The TrIP

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Patrick Greene who is the curator at The Gallery at Avalon Island, 39 S Magnolia Ave, Orlando, FL, asked me to be a part of the TrIP Project. The TrIP Project has artists and writers ride the Lynx bus system to report on the mass transit system in Orlando. The first plan was for me to sketch Benoit Glaser and several other musicians who were going to play their instruments on the bus. Unfortunately Patrick gave me the wrong date and I knocked on Benoit’s door a day early. A second option was to sketch Genevieve Bernard‘s Voci Dance who did an interpretive dance performance on a bus. However, a close friend and artistic spirit, Mary Hill, took her own life and I needed to go to her memorial service that day. The bus tickets sat in my pocket unused for the longest time.

Finally, I saw that there was going to be a reading at The Gallery at Avalon Island called, “There Will Be TrIP” on January 14th. I decided I would take the bus downtown for this reading. When I graduated high school, I decided to go to the School of Visual Arts in NYC. I stayed with my parents the first two years and took a bus to the city everyday. The bus ride and consequent subway rides took well over three hours out of the day. Since I also had to get back, that was six hours in transit. Sketchbooks at the time became filled with sketches of fellow passengers. I didn’t own or drive a car for the entire decade I commuted to and stayed in NYC. When I came to Orlando to work for Disney Feature Animation, I got off the plane, took one driving education course and then got my drivers license at the Department of Motor Vehicles. Within the first week I had purchased my very first car, a sweet Honda del Sole convertible. Not once did I ever take a bus in Orlando.

On the morning of January 14th, I got ready for my TrIP adventure. It was raining, so I put my sketchbooks in a zip top plastic bag and put on a full set of rain gear that included plastic pants. I looked like I was ready for an Arctic Expedition. Google Maps on my iPhone said the closest bus stop would be near Universal Studios. It was a four mile hike. The reading downtown was going to be at 7pm. I left at 2pm since I had no clue what I was doing. I hiked through isolated suburban side streets and marveled at all the McMansions surrounding a lake I walked around. The rain was persistent but light. I felt a little uncomfortable walking with my hoodie up since Trevor Martin had been gunned down for walking in a neighborhood much like this I imagined. Someone was just recently shot for texting during the previews at a movie theater. People with guns are crazy in Florida.

Besides raining it was also hot and humid which meant I was getting wet from the inside out rather than from the outside in. When the rain became the faintest mist, I took off the rain jacket to vent some body heat. One of the side streets leading to the bus stop turned out to be the entrance to a gated community. I would have to walk around the gated community adding more miles to my hike. I realized when I was maybe one mile from the bus stop that, had I driven, I would already be downtown and parking,

I walked past a bustling middle school with long lines of cars waiting to pick up children. I realized this was a prime sketch opportunity although I imagined some parent might question my motives. When I arrived at the bus stop it was 3:30pm. I had been hiking for an hour and a half. Five construction workers in bright green vests were at the stop. Conversation was about car envy. A female worker lamented a friend who had a job and makes money on the side. Her friend could afford a Honda Civic. The construction workers make about $150 a day helping build a huge new motel right next to Universal. A large SUV driven by a fellow construction worker pulled up and they all piled in. The 21 bus that I was waiting for didn’t arrive for another hour at least.

On board, the large female driver had to help me figure out how to insert the ticket into the column shaped payment device. Digital lights and numbers gave me too much information to look at. The ticket got sucked in and then spit back out. On the back of the ticked, I found out I could board any bus until 3am in the evening, after that the ticket was void. On the bus, people sat in tight constrained poses clutching bags with arms crossed.  A mom boarded with her excited little girl. They likely had just been at Universal. The child’s eyes were filled with delight.  This bus trip was a fresh adventure for her. They sat next to me and I saw the girl motioning to her mom to look at what I was up to. She sat on her moms lap and watched every line and wash as it splashed on the page. At the Valencia College bus stop a gorgeous woman got on and stood right beside the driver checking her phone periodically. I sketched her quickly, so happy she had brightened the scene. Sketching on the bus got me motion sick. The bus lurched and pitched every time it stopped and it stopped 65 times on the route downtown. The driver also had a lead foot. Perhaps she had learned to drive at the Daytona racetrack.

At 5pm I arrived at Central and Garland Avenue downtown near Church Street Station. The walk to Avalon was less than a mile, so I figure the TrIP probably took three and a half hours whereas a drive downtown usually takes me half an hour but I park in the suburbs to avoid meters and being towed, so the walk can be an extra half an hour or so. So my assessment is, Bus = 3 1/2 hours and Car = 1 hour. The good news is that if I ever got drunk downtown, I know what bus would get me to within 4 miles of my home. But why would I get drunk downtown? Since I was early, I decided to go to Jimmy John’s to get a sandwich. I checked into Avalon where artwork and poetry was being hung on the walls. A poem by Naomi Butterfield was hung by a painting by Parker Sketch. The show is titled “I Believe.”

Imperial Wine Bar and Beer Garden

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The Imperial Wine Bar and Beer Garden, located in Ivanhoe Village, (1800 N Orange Ave, Orlando, FL) specializes in boutique wines and craft beers. Located in the back of an antiques store, the bar offers an exotic, comfortable yet elegant pub atmosphere. Terry and I went here one night to meet Wendy Wallenberg and her entourage. When we arrived, we spotted Genevieve Bernard and some of her girlfriends. Genevieve works at the Mennello Museum, is the founder of Voci Dance and runs Kid’s Fringe. Needless to say, she is very involved in the arts and always busy. Her husband Seth reports on the arts for the Orlando Weekly, so I bump into him quite often in my explorations. One of Genevieve’s friends knew of my blog. She introduced herself saying, “You might not know me, but I certainly know you since I read your posts.” Another friend said she read Analog Artist Digital World when she moved out of town to check back and see what is happening in Orlando. It made me happy to think I am providing some kind of service with my obsessive sketching and ramblings.

That reminded me, I hadn’t done a sketch yet today. Wendy and her friends arrived and we exchanged places with Genevieve’s friends as they left. The place was packed. The Imperial has over 40 beers and 45 wines to choose from, with something to offer every beer and wine drinker, from the
novice to the adventurous. I muscled up to the crowded bar to get a drink for Terry and myself. I got a German beer, Weissen-something, and Terry wanted a hard cider. Though I risked seeming anti-social, I sketched. A huge blue Buddha sat crated behind our table. Outside, a food truck generator purred. Wendy’s friend Denise ordered some sort of sushi or volcano roll from the truck. As the conversation darted from journalism to fashion to sports cars, my eyes darted about trying to lock people into a composition. Wendy has to be the most animated person I know. She is a constant blur of motion.  When we left, Wendy gave Terry pointers on how she needs to customize her new Porche. The car was called “Baby” for a while but now she is called “Enterprise“.

Autobiography

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June’s Third Thursday at the Orlando Museum of Art was organized by Anna McCambridge-Thomas. The theme for all the art that evening was “Collaboration.” When I arrived, I quickly took a look at all the art on display but Genevieve Bernard of Voci Dance had informed me of her unique collaboration. The dance piece her dance company, Voci Dance, was going to perform involved a collaboration with Asatta Wilson of Vixen Fitness. Asatta is a rather talented and fit pole dancer. During previous rehearsals, Genevieve explained to Asatta what dance moves she wanted. Though the dance terminology was different the art forms and moves were similar. As Asatta explained, she does the same moves just with some sensual flair to please the costumers.

I sat in and sketched the rehearsal for the dance titled, “Autobiography“, before patrons got to the museum. A Platinum Stages pole stood at stage right. Dancers approached the pole and interacted with it as a symbolic obstacle. Sarah Lockhard delivered a monologue in which she kept falling into a hole repeatedly. It wasn’t her fault even as she kept to the path and fell again. After repeated tries she finally realized she should walk another route.

Towards the end of the dance performance Asatta took to the pole doing a gymnastic and graceful routine that defied gravity. I got a second chance to work on the sketch as the theater filled with patrons. Having seen the rehearsal, I knew what dancers I wanted to complete the composition. From slow motion walks to graceful twirls, one gesture flowed through the dance company. The pole was no longer an obstacle but something to be conquered.

Sunday in the Park With Voci

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Genevieve Bernard, the founder of Voci Dance, gave me a heads up about a croquet game the Voci dancers were going to play on Sunday October 28th as part of the Creative City project. The Creative City Project had free clandestine performances staged at public places throughout the city on every day of October. The croquet game was held on the green beside the Red Japanese Pagoda in Lake Eola. When I arrived, the players, or dancers, were promenading around the court arm in arm in pairs. Each dancer was had on a primary colored dress that matched their ball color. Blue Doug Rhodehamel paper bag mushrooms marked the outer edges of the court. There were orange lines painted on the grass, probably left over from a football practice.

The Park was rather crowded on this Sunday. There were food trucks and tents set up at the band shell for an event I didn’t get a chance to make out. There was also a stage set up on Orange Avenue for a concert I wasn’t aware of. A large group was picnicking next to the croquet court and they were curious once the game started. A mom and her son sat in front of me to watch the game as well. The dancers circled up when music began to play and they gracefully began to play. I was sitting under the shade of a large oak tree while most of the audience sat on blankets on the opposite side of the court. It actually started to get chilly and I wished I had a sweater to cover my Dog Powered Robot T-shirt.

The performance seemed to be over in a matter of minutes as I struggled to catch each dancers proportions and gesture. More of a dance than a competition, Genevieve informed me that everyone won. Some audience members took to the court after the game was over trying out the mallets for themselves..

Creative City Project

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Sarah Lockhard invited me to participate in a Creative City Project she was organizing in Lake Eola Park with Brie Hinman. The Creative City Project was birthed out of the belief that artists
can change a city for the better by making it a more beautiful,
meaningful and interesting place to live.

The original plan was for me to do a digital sketch projected live while Brie danced to a Tom Waits poem. Creative project have a way of morphing and we didn’t have any opportunity to rehearse, so I decided to simply sketch the dance event like any other event. Sarah told me the morning before that Brie would be dancing on the grassy peninsula beside the Japanese pagoda. I arrived a half an your early to start blocking in the composition.

Ducks, geese and swans populated the peninsula and the was bird droppings everywhere. I don’t think they had planned for this so I fired off a text to Sarah that simply said, “Bird Poop!” I found a spot near a tree stump and started sketching. I planned to put the dancers in when they arrived. The tree stump ironically had a brass plaque that said thee tree was planted in dedication to the patients that suffered from Cancer at Florida Hospital. That scarred stump was an odd form of education.

I finished the sketch and started populating it with geese. The dancers were late. I saw a girl on the dock next to the pagoda and I figured she was the dancer. The sky’s were overcast and it rained lightly several times but not hard enough to stop me. My sketch was finished when Sarah, Brie and Genevieve Bernard showed up. Genevieve set up a picnic blanket to relax and watch the dance. A small boom box was used to play the sound track from Amelie. Brie was dressed in a light flowing blue skirt and she flowed with the music. It began to rain and Sarah joined the dance with her umbrella. I quickly sketched them into the scene. The rain grew heavier but Brie continued to dance. It was a magical moment.  Soon my umbrella started leaking sending large drops onto the watercolor. II had to pack up and go in order to save the sketchbooks from getting permanently damaged. as I left, Brie and Sarah were still spinning in the torrential rain. Some creative endevours last but a moment.

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.

Sam Rivers Memorial Tribute

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I heard Sam Rivers play within months of first starting this blog. He performed with his band at the Maitland Art Center at a closing party for the Florida Film Festival. For me, sketching as he played, it was a liberating experience. Lines flowed and danced on the page with abandon. The sketch became about expressive vigor not clinical accuracy. Sam’s music was about the freedom of loose improvisation. He was a dynamic, creative saxophonist, flutist, bandleader and composer. He died December 26th here in Orlando Florida. He was 88 years old. Over the course of his career, Sam played with many jazz legends in smokey lofts and bars including Dizzy Gillespie.

An open call went out for any musicians who had played with Sam as part of the Rivbea Orchestra, to gather for a Tribute Memorial concert at the Social in downtown Orlando. I arrived fairly early and found a table to sketch from. As band members set up, a microphone was placed stage left and people were invited to get on stage and talk about Sam and his music. One man got up and said that he found himself always holding a beer at Sam’s concerts. When it came time to clap, he would slap his bald head with his free hand. Sam saw the gesture and took to clapping his head as well when he finished a set. A band member felt honored and a bit intimidated being in Sam’s orbit. In one rehearsal Sam stopped and asked him, “What’s that note your playing?” He responded, “E flat.” “We aren’t there yet.” Sam said. There was a long silence, then Sam laughed out loud. He was joking with the performer. Dina Peterson had met Mr. Rivers a few times. He tended to take an interest in what she was doing and she was pleased when he picked up the conversation right where they left off many months later. Genevieve Bernard admitted that she used to go to Rivers concerts on her own when she was single because she loved the music.

The stage became crowded with musicians. The music was driven, spontaneous, raucous and free flowing. Anything was possible. Performers danced the razors edge, taking endless chances and reaching out. Cameras flashed and someone held up an iPad above his head, like a glowing billboard to catch the scene.

Sam’s wife Beatrice died in 2005. The orchestra played “Beatrice” named in her honor. The gentle music filled the room. You could feel the love. This song is now a jazz standard. After that song one of Sam’s daughters got on stage. She thanked all the musicians for playing his music, keeping it alive. She said that “Sam’s still playing, and he’s watching you.” With the funeral and memorial behind her, she had to return home in the North East. I started to well up. The room was getting smokey.

Members of the Rivbea Orchestra stood in turn launching into personal solo improvisations. The focus of my sketch switched from one performer to the next as they played. The energy in the room crackled and built. Everyone swayed to the beat. Lines flowed and splashes of color were thrown down with abandon. The whole band joined together and built to a cacophonous yet structured crescendo. The room went wild. The spirit of Sam’s music still ignited the crowd. The room was on fire. “Keep perking Mr. Rivers.”

The Mennello Christmas Tree

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Angela Abrusci offered to take some high quality photos of the five foot long painting I did for Margot Knight. We agreed to meet at the Mennello Museum to take the shots. Some shots were taken as the painting leaned against a brick wall and then we layed it flat in the parking lot. It was a cloudy day which she said made for better diffuse light. Autumn Ames wasn’t sure how to ship such a large painting, so I decided to ask Kim Robinson in the Museum, her advice. From the basement she found a large shipping box called a strong box. Inside was coated with foam soundproofing material. The box was just six inches shorter than what I needed for the painting. She also suggested that the panel be wrapped with glassine which would keep the foam from sticking to any paint.

Kim and Genevieve Bernard were getting ready to put up the museum’s Christmas tree. The wooden tree was designed by artist Anita Lam in 2000. She called it “The Out in Aspen BB Tree.” The branches were wooden dowels. They all had numbers which corresponded to the height they were placed on the trunk. Branches were collated and piled on the floor. Angela stayed to help and she snapped pictures. An old metal American flag was added to the top of the tree. It bobbed on its spring just barely clearing the water pipes.

Many of the ornaments were original works of art by local artists. The Museum put out another invitation to artists to submit ornaments for the tree this year. Genevieve went to an inner city school to participate in Career Day. She had the children make craft paper ornaments which she planned to string up on the tree. On her iPhone, Billy Holiday was singing “Nice Work if You Can Get It” as she strung the ornaments together using red yarn. Outside the giant bay windows the lake sparkled and a large colorful sculpture by John Robert Wolf moved slowly in the breeze. Kim stacked apple ornaments below the tree.

Gail Pergande stopped in to watch with her dog. Once the tree was full of ornaments, we all went out to lunch at Shakers in College Park. I hadn’t finished my sketch yet so after lunch, I returned to the museum to add color washes. I was inspired by the bright colors in the Earl Cunningham paintings on the walls.

Mennello Museum Mural Unveiling

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So many things had to fall into place for the Unveiling of the mural. I ran to Sky Craft to get 80 alligator clips which would hang the original sketches done of each person in the line. I also managed to forget the power cord to my tablet PC in the classroom at Full Sail. I drove over there and thankfully Nina had the keys to get me into the room. I was a sweaty mess after running all over town but I arrived at the museum an hour earlier than expected. This gave me plenty of time to set up. I borrowed a folding table from the museum’s garage and set it up under the tent I had used as shelter from the sweltering sun the entire time I worked on the mural. I hung many of the original studies, clothes line style on the iron gates around the museum. Kim Robinson let me borrow some nice folding walls on which I hung a dozen more sketches.

I set up a printer and the tablet so I could make prints for people on demand. Anyone who posed for the mural could get a free print of the sketch done of them. The originals were all on sale for $50 each. I made a few prints of the whole line as well. As I was finishing getting everything in place, Terry arrived to help out. She assisted me as I duct taped down electrical cords so no one would trip. It was a cloudless beautiful day in the low 80’s. I couldn’t have asked for a more picture perfect night.

When everything was in place, I started the sketch. The first people to arrive were volunteers for the museum. I sketched them quickly in front of the mural. Soon there was a steady stream of people and I explained over and over again how the idea of the mural had been generated. Genevieve Bernard and I visited a high school art class in Narcoossee and asked the students what they felt defined Orlando. One girl said she was always standing in long lines when she went to clubs downtown. We spent the rest of the class discussing who stands in lines and why. A Facebook event page invited people to come to the museum to be drawn in the line. Over 64 people from all walks of life came to be sketched. At the unveiling many of the people who modeled returned wearing the same clothes they posed in. It was fun taking pictures with the models next to their depiction on the wall. All the photos made the mural an interactive experience. The evening was a whirlwind as I made prints, finalized sales and socialized non-stop.

Demographics

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Tisse Mallon knows how to celebrate her 30th birthday. She had an amazing all night party at Urban ReThink where she brought together friends from all aspects of Orlando’s arts and culture scene. She invited myself and six other artists to decorate a used U.S. Census Bureau bag. Tisse worked going door to door during the last census. Each field worker was given one of these Census Bags. When the census was over the bags were thrown out. These re-purposed bags are all now works of art. I was one of the first artists to arrive to drop off the bag. I re-purposed the mural I am working on by painting the people standing in line on the bag. Jessica Earley totally ripped apart her bag and created a charming door knob hanger of an owl. It was absolutely charming.

Inside each bag there were orange inter office envelopes. Genevieve Bernard used those envelopes to create cut out Census Monsters and Jessica used them to create a charming pine tree. She also used the envelopes to create the owl’s beak, feet and eyes. It was fun to see, “Name” and “Department” scrawled across the owl’s eyes. Scooter Cleveland sat on a table beside a bag that said, “Why Count?” in bold red letters. The bag was filled with food for the homeless. Scooter had been homeless on the streets of downtown Orlando for 18 months. He was in a car accident and a doctor told him he had to stay off his feet for four months. He was fired from his job. He stayed with family and friends but ultimately ended up on the streets. Now that he is off the streets, he is trying to establish a food share program for those who were left behind. A glass jar sat on the table beside him for donations.

Throughout the evening Tisse acknowledged and praised the artistic people that have touched her life. She pointed to Todd Caviness who helps kept spoken word alive in Orlando. He is a writer who is always willing to lend a hand to keep the arts scene vibrant in Orlando. No one expresses what it is like to be a Floridian better than him. Karen Price also read several of her short stories. One, about a mermaid with two tails was a charming morality tale (pun intended). The other was about a high school bully who later in life was served up a bitter justice of hard knocks in her violent deprived life. She didn’t recognize the female lawyer on her case as the victim of her childhood bullying. Such is fate.