Andrew Spear Paints a New Mural on Colonial Drive and Thornton Avenue

Posted on by Thor

In June I noticed a bright splash of color on Colonial Drive as I was driving to work. Andrew Spear was painting a mural on the side of Little Saigon. I had to stop to get a sketch. I have always wondered why no artist in Rome ever sketched Michelangelo as he painted the Sistine Chapel. They didn’t have to be the best artist in the world, but that would be good sketch documenting an important moment.

For many years this wall on Colonial was covered with a beautiful aquatic painting, done by Jeanette Sheurr. That mural had recently been renovated but the the owners of Ace Rubber Stamp Company sold the building to Little Saigon. Andrew Sear was commissioned to repaint the wall and Red Bull was bought in as a sponsor. There was a competition in which people submitted photos for consideration and the winners were incorporated into the mural. The Red Bull logo got prominent placement on the mural and Nike swooshes can be seen on everyone’s sneakers. At what point does art cross over to become advertising?

I love Andrew’s work and it was inspiring to see him at work. The final design of the mural was still in flux on the day I stopped by for a visit. Andrew had wanted to paint a huge dragon to go with the oriental theme but the photo reference and sponsors needs took priority. While Andrew worked on the detailed crosshatching of the figurative elements, the larger swirls and patterns were painted by Gary Johnston using a big house brush and a roller. Andrew stood back in the street to consider where to cut off the ground plane. I was surprised that he asked me for advise and he decided to cut off the red and black ground plane before the doorway.

Andrew talked about an early job he took in Boston as  caricature artist. He was taught how to create in the very stylized style that is typical of street caricatures. His first costumer was a rather overweight man. Now how could be make this guy look thin? He decided to go the other way and he made him supper chunky with a giant chicken leg in his hand. The client was appalled. “Really dude, this is how you see me? The guy went to Andrew’s boss and he was fired that day. I like that Andrew didn’t sacrifice his vision that day. He told me that there is a website set up by a vandal that is called “Make Andrew Spear Cry”. This guy who works in a fast food joint decided that he would vandalize Andrews work and then post photos of the destruction online. The police found this guy, but he is still at large. It takes a herculean amount of patience for Andrew to not beat the guy to a pulp.

It started to rain. I move under a canopy and Andrew moved his paints and supplies under cover as well. I looked up the weather radar on my phone and saw that the cloud was fairly small, so he storm might pass quickly. The sketch Andrew was using as reference was sealed in acetate. He had learned from past experience that it rains rather often in Central Florida. Andrews work is popping up all over the Mills/50 District and this bright mural will be hard to miss if you are driving East down Colonial. The art we create often is erased by changing tides.

Jeanette Scheurr

Read the full article at: http://www.cflas.org/remembering-one-of-orlandos-most-iconic-aquatic-murals/ | Central Florida Aquarium SocietyJenette

Jeanette Scheurr

Read the full article at: http://www.cflas.org/remembering-one-of-orlandos-most-iconic-aquatic-murals/ | Central Florida Aquarium Society

Jeanette Scheurr

Read the full article at: http://www.cflas.org/remembering-one-of-orlandos-most-iconic-aquatic-murals/ | Central Florida Aquarium Society

Jeanette Scheurr

Read the full article at: http://www.cflas.org/remembering-one-of-orlandos-most-iconic-aquatic-murals/ | Central Florida Aquarium Society

The Censor

Posted on by Thor

Hannah Miller invited a small group of her friends to a birthday dinner at Little Saigon. The dinner conversations were lively and animated. Then the conversation turned to an unexpected topic, namely art censorship in Orlando. Jessica Earley had a painting of hers on exhibit at Pom Poms Tea house as part of a group show called “The Happy Glitter Show.” It is believed that a costumer at the tea house took it upon themselves to censor Jessica’s painting by placing a round bright yellow sticker on the piece. The painting depicts a group of women and written across the chest of one was, “Do the dishes. Feed the cat. Don’t be a C*nt.” Ironically Jessica had already censored herself by placing an * in place of the vowel. The management of Pom Pom’s was very apologetic and they removed the sticker once it was discovered.

As an artist I find the willingness of people in our community to deface and censor artwork very disturbing. Jessica was soft spoken and sincere as she expressed her concerns, “Someone in the community put the sticker on my painting. And business owners are afraid of what the people in our community might think of provocative or questionable art, so they ask that you don’t hang it in their business. We as a community are censoring ourselves and keeping our minds closed.” Her work deals with and respects woman’s issues. “It really is interesting to me, because there are a lot of artists who will portray women in very objectified ways through their art (pin up style art, etc..), and people most often will find this to be OK, because it has sort of seeped into being the norm. But if I make a painting dealing with some real things that women go through, for example, menstruation, then my painting won’t get hung.”

The options for exhibiting artwork in this town are limited to say the least. Artists must face the risk of exhibiting in bustling, sometimes smoke filled restaurants and bars just to get their work seen. The chances of work being damaged escalates in these crowded insecure settings. Now it seems people feel the need to censor and deface art that they do not understand or appreciate. “This blows my mind because I find my work to be quite innocent and respectful to the female. It’s very frustrating, because the work I do is very personal to me, but I’m not trying to be purposefully shocking in any sort of way. I’ve had a few different instances where I’ve felt cheated or censored.” Jessica said.