Artists@Work

Posted on by Thor

First Thursdays, Third Thursdays, it seems like Thursdays are the only day that art happens in Orlando. Now on every Wednesday
artists gather in SODO to create art outside OLV Cafe (25 W. Crystal Lake St. Suite 175) which is located in that new Super Target street mall in SODO. The address is misleading. I walked down Crystal Lake watching the numbers get smaller. I found out that the restaurant is located half way around the block inside the shopping area.

When I arrived, Parker Sketch was setting up his work area. He was setting up right outside the entrance and I immediately knew that I had to sketch him at work. It was getting near sunset with the sun just an inch above the Super Target. I wouldn’t be adding any color until it got dark. The square canvas Parker was working on once depicted a blue meanie. The canvas changed quickly as he applied paint straight out of the tube or jar. A pink mass began to take the form of a splash. When that paint dried, blue was quickly layered on top. Zinc white was layered over the background and later a light ocher was slapped over that. It was a delight to see colors and forms change so quickly. He is working on a series of paintings that depict splashes which ties into the splashy spattered look of his playful work. He pointed out that he couldn’t sling paint quite the way he could in his studio because no matter how big a drop cloth he used, the paint would always find a way to get on the pavement or brick work.

Parker organizes a monthly Artist critique session and he is pivotal in getting people together to make and talk about art. He said that he promotes other artists because it helps elevate the Orlando art scene. If there is a vibrant art scene then that helps him. His reasoning is identical to the reasons I often give for why I report on the arts scene daily. It was Parkers Facebook announcements that had me out sketching at OLV and considering what a great time I had, I’m bound to want to go back. What artist wouldn’t?

Parker let me know that artists can get a cup of wine for free when they worked outside the restaurant. Now that is a true motivational perk! I ordered a tall glass of Pino Noir. It was sweet and tasty and helped keep the lines flowing. In all about eight artists set up and worked the evening I stopped by. A mom was out walking her toy dog with a girl friend and her two children. After they admired my sketch “It’s righteous”, they started talking about how they would have to come back. They liked the bohemian vibe of being around artists. The mom was being flirted with most of the evening. Her ten year old daughter took an interest in what I was doing and she wanted to play, so I gave her a sheet of paper and let her borrow a brush. She eventually filled the sheet with vibrant colors which is essentially what I was doing. Another artist hard at work.

Kelly Stevens,who organized Nude Nite each year, was there having dinner. She stopped over and thanked me for putting Nude Nite in my 2012 Event Calendar. We discussed the months of work that goes into the show and perhaps I will get to document the behind the scenes process more this year. inside at the bar, Todd Morgan and his wife, Laura were having a drink. Todd founded “Harmonious Universe” which does murals with the help of anyone willing to pick up a brush and help. I sketched the progress of a mural done in the beer garden behind the Milk Bar down in the milk district. I found out the restaurant was closed and that entire wall was white washed.

D.J. Mo’Negro was mixing music outside right next to the entrance. I was tapping my foot to the beat. Parker pointed out that one beat reminded him of “Time keeps Slipping Away.” Once I heard it, I couldn’t help but sing the lyrics out lout. Parker and I were both singing as we painted. Late in the evening the DJ started mixing frenetically. Parker shouted out, “Stop punching buttons!” The toy dog started barking at the D.J. He shouted back, “What?” He stopped the music and the barking stopped. Once he flipped the music back on, the dog started barking again. I shouted out, “Everyone’s a critic!” Shortly thereafter the D.J. started packing up.

Harmonious Universe

Posted on by Thor

In the beer garden behind the Social Chameleon, the DJ Mo’Negro, had a portable mixing board perched open before him. His hand rested on the earphones as he mixed the music.A young woman painted several small automobiles and then spelled out, “Bank” in bright red paint. A dollar sign was added by another gentleman later in the evening. My favorite part of the mural is a gnarly black and white stripped tree which looks like it could grow and take over the wall. A young woman with curly blond hair knelled before it and I thought she might be the creator returning to let the tree stretch it’s limbs and grow. Unfortunately she just added a small detail next to the roots.

Todd Morgan got up on a short ladder to work up high. His wife Laura was going to paint, but when she was coached, she decided to sit it out. The creative impulse is so easy to break. Markus Adkins made bold large changes to the mural. He added a huge bold area of red above the large face of a woman. He liked adding paint with a squirt bottle letting it drip down. In spots the mortar of the block wall was accentuated with dark paint. The wall was compartmentalized yet in spots it began to pull together as a whole. A few more drinks and many more brush strokes and who knows where it will go. Work will continue on the mural on the evening of December 17th. Get out there and make your mark, everyone is welcome. “Be it, share it.”

Milk Bar Beer Garden Mural

Posted on by Thor

It had been a while since I went to the Social Chameleon. The inside of the place has been changed drastically with a large bar added. It is now an extension of the Milk Bar. I ordered a beer to sip while I worked.The front room was expanded into what used to be the kitchen. Harmonious Universe owners, Todd Morgan and Rodney McPherson, were out back getting paint ready and setting up. This wasn’t the first time the mural had been worked on, it was already covered with images. Laura and Todd Morgan were just recently married and I let her know that Terry and I just celebrated our 20th anniversary. She asked advice on how to make it last, and the only thing that popped into my head was “compromise.” I’m a man of few words when I’m sketching.

Artist Frankie Messina shook my hand and I later saw Pam Treadwell. I didn’t notice them working on the mural. High on the mural were some roses which I believe had been painted by Libby Rosenthal.

Artists slowly trickled in during the night. A photographer had his digital camera set up to take a shot every five seconds to create a time lapse view of the murals progress. A couple sat at the table I was seated at. Trevor and Nikki Divine told me that on New Year’s eve they plan to have a painting party with 60 artists in attendance. I definitely need to sketch that. They both recently had given up full time corporate jobs to peruse their art. At one artist’s gathering, Trevor was told he was more expressive and painted better when he used his fingers. Now he is strictly a finger painter. It turns out I had sketched Trevor and Nikki once before at the Cameo. I need to find that sketch and post it.

When a spot opened up on the wall, Trevor and Nikki painted side by side. Trevor painted a Buddha-like face and Nikki a delicate spiraling symbol. With so many artists looking to add their mark, there is the possibility that their contribution might get covered up as the mural evolves. A young woman arrived with a tall ladder. She braced it against the wall and moved some pebbles to give it a sure footing. With a bold magic marker she drew a robotic looking face and torso of a beautiful woman with her inner tubes and pistons exposed. Her boyfriend held the ladder like a gentleman. She worked with quick deliberateness. Then just as quickly as she had appeared, she was gone.

Later as I was packing up to go home, Rodney looked at the sketch and said, “I’m glad you caught her. She came out of nowhere, like Bat Girl!” We laughed. “She had some mad skills” he added.

Post script:

The artist scaling the ladder was Morgan Wilson. I had seen her work one other time when Sam Flax was having artists paint murals on the side of the new store. The mural depicted here was later white washed when new owners bought the building.