A Drink with Country Joe at the Fringe Beer Tent.

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Joe Rosier had hopes of get in into the 2016 Fringe Festival. Unfortunately his name wasn’t picked in the Fringe Lottery. In the past, he had performed solo shows as a country doctor telling ghost tales, and Odysseys S. Grant relating Civil war stories. With his grizzled age and shaggy white beard, Joe was perfect for such historical roles.  Shortly after the lottery, one of Joe’s eyes closed up and minor age discomforts became serious health issues.

Chemo therapy resulted in hair loss and the need for a neck brace. That didn’t slow Joe down. He was at the years fringe and I got to spend some time with him at the beer tent. Joe posed for my Mennello Museum  Mural and I’ve sketched him a number of to the in costume. Producers, actors an directors greeted Joe like the celebrity he is. the last time I saw Joe was in December and I bumped in him while walking towards the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. Joe was dressed as Santa Claus of course. As we walked past the Harp and Celt, a young woman seated outside shouted to Joe to come in. There was z private party and they needed Santa Clause. I regret not follow.’ Joe inside. I heard he was the life of the party, and all I young women sat in his lap to whisper their Christmas wishes.

Take A Look, And You Will See Into Your Imagination!

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 On Third Thursday, I wandered downtown to see what art exhibits were opening up. On the drive, Terry called me to let me know there was an outdoor concert in front of the Doctor Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. I decided that DPAC therefor was my sketch opportunity for the night. I stopped quickly into City Arts Factory to see how the Square exhibit looked hung. I submitted one square print and it was nestled in neatly among many of he talented local artists. My print hung just inches from the incredibly talented Rebecca Rose, also nearby was Boy Kong, Andrew Spear, Jennifer Payne, and Scott White. I made an impulse buy and purchased a print by Plinio Pinto. It is now hanging in my living room. The curator didn’t want me to take it off the wall right a way. He suggested I return at the end of the evening. 


I started hoofing it down to DPAC to sketch the concert. On the way I ran into Joe Rosier who had grown out his white beard and had on a red Santa cap and a red shirt. His plan was to get some fish and chips at the Irish Pub before he started gallery hopping. We walked past two women smoking outside the pub. One shouted out, “Hey Santa, you should come inside, you would be the life of the party.” Joe turned to her and said, “First let check my list, I have to see if you’ve been naughty or nice.” Since I wanted to get to the concert to sketch, I left Santa as he finalized the negotiation. When I got to DPAC, the concert was over and chairs were being folded up and stacked away. Alright, change of plans there had been a trio performing at Avalon Island. That was my new sketch opportunity. 


As soon as I entered The Gallery at Avalon Island (39 S Magnolia Ave, Orlando, FL) I bumped into Kathy Blackmore. I had worked with her at Disney Feature Animation and at Full Sail University. [ miss the camaraderie, laughter and insanity of those times. The Gallery was presenting Take A Look, And You Will See Into Your Imagination! an exhibition that features children’s book artists and illustrators. Kathy’s children’s book illustrations were part of the exhibit. After a quick walkabout, I started sketching. At two tables there was brown packing tape acting as a table cloth and canvas. Colorful markers in a cup acted as the center piece. I was delighted when Tori Kelly and her two children started sketching on the brown paper. Kids sketch with such confidence, They still enjoy the simple pleasure of putting lines on a page. Children’s book illustrator, Ethan Longjoined the kids and he showed them how to draw on of his characters. The kids were mesmerized soaking in his every pencil stroke with their hungry eyes.

A gentleman and two women sat across from me. He started drawing an intricately branched tree with a purple bird perched way up high. Earlier in the day, a repairman had told me the he let his Moluccan Cockatoo climb the branches in a large tree in his yard. His bird would climb to the highest branches and then come back down when called. Zorro, our Umbrella Cockatoo had never experienced that freedom. Hawks and falcons can sometimes be seen circling overhead. As protective owners we would never risk allowing Zorro to climb beyond our reach. He might climb to the top and never look down, requiring a call tot fire department to get the hook and ladder.

 It turned out that the sketcher across from me was the husband of  Zebo Ludvicek, one of the artists whose work was on exhibit. She asked to see my sketchbook when I had finished sketching the trio. She took her time flipping through the pages, she seemed to truly like what I do.  Her husband reaffirmed her sincerity saving, ” She means it, she doesn’t usually like anything.” We chatted for quite. a while about art, both digital and traditional before I decide to get a beer with a day of the dead skill on it which was laced with Taquilla. It gave me an immediate headache.

Kathy was in a conversation with artists Anne Jewett, and Janeen Mason. Janeen said she would give me the name of a friend of hers who lives in Saint Augustine. That city has a law that make creating art in public spaces a crime punishable with a fine of $500 and or 60 days in jail. There is a demonstration in Saint Augustine on December 21st against this insanity and I plan to drive over that way to sketch the demonstration. Janeen’s friend is on the Saint Augustine historic preservation committee and she might help get me out of jail if I am caught sketching. Anne told me about a unique crowd funding source for artists called something like Patrion. People pay a small sum, like a dollar to see sketches for a project as it progresses. It is an ingenious idea and I plan to research it more. It could bring what seemed lit an impossible dream to life. I also have I say that Anne’s illustrations were magical with a old world classical glow. If you happen to be walking by Avalon check out her work in the front windows. It will amaze you.

The only other artists that I didn’t meet were, Fred Koehler,  and Loreen Leedy.The Avalon exhibit was clearly my favorite discovery for the evening. The show will be on display at the gallery until January 16th. The children’s books are available at Bookmark It (3201 Corrine Dr #109, Orlando, FL).

After the Tone set the tone at TONE.

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Art in Odd Places: TONE / Orlando  has taken over Downtown Orlando on
Magnolia Avenue between Anderson and Washington Streets from September 17-20th. It is a public and visual performance art Festival that presents art in unexpected places. I went downtown on September 17th to see Brian Feldman, a performance artist from Washington D.C. who used to hail from Orlando. I saw him running to and from his car getting the elements for his simple set, a small table with red legs supporting a tiny potted plant, a phone message book, and an old rotary phone. The title of his performance piece was “… after the tone.”

The premise of his performance is that people seldom leave voice messages anymore. Instead, they might leave a text or a message on any number of social media options. I am a case in point. I seldom notice if my phone rings and there are 44 unanswered voice messages that I need to get to. I tend to respond immediately to texts or Facebook messages, however. With so many ways to communicate, I sometimes lose track of which method was used if I need to go back and reread a message. Voice messages may indeed become extinct. 

Joe Rosier was the first patron to approach Brian’s table. Brian asked him to name someone who would be least likely to pick up their phone. Brian then wrote down Joe’s message on a phone message book. Then Brian asked what tone of voice he should use to deliver the voice message. If the person picked up the phone, Brian would immediately hang up. Sure enough, on the first call, the person picked up and Brian hung up. Joe kind of cheated by calling back and asking the person to not pick up. On the second try, Brian delivered a voice message of endearment in a sultry voice.

A young woman approached Brian who knew nothing about his performance or even who he was. She agreed to leave a message with an ex-boyfriend. Her message was fascinating. She wanted him to know that, “You’ll get your $50 and you were never a good boyfriend, what makes you think you’d be a good friend?” Brian’s angered mafia voice tone sent the message with perfection. Another young woman asked Brian to deliver a voice message to congratulate a friend who just landed a new job in Chicago. Brian did his best to deliver the message in a hardy Chicago accent. He practiced, saying “Duh Bears” several times. The message ended with, “Oh, and you’re hot”.

Another artist, Klimchak, guy rode by on a bicycle wearing a flame patterned cape playing a theremin with strong speakers to belt out the sci-fi vibes. It rained for a few minutes and I ran for cover across the street to hide under the arched doorways of the History Cente, leaping over 6 Spanish Moss nests which had bars of Tone soap in them. Three nests were empty. Barbara Hartley later explained that the artist, Dina Mack, had purchased many bars of soap and the missing nests would be refilled each night. Michael Heidmann offered me his umbrella so that I could finish my sketch. Thankfully, the rain stopped long enough for me to finish. I’m so glad Orlando is small enough for this kind of neighborly gesture.

The Greek Orthodox Church around the corner had a food share earlier in the evening. That meant that some people walking past Brian’s performance piece were more concerned with finding a place to sleep rather than art. Across the street and up the block a bit, a man lay down on his back among the landscaping outside the History Center. Later on a fire engine and an ambulance showed up with their sirens and blinking lights. The man was placed on a stretcher and whisked away on the ambulance. Brian felt terrible that he hadn’t called the ambulance. With 50 or so art projects going on, I thought the man might have been a performance artist or maybe he was a homeless man taking a nap before police told him to move along. Being from NYC I’m kind of used to seeing people asleep on sidewalks. Never faint or collapse in a city setting. No one will notice.

After sketching Brian, I went to see an artist who was sealed inside a Plexiglas box. He was sketching his view from inside the box using day glow markers. Four large black lights illuminated him. Yellow plumbing elbows were all around the AT&T building and one of them had a matching elbow with a fist sticking out of it. On the corner of Washington and Magnolia, a 6 foot high board had an American flag and a gun range human silhouette with a target made with flowers. A black hand made from plywood reached up towards the cloudy sky. In the History Center Park, Halee Sommer showed me a storage pod that was set up as a darkroom where anyone could enter to learn how to develop black and white prints from negatives. My older brothers used to develop film in the basement and the smell of the chemicals brought memories flooding back. Amazingly, I only saw a fraction of the art on display. The Tone themed art continued all the way down to the new Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. As I walked back to my car, I passed a man asleep in an entryway to the AT&T building and kept on walking. Be sure to get downtown and experience TONE for yourself.

Ses-qui-cen-ten-nial

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Joe Rosier with his grey beard and weather worn leathery complexion is a dead ringer for confederate general Robert E. Lee. It was raining like a banshee when I parked my car near the Orlando Fringe Festival. I waited in my car until the rain slowed a bit. When I did step out, I was amazed to see the tires half engulfed in a raging muddy gutter flow. It looked like the car could be swept away.

The premise of the presentation was that General Lee was addressing students at Washington College in Lexington Virginia, recounting his time in the Civil War and his relationship with General Ulysses S. Grant of the Union troops.  The Purple Patron’s Room Venue was empty when I found a seat. Only two other theater goers came in. Joe later confided that the woman in the third row was a theater reviewer from the Orlando Weekly. The General let us know he was pleased that we had all braved the elements to hear his story.

I think you need to be a real history buff to fully appreciate the show. At one point the general had some trouble remembering the battle of Appomattox. He apologized for his brief memory slip as he is getting on in years. I couldn’t decide if it was the actor searching for a line or the General’s lapse in memory. I paid close attention as he recalled his surrender to a very disheveled Grant. Grant let the rebel officers keep their side arms after the surrender. The General was spry for his age, moving constantly on the stage. I caught him in a rare moment when he chose to sit.

Tonight 

10PM – 2AM

Girls at Gay Days Kick-Off Party “One Hot Mess”

Drip 8747 International Dr. Suite 102 (Behind Denny’s and Senor Frogs), Orlando, Florida 32819

I will be doing a live large scale painting of two Drip dancers embracing.  I should be able to sketch several other willing couples as well. If you are an exhibitionist, come on by and get sketched. This is likely to be a hell of a party. It is preceded by a Drip show with an all female cast which is very hot. The show is $35 but the “One Hot Mess” after party is free.

  • DJ Lez Spins
  • Appearance by Jude the Lesbian
  • Budlight colored beer taste testing
  • Barefoot Wine Bar with special grape stomping performance by DRIP.
  • DRIP performance art in white powder
  • DRIP dancers performing in rain
  • DRIP ticket giveaways
  • Dancing
  • Interactive Paint Station
  • Body Painting
  • Gay Days themed visual art show
  • Art Sales

Soft Exposure

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Soft Exposure happens on the 4th Wednesday of every month. Frankie Messina has taken over as host for Soft Exposure at Infusion Tea (1600 Edgewater Dr College Park). Naomi Butterfield used to host this open mic night but she recently moved to Gabon. Frankie has added his own flair to this night of poetry and prose. When I arrived, he was still setting up. He had a stack of vinyl records and he spun his favorites as people arrived. Billy Holiday‘s silky voice greeted me. Frankie runs a local arts support organization called Apartment E. Formed in 1993 it offers local love and support. He came up with phrase “City Beautiful” and he owns the online domain.

Artist Janae Corrado set up a display of her oil paintings and pencil sketches.  Her work has a flavor of the surreal while remaining grounded. Frankie asked her to talk about her work between readings. She was hesitant but finally stepped up to the mic. Her work is personal and she tries to keep titles and themes open as she is working on a painting. She has been painting for five years now but has been an artist since she was a child. She feels the Orlando art scene has plenty of talent, much of it unrecognized. The Florida art market tends to be driven by tourism with the exception of Miami which might be its own country. The largest painting she brought was of a woman with horns in front of a bare tree. The model for this painting was Kassandra Kharis. Kassandra was an amazing local artist who took her own life several days ago. I was shocked and humbled by the news from her friend Tracy Lulu Brown. Kassandra’s work is dark and mysterious. She appeared in an isolated sketch I did in Blank Space. I spoke to Janae briefly about Kassandra and her eyes lit up as she talked about how Kassandra wore antlers to an opening to look just like her painting. Laughter and joy in memories masked the loss.

Joe Rosier started the evening off with a poem he wrote at Fringe about a microphone not in use on the empty outdoor stage. He lamented the lost opportunity and endless potential that went unnoticed. Frankie read an amazing poem about lines. Like the line in the sand, the line we are meant not to cross. I wish I had heard this poem as I worked on the Mennello Museum line mural. There were emotional sparks flying in the poems. Several times my eyes burned and had to be wiped dry on my sleeve. Several tourists were in the room. They flew from Australia to Orlando to attend an Avatar self help course. They read from a group exercise handbook. I felt a bit uncomfortable as the material had a cult tinge to it, but in the end their message was of compassion and understanding which is what any art form should aspire to. A poet apologized for not writing much recently. He then recited The Love Song of Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot. I love this poem, which I first read in high school. Now that my hair grows thin and grey, the poem has added impact and meaning as I search and scratch out images every day.  Curtis Meyer ended the evening with an emotional spoken word piece about the inventor of the inner circuitry in microphones. The thrust of his poem rushed forwards and back like a DJ spinning vinyl to a rap beat. The evening had come full circle.

I left feeling inspired and uplifted, yet sad that talent could burn so bright and often go unnoticed in an indifferent world.

Blank Canvas at OMA

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On the first Thursday of every month the Orlando Museum of Art opens it’s front gallery for local artists. It is an evening of art, food, drink and entertainment. This evening featured ten artists who would begin with a blank canvas offering patrons a chance to see their creative process. Walking the room, there were several painters, a print maker, jewelry maker and a sculptor working in the center of the room with a model. The model was all legs in a bikini. I circled around the sculptor and his model several times but I couldn’t find a place to plant myself so I moved on.

The print maker was using leaves and other natural found objects to begin her multi layered prints. A painter blocking in a traditional portrait didn’t appeal to me. A young woman strummed her guitar. I finally settled myself next to a jewelry maker to sketch this group of artists working on three large space themed canvases. The closest canvas depicted a satellite circling Earth. The painter let a little boy put down some bold strokes of blue on the painting. The planets on the central painting began as faintly fogged in orbs on a dark canvas. As I sketched the planets were painted in thick impasto.

Denise Lebenstein a friend from college days was in town and she leaned against the wall behind me. I hadn’t seen her in 20 plus years. I interrupted the sketch to give her a hug. I told he I’d seek her out when I was finished with the sketch. She checked out the museum with her friend Patti while I worked. Joe Rosier took a break from selling drink tickets and he shook my hand. Laughing, he wanted to know why I wasn’t sketching the beautiful model in the middle of the room. A puppeteer from Pinocchio’s Marionette Theater introduced herself. She said she saw me sketching a performance of Aladdin’s Magic Lamp. I don’t remember ever sketching that show. As she spoke, I kept wracking my brain, confused.

As I finished up, Denise stopped back to check on my progress. I put away my sketchbook and ventured out into the rain with her and Patti to get some Vietnamese food at Viet Garden. We had fun recollecting memories about our times in art school in NYC. It’s odd how selective memories can be. She remembered that we once went to a Broadway show on New Year’s eve. Watching the play we could hear the crowds gathering in Times Square. The play over, we ventured out into the massive crowd. We tore up our programs and used them as confetti at midnight when the ball dropped. I had totally forgotten about that night. Neither of us could recall the play.

Storyteller Country Joe Rosier

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Joe Rosier was the first person to pose for the Mennello Museum mural I am working on. I met Joe at the Shakespeare Theater several hours before his tech rehearsal. After sketching him standing in line I then asked him to sit for an informal portrait sketch. I believe I first met him at poetry readings at Infusion Tea. He resembles Henry Wadsworth Longfellow with his grey beard and character filled face. I have seen him at the Orlando International Fringe Festival every year that I attended.

Joe is a lawyer by trade but very much a storyteller who understands the power, cadence and lingering power of the spoken word. I know that around Halloween Joe conducts a night time ghost story tour. He has brought some of these “Scary Stories” to this year’s Fringe for adults and children. He has shows in the Patron’s Room, Kid’s Fringe and at the outdoor stage. His stories speak for themselves.

Patron’s Room
May 25 Wed. 6:40pm
May 27 Fri. 5:30pm
May 28 Sat. 9:00pm

Kids Fringe
May 29 Sun. 11:00am

Outdoor Stage
May 28 Sat. 5:00pm
May 29 Sun. 8:00pm

Orlando Home Grown Show

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As part of the week long Snap Photography celebration, there was to be an exhibit of photography from Orlando locals at the Orlando Museum of Art as part of First Thursdays. Johannah O’Donnel was there and I was told she helped organize the exhibit. On exhibit in the front gallery were paintings which all revolved around an urban theme. I made my way back towards the sound of music. I bumped into Joe Rosier who was promoting his one man storytelling show in the up coming Fringe festival. I am trying to arrange to sketch Joe since he has so much character.

In the central room of the museum with the giant blue blown glass sculpture by Dale Chilhuly a simple two man band was warming up. Adriaan Mol was playing guitar in his laid back fashion. The bands name was, Please Respect our Decadence. There was a nice tall cocktail table right in front of the stage so I started to sketch. I always get nervous sketching in museums now and I kept tracking the museum guards movements as I worked.

Jared Silvia said hello and he let me know where the photography exhibit was. When I finished sketching I went to the back gallery where the photo exhibit was hung. Jared let me know where his wife Silvia’s piece was hung. She was near her photo talking with friends. I jokingly asked her to stop crowding the art so I could get a look. It was a stark almost black and white photo of a woman in a flowing white dress lying in a stream. I couldn’t see the woman’s face. It looked to me like a murder scene. I talked to Jared about it and he said I was wrong. It was a more romantic and symbolic image with personal significance. I mentioned Dustin Hoffman floating in the pool in a scene from “The Graduate.” I hit much closer to the mark with that visual analogy.

Snap was like a week long shot of adrenalin. This dynamic, inspiring event shook me to the core making me realize the importance creative media can have to affect positive change. The city of Orlando really needs events like this to challenge, provoke and inspire creative change.