A curators preview of Real Life Observations by Dale Kennington at the Mennello Museum of American Art.

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On January 22, I went to The Mennello Museum of American Art which was undergoing preparations for the January 23 opening of Real Lives: Observations and Reflections by Dale Kennington. This is the first exhibit in the museum’s yearlong series devoted to “Storytellers of the South: Voices of Women.”  Curator Dr. Lee A Gray offered insights as guests followed her through the museum. I sketched Executive director Frank Holt who had just announced that he planned to retire at the end of January. Holt was instrumental in widening the museum’s scope from simply folk
art to all American art, and in establishing the Mennello’s affiliation
with the Smithsonian Institution. Virginia Mecklenberg, chief curator
of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, has called Holt a “visual
genius.” As the group of about 20 guests moved gallery to gallery, I stayed sketching the main reception desk. Frank seemed pensive, perhaps reflecting on the influences brought to the museum. He always seemed to understand and respect my sketching obsession. So I’m sorry to see him go. This sketch was done on top of another sketch so that I could give the sketchbook a consistent flow.

Realist painter Dale Kennington is now 80 years old. She does large oil paintings of people engaged in everyday activities. She takes a series of photos of any given location and then pieces together her composition from those many visual elements. For instance a painting of people in a swimming hole featured the same bather in multiple places in the same painting. I do the same thing when I sketch on location. Often I will follow one person, sketching them multiple times to populate a scene. Dales paintings are all inspired by luminous light and often feature reflections. She married Don Kennigton, a successful business man so making a living as an artist was not a concern. She started painting because she wanted portraits of her children. In the mid 80’s she gave up portraiture and switched to becoming a studio painter. In 2009 she was recognized by the Alabama State Council on the Arts with
the Governor’s Arts Award, and the Alabama Bureau of Tourism and Travel
as one of Alabama’s “Master Artists”. Seeing so many large light filled paintings made me want to start working large myself. I’m working on a 30 inch high piece right now but it is a real challenge to sit alone all day working on one painting. I’m used to sketching in the hectic chaos of life and those sketches only take 2 hours. Committing to spend a solid week with one image is a real challenge.

Mennello Gala

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The annual Mennello Museum Gala on February 22nd was referred to as, “An Evening With Fabulous Friends.” In exchange for illustrations supplied for the Museum’s 25th Anniversary, Terry negotiated tickets to the Gala held at the brand new Alfond Inn, (300 E New England Ave. at Rollins College, Winter Park FL.) Each year, The Friends of The Mennello Museum of American Art host an elegant gala to raise funds for the museum’s collections, exhibitions, and programs. This, the Eleventh Annual Gala celebrated The Mennello Museum of American Art, located in Orlando Loch Haven Park, which is owned and operated by the City of Orlando. The Gala also celebrates the passion of its founders, Michael A. and Marilyn L. Mennello. Marilyn passed away years ago and a statue of her is in the museum.

I was working from 9am to 5pm at Full Sail on the Saturday of the gala. Terry agreed to bring my suit and tie to the inn. I met her up front as her Porsche was being valet parked. I felt a little awkward being in jeans surrounded by tuxedos and women in ball gowns. Terry was in a gold sequin dress and blended right in. I rushed off to find a men’s room to change in. There was no large bathroom stall so it was like getting dressed in a very tight closet.

The silent auction items were in a small rotunda with a green house glass domed ceiling. Everyone crowded into this tight space with a craps table taking up a huge chunk of real estate in the center of the room. I spent most of my time trying to keep people from tripping on my art supply bag. Terry flourishes in this type of crowd and she squeezed her way around the room handing out fliers for my retrospective show next month. For a brief moment we stepped outside where it was cool and airy but we immediately went back into the chaotic crowd. I bumped into Michael Mennello and shook his hand. I’m not sure if he remembered me from the day I sketched him in his home.

When they opened the dining room, Terry and I found our way to table 26 which was the Enzian Theater table. Sigrid Tiedtke was warm and inviting, giving us both a hug. I was very flattered that she knew of my work. She looked much like her daughter Elizabeth who I often see at the Enzian. Philip Tiedtke sat next to Terry. The Tiedtke family established the Enzian Theater back in 1985 and it is Orlando’s top art house movie theater. The annual Florida Film Festival is now one of the top ranked film festivals in the country. Another couple at the table turned out to be musicians and I hope to sketch them performing some time soon. Frank Holt, the Executive Director of the Mennello Museum also ended up sitting at our table. Although table 26 was far from the podium, we were surrounded by talented heavy hitters in the arts community.

My tie wanted to keep flopping down onto the wet sketch. I dropped my pencil several times. The room was constantly buzzing with activity as the staff rushed to serve food. I picked at my plate of food as I worked, but I spent more time sketching than eating. The live auction had a fast talking auctioneer. The largest item was a trip to Colorado and most of the other items were group restaurant outings. Before I knew it, the Gala was over. Such events seem so rushed when you try to capture them with a sketch.

An Evening with Executive Director Frank Holt

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On October 15th I went to The Mennello Museum of American Art (900 East Princeton Street, Orlando, Fl.) to join the museum’s executive director Frank Holt for a walk and talk through the Everglades series of exhibits.As people arrived, I got to work on my sketch. The room I was in was filled with paintings by Eugine Savage. In 1935, he made the first of many trips into the Florida Everglades to study the Seminoles and their traditions. Eugene was a mural artist and all his paintings have a very bold consistent look. The Indians tolerated the artist at first but when he started depicting women partly unclothed, they stopped appreciating his vision. Any Seminole woman who had a romance with a white man would be cast out of the tribe, floating down river in a dug out canoe. The intricate patterns of traditional dress was treated with loving detail while extraneous detail was stripped away from the Everglades environments. The studies done in watercolor on tan paper were often mounted beside the final paintings giving amazing insight into the artist’s process. The artist also hand made the frames giving this collection of paintings an amazing uniformity.

Art and Artifacts of the Seminole were on display along with the paintings. With the development of Florida as a Tourist state, the traditions of the Seminoles slowly died. Villages were reduced to roadside attractions where you could have your picture taken with a local Indian.  There is something sad in seeing these once proud people reduced to selling trinkets and photo opportunities. The artifacts are on loan from the collection of I.S.K. Reeves V and Sara W. Reeves. In the main gallery, Earl Cunningham paintings of the Everglades are on display. These painting seem to literally glow as the jump off the walls. In the back gallery, sketches of Rob Storter document Southwest Florida Everglades life in line and wash. I love these direct observational sketches that help preserve a simpler life that is long gone.

Frank Holt curated the Mennello Museum’s current Everglades
series of exhibitions like a conductor bringing together the
notes that create a symphony. The longtime executive director is at home
orchestrating displays of art in this museum, where he has practiced
his craft since it opened in November 1998. When done well, the evidence of the curator’s hand is not obvious,
but it is distinct. His signature is bold wall colors, brilliant
lighting and thoughtful interplay between the showcased art and the
natural architecture of the museum. Mark your Calendar, these exhibits are up till January 5th of 2014, and they shouldn’t be missed. Opening on January 17th, 2014 will be Southwestern Allure: The Art of the Santa Fe Art Colony. This exhibition features 40 artworks from public and private
collections that reflect the development of Santa Fe as an art colony
through the artists who visited there and helped establish the city as
an artistic center.

Mysterious Muses

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On Tuesday June 4th, at 7pm Frank Holt, the  Director of the Mennello Museum of American Art, (900 E Princeton St Orlando FL) conducted an intimate tour of Mysterious Muses: A Selection of Southern Folk Art, and the companion exhibit, Southern Folk Art Masters. This was a chance to hear Holt speak about the pieces in both exhibits that he’s drawn from the permanent collection.

Perhaps 20 to 30 art loving patrons gathered to hear Frank’s insights. They moved throughout the galleries and I decided to catch Frank in the main entry to the museum as he spoke about this large totem covered in words and crows. Apparently there was a myth among southern blacks that crows would spy on the white community and report back. I was reminded of the not very politically correct crows in Dumbo. I liked the crows angular forms blocked out in wood. Their long yellow beaks made them resemble Toucans. This column is actually covered with words but I ran out of time and only wrote the one line. The upside down copy at the top said something like, “I wrote this upside down because it was easier.” A thunderbird is a legendary creature in certain North American indigenous peoples’ history and culture. It is considered a supernatural bird of power and strength. It’s name comes from the common belief that the beating of its enormous wings causes thunder and stirs the wind. A large crow at the top of this totem stands in as the thunderbird. Artists in the show include, Alyne Harris, Brian Dowdall, Sybil Gibson, Kurt
Zimmerman, Ronald Lockett, Jesse Aaron, Benjamin Perkins and Gary Yost. The exhibit will remain up through August 9th.

In the back room of the museum was an exhibit called “Crackers in the Glade” with sketches by Rob Storter.  These simple pen and ink with watercolor drawing really resonated with me. Here was an artist doing exactly what I love to do, documenting his life and times with line and tone. These sketches were done to preserve the artists’ memory of a side of Florida that is now long gone. Storter was a humble fisherman, but he has an eye for detail and his sketches help bring the past to life. Things he is intimately familiar with like fish and boats jump off the page with bold and confident line work. This exhibit is well worth a visit and I know I’ll be going back. I left an umbrella in the museum as a subconscious reminder that I must return.

Weekend Top 6 Picks

Saturday July 6th 2013 

10am to 5pm FREE: Bank of America Museums on US! Orange County Regional History Center (65 E. Central Blvd. Orlando FL 32801.) BA’s Gift to you this weekend, free admission for Bank of America or Merrill Lynch cardholders. Present your Bank of America or Merrill Lynch Credit or Debit Card and a valid photo ID and the cardholder receives free admission!

INFO (407)836-7010

www.thehistorycenter.org

1pm to 4pm $2 Donation: Summertime Music Series, The Ladyz and the Boyz. Lakeridge Winery and Vineyards, (19239 US Hwy 27 Clermont FL 34715.) Ladyz and the Boyz is a tribute to American music starring two dynamic sisters from Rochester, NY on vocals and keyboards. The Howard Sister’s, Kaimi, Quin, and Casey’s soulful voices give the band spirit that has audiences giving standing ovations at every performance. Lead male vocals and guitar of Louie Velez, drummer George Mitchell, and Band leader, bassist Paul Lovizio.

8pm to Midnight FREE: Dark Arts Art Show. The Falcon (819 E Washington Street Orlando FL 32801.) Art featuring witches, warlocks, vampires, werewolf’s & anything that goes bump in the night!

Sunday July 7th 2013

Noon to 2pm Order lunch: Broadway Brunch at Hamburger Mary’s! (110 West Church Street Orlando, FL 32801.) Show tunes and a juicy burger.

6pm to 8pm FREE: SHUT YOUR FACE! Poetry Slam by Curtis Meyer! La Casa De La Paellas (10414 E Colonial Dr Orl FL 32817.) The only current ongoing slam in Orlando officially certified by Poetry Slam Incorporated, IE. Send a team to Nats as well as poets to The Individual World Poetry Slam and Women of The World Poetry Slam! $50 to the winner! If you’ve never seen or been in a slam before, it’s definitely worth checking out!

INFO: curtisxmeyer@hotmail.com

www.casadelaspaellas.com

7:30pm to 9:30pm  FREE: Concert! 3 world premieres by Richard Drexler, Keith Lay & Ralph Hays!!! The White House (2000 South Summerlin Orlando FL 32806.) This fine clarinet quartet is going to Assisi next week to perform at the International Clarinet Association’s conference. New music by three living composers, two of whom will be in attendance (one from NYC). The Ralph Hays piece is entitled Divertimento, and can be described as a neoclassical multi movement work that is quite charming. With sometimes surprising harmonic twists. The Keith Lay pieces are entitled, Even and Sawtooth, and will challenge the audience to rethink what they know about tempo and rhythm. The Richard Drexler piece is entitled Five South American Dances and will transport the listener to very different parts of the world without the jet lag. Donations welcome (to help pay for their trip). Kevin Strang, Keith Koons, Jessica Hall, Jennifer Royals

Don’t forget to bring food & wine to share!

www.timucua.com/calendar.html

The Executive Director

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For a recent advertising illustration assignment I was asked to sketch an executive behind his desk. Rather than search for that executive online doing an image search, I decided to ask friends on Facebook if they knew of an executive who might not mind my stopping by to sketch him on location. Genevieve Bernard suggested Frank Holt, the executive director of the Mennello Museum of American Art. Frank was fine with me sitting in his office and sketching as he worked away on his computer.

His office is has colorful vibrant walls. The orange wall behind him ties in perfectly with an orange curtain featured in the painting that hangs on it. Gorgeous orchids were bursting into bloom. I like his desk which is simply a thick sheet of glass supported by saw horses. The room was simple and elegant much like the vibrant museum itself.

On display now at the Mennello is “Style & Grace” exhibition of American Impressionist paintings and sculptures collected by Michael and Marilyn Mennello. This really is an amazing collection of paintings by some of my favorite “Ash Can” artists, like Robert Henri and George Bellows. Sometimes I feel like that is the time when I should have been working as an artist. But hey, make the most of the time you have, right?

Friday March 30th there is a reception for IMPRINTS: 20 Years of Flying Horse Editions. A celebration of UCF’s limited-edition fine art book printing press, with a printmaking studio set up in the museum for workshops. 6-8 p.m. Admission $5, free to members. Continues through August 12.

Saturday, March 31st share a cup of coffee with the Artist: Mary Whyte. We are thrilled to have the teacher, author and “investigative watercolorist” from South Carolina discuss her book, Working South: Paintings and Sketchings by Mary Whyte , a series of interviews and portraits of blue-collar workers whose ways of life are diminishing. She is in town for the UCF Book Festival. The event is 10:30a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Reservations requested. Admission $5, free to members.

Mennello Museum

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I went to the Mennello Museum for a quick meeting with Genevieve Bernard about a possible mural outside the building. We met in Kim Robinson’s office. Her office window looks straight out at the blank wall. Executive Director, Frank Holt, wanted to be sure the final image was cohesive. The proposed wall is 48 feet wide by seven feet high. Next week I will be meeting students who will help with brainstorming for ideas. Apparently there is a competition which will help pick which high school students can help me out with the actual painting of the mural. Details are still being worked out. My challenge is to maintain my usual spontaneous style so the mural looks like a sketch done on location. The sun beats down on the wall which waits for inspiration to strike so it can fulfill it’s potential.

When I entered the museum it was obvious that they were taking down the 1934 New Deal show and putting up a new show. The New Deal show featured paintings from the Smithsonian collection. The new deal program lasted for a very short time in 1934 and it encouraged artists to portray the American scene. Many of the paintings depicted the American dream for a brighter future. As these idealistic visions were crated away, new art went up from local Florida artists. In a side gallery paintings by Ron Van Sweringen were being hung. These paintings looked like Jackson Pollack drip paintings. The difference being that Pollack spread his canvases on the floor letting the paint drip down. Ron placed his canvases on a wall and then threw the paint at it. He referred to his painting method as “Astroism.”

After the meeting I decided to sketch as the new exhibit, called “Fla-Art,” was installed. A worker stenciled up the title of the show above the reception desk. The first new work to go up was of a man pushing aside a curtain and gazing out at the viewer. It has an ominous weight to it. Most of the other work was still from the New Deal. A miner drilled for coal, men pushed large blocks of ice in an ice house, men marched through a field to work.

As I sketched a young woman asked the receptionist about renting the museum for a wedding. She was given brochures and suggestions. Several artists walked in with canvases. I was impressed by some of the work waiting to be hung. The Fla-Art show is opening May 13th from 6-8pm. Members get in free and non-members pay $5. There will be a cash bar. The Florida Artists show will be on display through September 25th 2011.

Evenings with the Director. On Tuesdays 6/14, 7/12, 8/9, 9/13, 6pm experience an evening with museum Director Frank Holt. The walk is included in general admission. Reservations required. Call (407) 246.4278

Family Days are on Sundays, 6/12, 7/10, 8/14, 9/11 starting at 12:30pm with family arts and crafts activities and a children’s workshop at 1pm. At 2pm there is a FREE guided tour.