RAW: RADIATE

Posted on by Thor

Ashlie Rolfe, the Orlando Showcase Director of RAW suggested that I sketch the premiere showcase event of RAW called Radiate at the Abbey. RAW is an International indie arts organization created by artists, for artists. It features local emerging artists in fashion, music, art, film, performing art, hair, makeup, DJs and photography. When I arrived the place was packed with a line down the block to get in. The first artist I noticed was Parker Sketch and next to him was Shannon Holt of Bombshell body Art.
I know Shannon from critique sessions where she showed oil painting which had evolved over many layered iterations. I didn’t realize she did body art, but now that I think back, I might have seen her working at an event a year ago. Shannon is applying for a grant for her body art. Vote to help her out. Her model was already covered with an intricate pattern of lime green and orange. A scarab beetle was firmly painted on her chest. The Batman logo was painted by Parker.

Libby Rosenthal, who worked at the Mennello Museum on weekends, and some of her friends were there and we chatted for a bit, but I couldn’t hear much over the music. I quickly made my rounds looking at all the art and then I found a table that I could stand at up close to the stage. One artist amused me because he was dressed to the nines and worked so hard to look like an edgy artist. I’m not sure the work justified the outfit. Thinking back, I really should have sketched him, but he was busy promoting his image. The band playing was called Stockholm and they had plenty of energy. The guitarist was spinning and gesturing in all directions. It started raining outside so I decided I had to do a second sketch. A videographer was busy shooting footage. When my second sketch was done, so was the rain so I headed home.

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.

Drum Circle

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I put in a full day painting the Mennello Museum mural. Angela Abrusci helped with painting most of the day. I’m learning as I go and it actually helps to relate my thought process to the people who assist me. We also had two middle school aged assistants. Libby Rosenthal put out ice cold water and granola bars for everyone who helped paint. About mid-afternoon I found myself alone with the wall again. As it got dark, I packed all my art supplies into my truck.

Although I was exhausted from painting all day, I decided to go to Orlando Brewing (1301 Atlanta Avenue) to sketch a drum circle. I believe this is a monthly event which coincides with the phases of the moon. I had never been to this drum circle. When I arrived a bit early, there were just a few people seated in the parking lot setting up their drums. I realized I hadn’t eaten anything all day. I ordered a grilled cheese sandwich from a food truck parked in front of the brewery, then I went inside to order a beer. I always feel invisible standing at a bar waiting to order. The bar maid was having a long discussion with a couple at the far end of the bar. I sat down and took a bite of the grilled cheese. Oh, it was so good. Let her take her time. I ordered a Pale Ale that was brewed there. Outside I found a spot to sit near a spotlight on the side of the building. I used a wooden pallet as a table. A grilled cheese washed down with a delicious Pale Ale is heaven.

The parking lot was surrounded by beer kegs on palettes stacked three stories high. Wood was piled in a fire pit and ignited. People kept arriving with drums. A woman named Sybille introduced herself. This was her first time to the drum circle. Moments later I called her Libby. She laughed saying, “You must be dyslexic”. “Libby is Sybille backwards” she said. I’m terrible with names. Moments later a young man walked by with a drum. He said, “Hi Sybille.” She said, “Hi”. She turned to me and confessed, “I can’t remember his name, It’s something simple like Mike.” She went over to hug him. After speaking with him for a while, she walked past me and said, “He’s Jim.” I laughed saying, “You were close!” “No I wasn’t” she replied. I laughed.

The drumming started sporadically at first with Appalachian styled call and responses of rhythmic beats. As it grew darker the air filled with improvised resonant rhythms. A train roared close, its horn punctuating the ongoing orchestration. It was hard to tell where the train stopped and the music began. A man stood by the fire, his arms raised in supplication as he arched his back and gazed up at the sparks rising towards the stars. There was a wild crescendo. Belly dancers began to dance around the fire their belies glistening. Sybille was dancing with them. A male dancer leaped over the flames. Lauren E. Lee swept out with a hula hoop spinning from her hips up to her neck and back down. She spun and rotated her hips in perfect unison to the beat. One of the belly dancers threw her flip flops off so she could feel the ground beneath her feet.

A young man sat in a trance with his eyes closed for well over an hour. He swayed ever so slightly to the beat. A friend of his crouched down beside him. The friend just stared at him probably wondering when he would be noticed. After half an hour of staring, he touched his friends sleeve and was acknowledged. With the sketch finished, I relaxed and felt heavy. There was no way I was about to dance. I realized I had left my pet cockatoo alone all day alone. On the drive home I left the radio off. The ebb and flow of the drum circle was still echoing in my head. My clothes smelled of fire and sweat. When I got home, I was to tired to sleep.

Painting the Set

Posted on by Thor

I stopped into the Orlando Shakespeare Theater’s scenic shop to see the progress on the set for “The Importance of Being Earnest.” Things move fast in the scenic shop the entire set facade was build and ready to be painted in three pieces. Jeff Ferree and Adam were painting when I arrived. Robbin Watts was in the theater itself painting the floors. She created an impressive speckled marble effect with the paint. Another woman slapped the floor with a long rag. This was a painting technique that was new to me.

I got to see the completed set a few nights later at the Shakespeare Fundraising Gala. The impressive Victorian architecture helped set the mood for the scene that was previewed. Gwendolyn and Cecily met in an outdoor garden. They were instant, affable, eternal friends. As Gwendolyn said, “Something tells me that we are going to be great friends. I like you already more than I can say. My first impressions of people are never wrong.” Cecily responded, “How nice of you to like me so much after we have known each other such a comparatively short time.” I see this sort of flippant instant friendships all the time in this age of social networks. What makes the scene so endearing and funny is how these two women politely turn against each other when they discover they might be engaged to the same man. Gwendolyn had a turn of heart, “From the moment I saw you I distrusted you. I felt that you were false and deceitful. I am never deceived in such matters. My first impressions of people are invariably right.” I rely on my first impressions, usually gained over the course of a sketch to guide me on my daily travels.

I had painted the Mennello Museum mural all day. Libby Rosenthal let me know there was a shower in the museums basement so I spruced up only moments before the gala and then drove right across the street. The shower was divine after working in the hot parking lot all day. Then, I couldn’t turn off the hot water in the shower. The knob was stuck. I dressed quickly and ran to my truck for a screwdriver. My glasses fogged up as I struggled with the knob and my dress shirt got soaked. Thankfully, I finally managed to fix the knob. Even taking a simple refreshing shower is a drama in my struggle of a life.

At the Gala, I got to rub shoulders with Orlando’s rarefied socialites. Terry declared the evening an official date night, and I wasn’t on assignment, so for the sake of marital bliss, I kept my sketchbook tucked away. My fingers itched but I resisted temptation. My bag of art supplies rested heavily on my shoulder just in case. Though physically exhausted, I followed as Terry flitted about the room, a social butterfly. Art isn’t easy.

The Importance of Being Earnest runs through October 9th.