Boris and Marla E Talk Art Shit

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Boris Douglas Garbe and Marla E Artist held an informal talk at The Nook on Robinson, (2432 E Robinson St, Orlando, FL 32803). Boris’s dog Lump slept on the chair behind the hosts. Boris runs the Art Gallery at Mills Park (1650 Mills Ave N, Orlando, FL 32803). He used to gather artists to paint live at the Timucua White House as bands played as well, but he stepped down from that position. Marla E is a staple of the Orlando arts scene creating large textural paintings. She explained that she used to be a faux finish and mural artist and she discovered that she loved painting on very textured surfaces.

Boris is learning as he goes running the gallery. He feels that galleries cater to the same audience over and over. He realized that young people don’t go to galleries and he is trying to reverse that trend. Of course he discovered that when he does get a younger crowd, they don’t spend money. He is passionate about artists that use their art as a platform for change. He also has decided he will exhibit men and women equally. He has gotten some flack for this from women artists who want to just be considered artists, not as a underprivileged demographic that needs charity.

Boris and Marla have teamed up to produce a series of radio broadcasts about the Arts scene in Orlando. They have also just produced their first podcast called “Kiss my Art” which is frankly a fantastic title. Orlando has grown up enough to develop a bit of an edge.

What was most heart warming about their talk was when they talked about their lives. Marla was married to the love of her life, but he died young, leaving her heart broken. She turned to her art and it lifted her from the brink. She started inviting people to visit her studio and over time her art blossomed. Boris’s mom was in the audience which added a personal touch to his life revelations.

There were several trivia questions where people in the bar could win free art prints. Anyone who had posed nude for an artist was invited to collect the prize. The room was silent. I have painted myself nude but I thought that would be bending the rules. Finally a woman went up and described posing nude on a beautiful beach for a friends photo.

Overall this was a fun chance to learn a little more about what makes the Orlando Art scene tick. The Nook has some lovely small painting hanging on the walls right now. None of the paintings are framed square. The images fit in trapezoids and diamond shapes.

Composers Salon Concert – Celebrating Central Florida Composers.

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The Central Florida Composer’s Salon Concert was held at the Timucua White House (2000 S Summerlin Ave Orlando, FL 32806.) The annual composer’s salon concert celebrated new music written by local composers in the Central Florida area.

There was food and wine before and after the concert in the entry foyer. I decided to sketch from the upper balcony. An entire orchestra filled the stage to start and I was quickly blocking in the performers. However when they were finished performing their one piece, they all exited the stage. My digital eraser got a good work out.

Marla E. Artist had a Plexiglass canvas set up so that the audience could watch as she worked on the transparent surface lit up by white Christmas lights. She painted a saxophone to the beat of the music. It is always a pleasure to watch other artists at work.

The Central Florida Composers Forum is an organization of composers
dedicated to engaging the creative and larger community of Central
Florida through the promotion of original and innovative music
programming.They strive to be part of a larger cultural conversation where the musical,
visual and other performing arts connect with audiences, foster vital
collaborations, and produce multidisciplinary performances. They are cultivating
an audience for new music through education, workshops and outreach
programs that create memorable artistic experiences for youth and
community members are also central to their mission.

Nude Nite with a live painting by Marla E. Artist.

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On Valentines Eve I went to Nude Nite to get a second sketch. I parked in the same place about a quarter mile up the road and walked to the warehouse venue. On this hike however I tried to jump over a roadside drainage ditch and missed. My right hiking boot sank into the muddy slop up past my ankle before I pulled it out with a slurp. I arrived at Nude Nite with one boot soaking wet and covered in mud. Nude Nite is a pretty swanky affair with women in high heals with sleek low cut dresses. My boot debacle made me feel like Frankenstein. I reassured myself that no one checks out a guys shoes. I tend to cross my legs when seated and drawing and that left the boot dangling out in front of me.

Enough about the slop. I decided to sketch Marla E. Artist who was doing a larger than life painting of a stunning nude model. Marla prepares her canvases with a thick gesso that makes the surface smooth as plaster. She also incorporates even thicker circular patterns that create a surface you are tempted to want to touch.  Marla actually used champagne to thin out her paints. The model had on a long pearl necklace that accentuated the curve of her back. Marla’s painting from the evening before was stored off to the left. When the model took a break, I sketched her one more time as she checked her phone for messages.

Orit Reuben had a pastel nude on display and it sold on the first night. I really should consider hanging work in next year’s show. Then again, the only time I sketch nudes is at Nude Nite. I checked out the couple that were allowing people to snip away one inch pieces of fabric from their outfits. I considered doing a second sketch. The scene was chaos and the crowd so thick that I decided to pass on the sketch opportunity one more time. I needed to get home and slip out of my sopping wet boot.

Nude Nite had a stellar opening night.

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Nude Nite is a dazzling art and entertainment event celebrating the beauty of the nude. It brings together hundreds of artists for three evenings of visual art, performance and a cast of characters both in costume and out. Open to the public, tickets can be purchased at the door. This year the event took over an empty warehouse at 5051 LB McLeod Rd. Orlando FL. Tree trunks outside the venue gave a visual clue that you had arrived along with the line of cars waiting to park. Valet parking is $10 so I drove down the road a distance to find self parking.

Once inside, I quickly walked around searching for a subject to sketch. Since most performers were nude or partly nude, the choices were overwhelming. On a stage with butterfly wings as a backdrop, a figure squirmed inside a dark fabric cocoon. Later in the evening she was free of the cocoon and gracefully flapping her wings. There was a staging area for Marla E. Artist who began a life sized nude painting of a nude female model on one of her thick impasto canvases.

In the furthest reaches of the warehouse, I found these two men hard at work. A large ball of electric wiring sat between them. They were pealing away the plastic casings from wires to expose the inner copper wire. The copper wire was then cut into one foot lengths and stacked in a neat pile. A video camera taped the whole process and a black and white projection filled the back wall. As I sketched, I realized that the projection showed a different time. It didn’t sync with the live action performance. What does it all mean? Who knows. Art I guess. The crowds weren’t too dense on opening night, but I’m always amazed at how many people are shooting photos. You can tell the amateurs with their red laser beams and flashes. They should learn to sketch, it is far less disruptive.

After my sketch was done, I packed up to get right back home. As I left, there was a huge crowd with their cell phones raised to take photos of some unfolding action. Linda Saracino who was with her friend Lillian Verkins explained that there was a clothed couple standing on display in front of the mob. People standing in line were given a chance to take a pair of scissors and cut away a one inch square of fabric. As each square was removed, the couple was slowly unclothed. I would think two strategic snips could make the outfits quickly fall to the floor, but I suppose the cuts were supervised in a grid pattern. I never did see over the crowd to find out. Before I left, I was once again tempted by a sketch opportunity when I saw a nude woman painted silver and elevated on stilts which were hidden under a graceful silver skirt. She was Voguing for photographers however which made her an unpredictable twisting turning subject to sketch. Oh well perhaps I’ll catch her tomorrow night. Parking near a large event like this I always fear that my car might get towed for profit. Thankfully it was where I left it.

Art Critique

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Parker Sketch has organized a monthly critique group. I haven’t really gotten feedback on my work since I was in college. That is longer than I care to admit. The last session was held at the Barefoot Spa. I decided to bring a five foot panel that I had just started. All together 19 artists were slated to show their work. Seated in front of me was a woman named Loraine Del Wood. Her name was just Loraine Wood but someone told her, “Your name is so boring.” From then on she included her middle name for an exotic touch. When she discovered that I worked for Disney Feature Animation in the past, she told me about her animation background. She had worked as an inker and painter at Columbia screen Gems in the early years. Hand drawn animation was transferred to a clear acetate cell and then the character was painted on the back of the cell. She had worked on many animated characters. The one that stuck in my mind was Tubby the Tuba.

She loved animation and talked to different animators to learn their craft. She was told “Women don’t do animation.” Her husband worked on live action films so she left animation and assisted him on such films as Some Life it Hot, The Pink Panther and West Side Story. Her art fell to the wayside and she took a 40 year break from 1964 to 2004. She showed a series of paintings she did of women wearing black wide brimmed hats.

Painter Richard Colvin showed 2 paintings. One was of John Ashcroft standing in front of a statue which was partly draped. Ashcroft later insisted the statue be properly draped. He stopped doing this sort of political art since he felt he was preaching to the choir. In one year he experienced the grief of 11 deaths of family and friends. He started doing more traditional landscapes. He experienced a mad rush of creativity, doing 30 paintings in two months.

Marla E. Artist showed a large plaster base relief which was going to be used to cover a flat screen TV. The image was divided in two so it could be separated to display the TV. She wanted to sign up on Facebook as Marla E but it didn’t allow initials for a last name. Her occupation as artist was tagged on to her name. Facebook is the new Ellis Island, forcing name changes as people immigrate to the digital realm.