions shapes like a cube. The first lesson many of them can quickly master, which consists of drawing two overlapping squares and adding lines that connect the corners. The real challenge comes when the front face of the cube is not squarely facing the student. In this drawing each face has more of a diamond shape with none of the lines being parallel to the edges of the page. Since mastering this form doesn’t happen immediately for most students I find excuses to come back to drawing this basic building block of a form again and again.

In this class, my students are drawing from historic models of what Orlando looked like hundreds of years ago. Each building is of course a cube shape and the challenge becomes to fit several buildings on the page and then add some detail. Most students can master this sketch after I do a step by step tutorial in which they do drawings of cubes using one point and two point perspective. Sometimes I do these exercises on the white board and other times on my tablet which is hooked up to the large TV screen. Some students do amazing drawings from this session while others still stumble trying to draw the basic form. It is rare that I get to do a drawing of my students at work since they often need notes and advice every few minutes, but this class had some real focus and that is a joy to see.

Elite Animation Academy fall classes are beginning this September 10th. Should you know of a talented middle school or High School student who wants to learn some new creative skills have then contact the Academy. Classes are on Saturdays. I will be teaching a Story boarding class which should help anyone who loves to tell stories.

Sketching at Subways

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This summer I have been teaching at Elite Animation Academy (8933 Conroy Windermere Rd, Orlando, FL 32835). One of the classes was sketching on location. My main goal was to get students excited about carrying a sketchbook everywhere they go. Students were in the range of 11 to 15 years in age. The challenge with some of the younger students and even the older students was to get them to look up from their digital devices. It is disheartening to see how disinterested most students are in things other than packaged digital entertainment. My mantra became “You have to look to see.” Most students just sit and watch their hand put lines on a page finishing an abbreviated notion of what was in their head.  My uphill battle was to get them to look up and spend time to look at the world around them.

One student was particularly stubborn in that he would turn his back to the subject I had assigned to sketch, and never look up preferring to reproduce a stiff anime character he had drawn many times before. I had to play the part of the bad cop shouting about the wonder of being fully connected with the world when sketching. It was a battle of wills as I fought for his creative soul. I kept at him all morning and just before lunch he relented and started to look up. When I was maybe 11 years old I knew I had a talent, but felt it was never fully utilized. I knew where this student was coming from and sweet kindness was not the remedy.

After lunch my class went to Subway to sketch. he sat off on his own in the one good spot for getting a view of people ordering sandwiches. I explained that he should draw people as they came in to order sandwiches but he would only have a few minutes before each person walked off with their purchase. He was suddenly excited and fully engaged in the process of drawing from life. He recognized the challenges and excitement of trying to catch a moment in time. From across the room I sketched him as he had this awakening. He created an amazing sketch that afternoon with expressive figures
ordering food. He added astounding detail right down to the hair on
their arms. They were angular and fluid in just the right measure and
for the first time perspective tied the scene together.

The next day he relapsed a bit by again falling back on drawing the stiff Anime figure. After lunch we again went out to a restaurant to draw. Again he stepped up his game and focused for the entire two hours. He was drawing a man a table away as he ate his sandwich. That man became curious about the sketch and asked to see it. He then offered my student a $10 gift card. My student was incredibly thankful and cashed in the card for a soda and sweet treat. On the drive back to the studio he was extremely excited about the prospects of drawing on location. It was a joy to see him ablaze with the desire to sketch.

On the next day he again relapsed into sketching the same stiff Anime figure. Now that the class is over he needs to decide for himself if he wants to be excited about the everyday events that happen around him. He also expressed a desire to be a doctor which is a fine ambition. I left him with a quote from Mary Oliver that I hope he takes to heart…

“Instructions for living life, Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.”

8th Annual Night of Fire at Crealde School of Art

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Each year, Crealde School of Art (600 Saint Andrews Blvd Winter Park, FL) opens its campus at night for guests to explore during the Night of Fire. Coming straight from teaching at Elite Animation Academy, I arrived late. I quickly wandered around searching for a subject to sketch. The outdoor kiln was glowing hot. In the courtyard there was a Raku and horse hair firing in progress in a much smaller kiln. Outdoor torch cutting and blacksmith demonstrations were going on, but there was a line to get in, so I skipped those options.

From the small foot bridge, I saw the light and fire painting demonstration on the lake. A small row boat was in the middle of the lake and someone stood and twirled a sparkler. It was quickly released and flew off into the water sizzling out. It wasn’t much of a sight but the point was that people could take open exposures and the light would create a pattern on the final shot.

Cats in the House Band was performing on the back patio. I decided to sketch them. Pam was going to meet me there, so I sent a photo her way via messenger so she knew where to find me. Before I got a line on the sketch the band took a break. Rather than hope they might start playing again, I wandered off again and settled on sketching the fire pit. Some people sat here to eat their Peruvian Food truck fair.

A storyteller sat and told tales around the fire. When Pam arrived she sat close and listened. One story was about a magical blank book that was given to a couple which could be used to record each day’s good memories and bad memories. I assumed the blank book might be a sketchbook. The couple recorded their memories diligently at first but then got lazy and started to skip days. Soon, they were skipping weeks at a time letting memories slip by because to the stress of everyday life. At the end of the year they opened the book and relished in seeing their memories relived. The good memories were vibrant and fresh. They wished they had been better about keeping them alive. The bad memories however slipped away on their own, becoming distant and faint.

The fire snapped and crackled with embers floating up into the night sky. Some people recognized me and we joked as I kept sketching. As I worked to finish, I realized that people had left, and the event was winding down. Pam and the storyteller spoke about how oral histories help to keep stories alive. They exchanged cards. Their core missions seemed much aligned. With the fire embers smoldering we walked out to the parking lot and decided to get some groceries at the Publix supermarket next door.

Art Class

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Dog Powered Robot rehearsals were held in this art classroom. Christie Miga taught art classes here and I decided to stop by to see a class in action. This was before I started sketching at Elite Animation Academy and it was while sketching this class in actin that I decided it was inspiring to see kids creating using pencil and paper. One of the instructors actually posed for the students and it was great t see them step up to the challenge and sketch her as she sat in her chair. Kids don’t accept limitations. If you suggest they try creating something, they create something.

It is only when kids get older that they start to feel like they aren’t doing sketches accurately enough. I on the other hand keep striving to get back some of the childhood innocence and directness each time I do a sketch. Inspiring kids to catch the world around them by sketching is a challenge but sometimes it feels so good to see a kid embrace old technology as a way to slow down and truly experience the world.

Magic Beyond the Mouse

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In
May of 1989, The Walt Disney Company added an
animation studio in Central Florida.  Spearheaded by animation industry
expert, Max Howard, the Florida studio grew from a crew of 40 to more
than 400 in the mid-90s, before closing in January 2004.

The studio was responsible for the box office hits: Mulan (1998), Lilo and Stitch (2002) and Brother Bear (2003) and contributed substantially to films such as, The Little Mermaid (1989), Rescuers Down Under (1990), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), The Lion King (1994), and many more, reinvigorating the animation industry and The Walt Disney Company.

The
artists and staff at the Florida studio fostered an atmosphere that
bottled a type of magic that is hard to put in words, but anyone
familiar with the facility can attest that working together, this team
created a family that no other Disney environment has.

I teach an Urban Sketching class at Elite Animation Academy (8933 Conroy Windermere Rd, Orlando, FL 32835). The primary goal of the class is to introduce young students to the idea of carrying a sketchbook everywhere they go. Elite was formed by a former Disney Feature Animation artist and its mission of delivering traditional and digital art courses remains true to this day. It is a place where students can build a portfolio of work should they choose to pursue a career in movie making or game design.

A few blocks away from Elite, is Art of Fitness (5154 Dr Phillips Blvd, Orlando, FL) which was also formed by a former Disney Feature Animation employee named Ron Beta. Ron decided to mount an exhibit by former Disney Artists showcasing their art since the Disney Feature Animation Studio closed in 2004. In 2004, the Orlando Disney Studio was  just starting production on a new project tentatively called My Peoples or A few Good Ghosts that was about a folk artist living in Appalachia that made puppets out of re purposed parts. For instance Abe Lincoln was made from an old broom. I was slated to do the key drawings for a villainous possum and I was gearing up to find the final look of the character.

I invited my Urban Sketch students to sketch the installation of the exhibit. In my sketch you can see a full wall of wildlife paintings by Aaron Blaise and some mermaid watercolor paintings by Ronnie Willford lined up at the base of the mirrored wall. I had simply framed one of my Urban Sketches to add to the show. In all, twenty one former Disney Artists exhibited work in the show. When the Disney Studio closed, these artists proved that there is magic and meaning to life after the Mouse. Hopefully my students took away the lesson that working for any particular a studio isn’t always the crowning moment of an art career. Every artist who remains curious is always evolving.

Waiting for Fireworks at Lake Eola

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I finished teaching an Urban Sketching class at Elite Animation at 3pm on July 4th 2018. I decided to drive to the Pine Street studio since it is so close to Lake Eola and there is a parking spot behind the building. I didn’t think to see if any of the downtown Orlando side streets were closed. My direct route to the studio was blocked, so I had to snake north in an effort to make my way around Lake Eola. Luckily my block was not closed as well.

Walking to the lake only took a few minutes once I had parked. Rain threatened, with dark grey clouds on the horizon and it began to drizzle. I seldom sketch outside in the summer since there is usually a rain storm every afternoon. My plan was to sketch the early arrivals at the Lake. People come with picnics and hang out for the afternoon so that they are guaranteed a spot lakeside for the fireworks after the crowd presses in.

This couple has three pizza boxes along with some cans of coke and an incredible assortment of groceries still in the plastic bags they got at the check out counter. The band shell across the lake still sported he rainbow paint job it got for Pride after the Pulse Nightclub Massacre. The fountain was working and come evening, it would be lit up with red, white and blue spotlights. All the swans were out in the middle of the lake probably intimidated by the crowds of humans that kept circling the lake. The path was barricaded at the World of beer, so i imagine the fireworks would likely be launched from around that area.

The couple I was sketching smoked the entire time I was there and they were perched on a carped of dry pine needles which would ignite like a wildfire with any spark. Of course with all the sparks raining down from the sky, I imagine a few cigarette butts might be the cities least concern. To my right was a stage for a band, so this spot would certainly be extra crowded once the sun set. I left when the sketch was done because a fabulous meal of ribs awaited back at home. The neighborhood is a war zone of amateur fireworks anyway. Last year the smoke was so thick on the street that visibility was reduced to a few feet as if a London fog had descended. It is now dusk and the explosions are picking up their pace.

Sketching Blackrock with Elite Students.

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On the final class of my Urban Sketch course with my Elite Animation Academy students, I tend to bring them to Blackrock Bar and Grill, a restaurant that recently opened in Windermere (8965 Conroy Windermere Rd, Orlando, FL 32819.) I order an appetizer to share with the students. At Blackrock, your choice of meat or seafood arrives seared and sizzling, sitting atop
a square, inch-thick piece of volcanic granite, heated to 755 degrees.
Your server demonstrates the process of slicing, cooking, and time
needed – as quickly as a minute – before reaching your preferred
doneness.

On Sunday afternoon when we went to sketch, the bar was active with sports fans. It was too early for the dinner crowd, so we didn’t get to experience the sizzling rocks being delivered to tables. The point of this exercise was to focus on one point perspective. I showed every student this sketch in the early stages with the one point out by the far window which is the brightest light in the sketch.  I ordered a pretzel and cheese fondue appetizer for $9.99. Cheese and caffeine are fine fuel to do a quick sketch. I had a real talent in this class. The young girl seated in front to f me was doing stellar pencil line work. Her sketches were brilliant and it would have been nice to push her even further, exploring color and mass.I just hope she keeps doing a sketch each and every day which was my main mantra throughout the 10 classes.

This month I will be teaching Urban Sketch principals to adults for the first time at Crealde School of Art (600 St Andrews Blvd, Winter Park, FL 32792) on Sundays. I am excited to get the opportunity to share my experience with artists who are already well into their artistic journey. I did one workshop at Crealde and had a blast teaching. The Crealde classes start on Sunday January 28th. Contact Crealde if you want to join us. Classes will start in the classroom with a clothed model and then expand outside the studio so that we explore the community with our sketchbooks. The Urban Sketching: Tips and Techniques class starts at 9:30 PM until 12:30 PM each Sunday. Time to crack open those sketchbooks.

Urban Sketching with the Elite Animation Academy Summer School students.

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I had 16 students for the Elite Animation Academy Urban Sketching class last week. My thought was to bring the students to a different venue each day to sketch.With 16 students we tended to fill up any available seats. The best solution was to divide the class in half and have half the students in one venue and the other half in another. I stayed with the students at Subway, and the interns stayed with students at Planet Smoothie. The lesson for the day was largely about one point perspective. I encouraged the students to find a vanishing point at their eye level and have all the lines in the ceiling panels and floor tiles point at it. There was a mirror on the brick wall across from us and one student could see his reflection in the mirror. I explained that the vanishing point was right between his eyes in the reflection.

I sat down with each student and did a quick composition sketch so they could see how to build a sketch from the outside in. Prior to going on location we had done a series of five minute sketches that broke down the scene into 5 or 6 large shapes. Some students caught on quickly while others needed time to grasp the concept. I painted this sketch digitally the evening of the class by scanning the pencil sketch and painting behind it on a layer. A stop motion movie was created of the entire painting process and I showed that to the students to encourage them to push any sketch that they do towards being a painting by adding color. On the last day, they took their favorite sketch and added watercolor to it. It was a bit of a messy class but the students were very focused for the duration. There is something about adding color that makes a sketch become art.