Valentines Day Sketch Tour.

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On Valentines Day, Kelly Medford, a plein air painter from Rome came to Orlando and co-hosted a Valentines Day Sketch Tour at the Mennello Museum Museum of American Art. The Mennello Museum was having it’s annual Folk Festival. All the artist met by the lake close to the foot bridge.

We gave each artist a Strathmore Sketchbook, a travel sized watercolor palette, a pencil, pen and water brush. Kelly began the morning by introducing the supplies and getting everyone started doing Blind contour drawings. From there we started doing simple thumbnail studies. It was nice to sit back and be a student again.  I did these two sketches using just watercolor washes followed by minimal line. I usually finish the whole drawing in line be for I start adding watercolor, so this was a liberating departure. of course with more time, I could refine and ad detail, but I like the freshness of splashing watercolor first. My challenge now is finding ways to mix larger puddles of color to cover more of the sketch at once. I’m considering just using a bowl as a palette.

We had a good crowd of artists show up for the day. It is wonderful to see everyone unique approaches. The Folk Festive was just setting up as we were doing these sketches. You can see the first tents popping up just on the on the other side of the wrought iron fence. All of these loose instructional sketches were shared with everyone in the workshop online. I will not post them all on this site. There are far to many events and news to report on.

The Couples Cook off at Aggressive Appliances.

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Kristen Manieri the founder and editor of Orlando Date Night Guide was kind enough to invite M to document the championship finals for the second annual Couples Cook off happened on November 14. 2015 at Aggressive Appliances (617 Mercy Dr, Orlando, FL). Each of the four couples had then own state of the art kitchen in which to prepare their dish. I settled in at The Viking kitchen. I presumed the coup would arrive wearing Viking horn helmets, but it turned out this Viking is a brand of kitchen cabinet makers. I actually knew Rachel DesPlains because she had volunteers to pose to be in the Mennello Museum Mural. She and her boyfriend Mark Mastrangelo prepared a Filipino Chicken Adobo with a red cabbage slaw with orange vinaigrette.. Although I didn’t taste it, it looked delicious. Since they were the subject of my sketch, I was of course rooting for them to win. The room became crowded with spectators who s in all the chairs at the kitchen counter. I decided not to sketch the crowd to leave the kitchen and the cooking couple fully exposed.

There were plenty of gourmet bites and spirited sips for spectators while the finalist couples duked it out for the title of Orlando’s Top Culinary Couple! The  Cook-Off,
is a fast-paced, hands-on cooking competition, that brought together some
pretty awesome home cooks throughout the preliminary rounds in October.
After two heated rounds of competition at Aggressive Appliances, four finalists have now advanced to the Cook-Off Finals. People kept offering m food samples but my hands were busy.

Participating local vendors included: Whole Foods Winter Park, The Ancient Olive, Wild Ocean Seafood Market, Orlando Meats, Winter Park Distilling, My Father’s Table Cheesecake, Market to Table Cuisine, Olde Hearth Bread Co., Emma Bean, Quantum Leap Winery and beer from Whisper Creek Farm: The Kitchen.

Competitors were all given all the same main ingredients, and then the spice and secondary ingredient table was unveiled and contestant wrestled to grab what they needed.  Unfortunately Rachel and he boyfriend came in third place. Matthew and Kristin Cyr were the winners. They walked away with some amazing grand prizes, including a two-night
gourmet getaway to JW Marriott, Grande Lakes, a Wolf gourmet blender,
Tassimo coffee system, and Miele canister vacuum or a Kitchen Aid stand
mixer.

Phantasmagoria was at Kids Fringe.

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Phantasmagoria is a steampunk themed acting troupe that shares classic Victorian horror stories every Halloween. At Kids Fringe, Phantasmagoria was set up in the shade of the huge Live Oak tree at the Mennello Museum. They were on hand to teach dance to anyone who cared to learn. Pandora performed on Cello and her mom taught several children how to waltz. John DiDonna founded this macabre acting company and I have been sketching their performances for years.

This was another demonstration sketch to show my Sketch Tour student how to catch actors in the midst of constant motion. There was a new actress among the company this day and she fit in perfectly. I never can get enough sketches of these exotic costumes. There is a whole culture of people that love steampunk and Phantasmagoria now makes appearances at Steampunk gatherings and conventions. Several women were dressed in more colorful Victorian garb, and they were fans of Phantasmagoria.

It was an extremely hot day, so dancing must have been kept to a minimum. I wouldn’t want to be dressed all in black in the intense Florida sun although I’ve been known to do just that. As an artist thought my first thought when sketching outside is, “am I in the shade, and will this shade last for the duration of the sketch”. Anytime I misjudge the suns movement, I end up with a red neck.

A curators preview of Real Life Observations by Dale Kennington at the Mennello Museum of American Art.

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On January 22, I went to The Mennello Museum of American Art which was undergoing preparations for the January 23 opening of Real Lives: Observations and Reflections by Dale Kennington. This is the first exhibit in the museum’s yearlong series devoted to “Storytellers of the South: Voices of Women.”  Curator Dr. Lee A Gray offered insights as guests followed her through the museum. I sketched Executive director Frank Holt who had just announced that he planned to retire at the end of January. Holt was instrumental in widening the museum’s scope from simply folk
art to all American art, and in establishing the Mennello’s affiliation
with the Smithsonian Institution. Virginia Mecklenberg, chief curator
of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, has called Holt a “visual
genius.” As the group of about 20 guests moved gallery to gallery, I stayed sketching the main reception desk. Frank seemed pensive, perhaps reflecting on the influences brought to the museum. He always seemed to understand and respect my sketching obsession. So I’m sorry to see him go. This sketch was done on top of another sketch so that I could give the sketchbook a consistent flow.

Realist painter Dale Kennington is now 80 years old. She does large oil paintings of people engaged in everyday activities. She takes a series of photos of any given location and then pieces together her composition from those many visual elements. For instance a painting of people in a swimming hole featured the same bather in multiple places in the same painting. I do the same thing when I sketch on location. Often I will follow one person, sketching them multiple times to populate a scene. Dales paintings are all inspired by luminous light and often feature reflections. She married Don Kennigton, a successful business man so making a living as an artist was not a concern. She started painting because she wanted portraits of her children. In the mid 80’s she gave up portraiture and switched to becoming a studio painter. In 2009 she was recognized by the Alabama State Council on the Arts with
the Governor’s Arts Award, and the Alabama Bureau of Tourism and Travel
as one of Alabama’s “Master Artists”. Seeing so many large light filled paintings made me want to start working large myself. I’m working on a 30 inch high piece right now but it is a real challenge to sit alone all day working on one painting. I’m used to sketching in the hectic chaos of life and those sketches only take 2 hours. Committing to spend a solid week with one image is a real challenge.

Warming up on Valentines Day at the Mennello Indie-Folkfest.

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Most of Valentines Day I was running around town. In the afternoon I taught a two hour Urban Sketching workshop. From there, I drove downtown to drop off several paintings at City Arts Factory. Then as the golden hour lengthened shadows, I rushed to the Mennello Museum‘s Indie-Folkfest. I bumped into Cole Nesmith and his friends on the walk to the museum. He assured me that there were still plenty of people there. I could hear the music as I walked over a foot bridge toward the museum’s sculpture garden. The lawn was covered with people sitting on blankets and lawn chairs.

JUNOsmile was performing on stage so I sat down and immediately got to work on a sketch. JUNOsmile is a collaboration between husband and wife veteran musicians Joseph and Jesse Martins. As they performed, the sun set over the lake behind them. For a few minutes the setting sun was right behind them causing a blinding light. I believe I saw Jesse Martins perform once before with Bubba Whoop ass Wilson out behind Bubalou’s Bodacious Barbecue. She performed a mean fiddle. Children love to approach the stage. They love music and know how to celebrate it. A little girl tapped me on the leg, I suppose I was “it”. Genevieve Bernard who produced the event let me know that earlier in the day the crowds were insane. The day was an undeniable success. People discovered the museum, some of them for the first time.

Eugene Snowden and friends took over the stage at 6pm. By that time the sun had set and he needed to warm up the crowd. There is an unwritten law in Orlando that if you are a musician then at some point you will perform with Eugene. Right from the start he was pulling friends out of the audience so they could play guitar or sing with him. The kids were dancing up a storm now, doing somersaults and cartwheels. Snowden pumped up the energy to a fevered pitch. With my sketch done, I bundled up my sweatshirt sleeves over my fists to make mittens. I clapped my clenched fists and swayed to the beat. Is it odd that I should feel so comfortable being alone at this concert on Valentines day? As the children danced with wild abandon, I felt at peace. The sketch might be hampered by the cold fingers that executed it, but I was doing what gives me the most pleasure on this day by creating.

In the midst of sketching a young woman asked if I was an Urban Sketcher. She knew of my work and said it was an honor to meet me. I’m always shocked when anyone knows about my sketching obsession. She shook my hand and then left me to continue my work. That simple exchange warmed me on that cold night. The final song for the evening was “Lean on me.” Jesse and Joseph Martins returned to the stage to sing along with Jessica Pawli. You could tell that all these musicians were dear friends as they huddled close to the mics to share their love in song. On that note I decided to head home. Joseph shouted out, “Remember we have far more similarities than differences. If you make one person’s day brighter than you are making the world a better place to live. Spread the love today and everyday.”

Orlando Folk Festival

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On Sunday February 9th, I went to the 12th Annual Orlando Folk Festival at The Mennello Museum of American Art 900 East Princeton Street, Orlando, Fl. The had rained the previous day so everyone was happy for the sunshine. After talking with Tod Caviness and his wife Christin for a moment, I immediately focused on the kids painting a fence Tom Sawyer style. Of course Tom Sawyer only had white paint while these kids had their pick of the rainbow. Some kids would focus on a small area with laser beam attention to fine detail while others used the brush with bold bravado. I believe this fence is re-used every year and the paint is growing as thick as the continental crust. A volunteer would fill plastic cups with paint and put an artist’s smock on each child. Don’t mock the smock. Parents stood guard to be sure that the paint went on the wall rather than on other children.

The two stages for folk singers were behind me, so I got to relax to their gentle harmonies. People set up blankets and lawn chairs in the shade to listen. A family on a blanket near me had a bunch of kids who were getting antsy. I boy threw a stick that hit me in the back. The mom said, “Say your sorry Bobby.” He remained silent. “He really is sorry” she said. The kids started playing tag and I began to feel I was in the middle of a war zone. One little girl tripped over my art bag. They really weren’t looking where they were going. With the sketch done, I retreated to a quieter neutral zone.

I spotted Emily Empel and her friends and I sat to chat with them for the last set. Emily had been a presenter at Pecha Kucha on the same evening I had presented. It was interesting to hear her take about how the evening went. From my perspective Emily’s presentation had been flawless. But she confided that she had been very nervous that night. I think I had been to committed to what I had written and Emily felt the same. Other presenters memorized their talks while others just knew key points that they wanted to cover. Becky Lane, a speech coach at Full Sail had encouraged me to just have key points but I was already too committed to the exact words I had written. Regardless, looking back at the video, the presentation went pretty well. I’m glad I stepped outside my comfort zone. I need to do that more often.

When the band finished playing I headed home. l bumped into Carl Knickerbocker who had his “Art Car” at the festival. He used large magnetic sheets to cover a car with his bold Suburban folk images. He has a short film in this year’s Florida Film Festival titled “The Last Orange Grove in Middle Florida.” I can’t wait to see it.

Southwestern Allure: The Art of the Sante Fe Art Colony

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The Mennello Museum of American Art (900 East Princeton Street, Orlando, Fl.) kicked off it’s 15th anniversary season with the opening celebration of the first exhibit in their series devoted to “The Art of the American West.” Southwestern Allure: The Art of the Santa Fe Art Colony considers the development of Santa Fe as an art colony through the artists who visited there and helped establish the city as an artistic center, tracing the colony’s formative years from approximately 1915 up to 1940.

When artists from eastern locales began to settle in the Santa Fe area, they discovered a rich culture and a wealth of picturesque imagery. Southwestern Allure focuses exclusively on the art and artists of the Santa Fe colony, presenting the best of the artists’ work and showing the distinct artistic climate of this unique locale and the qualities that distinguish it apart from the rest of the state. The city has a majestic landscape and multicultural environment, which proved a matchless blend of inspiration.

The exhibition presents a thorough picture of which artists went to Santa Fe, what they found compelling about the environment, the work they produced, and the prevailing artistic trends, from Realism to Modernism, which they applied to Southwestern subject matter.

Through the works included in the exhibition, a range of styles are presented, encompassing the Santa Fe Old Guard, such as Carlos Vierra, Gerald Cassidy, and Warren Rollins, the Realism of Robert Henri, Edward Hopper, and John Sloan to highlight only a few of the prominent artists.

I was so pleased to see so many of the Ash Can artists I admire on display. Southwestern Allure features almost 50 outstanding artworks carefully selected from leading public and private collections. The exhibition and accompanying catalogue is organized by the Boca Museum of Art in conjunction with independent curator Dr. Valerie Ann Leeds, a specialist in American art of this period.

In the corner of the back gallery, a kiva (bee hive) fireplace was set up. Close to a dozen candles flickered while images of Madonna and Christ gave it the feeling of an alter. Genevieve Bernard pointed out to me that the candles were actually flickering diodes. From where I sat they looked completely real. A Robert Henri portrait of a beautifully chiseled Indian woman looked on with her eternal gaze. Several chiefs with their prominent head dresses flanked the other side. A gallery goer paused to finger his phone and he forgot about the art. Mark your calendar! This show is on exhibit through April 6th. Don’t miss it. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, and $1 for students.

Weekend Top 6 Picks

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Saturday March 8, 2014

2pm to 4pm $5, Free to Mennello Museum members. Gallery Walk and Talk with Valerie Ann Leeds, curator of “Southwestern Allure: The Art of the Santa Fe Art Colony”. The Mennello Museum of American Art 900 East Princeton Street, Orlando, Fl. Join us for a walk and talk through the exhibit with Dr. Valerie Ann Leeds, a New York City-based independent curator, writer, editor and art historian with a specialization in Robert Henri and early 20th-century American art.

3pm to 8pm Free. Frankie’s BIG FUN Market. 659 Bryn Mawr, (College park), Orlando , Fl. Every second Saturday. The grand opening of the new Apartment E location! In the coming months we will be growing into an all out sidewalk party, and the event will in time include all businesses that are located up and down beautiful Edgewater drive. Participating businesses are encouraged to co partner with creatives, host the entertainment in their location, or present creative entertainment in any way that “fits” with their business. This is the main goal, to “match creatives with the businesses that are already there, but that it is not the only aspect of this MARKET. There is no charge for creatives (artists,writers, musicians, arts groups, etc) to participate, no commission or entry fees will be required to be paid to APARTMENT E or any other director or sponsors.

8pm to Midnight 21+ Pre Sale: $30/person At the door: $40/peron The Great Orlando Mixer. Orlando’s largest cocktail party will be in Orlando’s most elaborately decorated vintage venue, complete with 1920s costumes, hors d’oeuvres, live entertainment and craft cocktails from the city’s top bars and bartenders.Throw on your best Prohibition-era garb and come out to sample the tastiest craft cocktails! A LIMITED number of tickets are available for this exclusive event. It WILL sell out!

Visit www.TheGreatOrlandoMixer.com to purchase tickets today!



Sunday March 9, 2014

10am to 6pm Free to attend. Fashion Square Art Fair. Orlando Fashion Square 3201 E. Colonial Drive, Orlando, Fl. on the 2nd Sunday of every month Gallery Fresh Art Markets and Orlando Fashion Square Mall proudly present our “Fashion Square Art Fair.” This is an indoor event showcasing 30 to 60 artists and fine crafts persons located throughout Fashion Square Mall. Space for artists is limited, First Come First Served. ARTIST FAQ’s.

3pm to 5pm 5 cans of food. Spring into Music with the FSYO Annual Children Helping Children Concert. College Park Baptist Church, located at 1914 Edgewater Drive, Orlando, FL . The Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra, in partnership with The Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, presents their annual Children Helping Children Concert on Sunday, March 9, 2014. FSYO’s pre-professional Symphonic Orchestra, with special soloists and Concerto Competition Finalists: Rebecca Edge and John Horzen, will perform in hopes of introducing young concertgoers to classical music while increasing awareness, raising funds and collecting donations for Second Harvest Food Bank. An ongoing partnership, all proceeds of this event will go to The Second Harvest Food Bank as they fight to end hunger and feed hope.

4pm to 6pm Free. Art and History Museum’s Art Car Party. 231 W. Packwood Ave. Maitland FL.

It’s time to see what the Orlando local muralist, Andrew Spear, has come up with! Join us as we unveil the finished exterior of the A&H Art Car. Did you collaborate the the inside? Come revisit your contribution! What else will be going on at this party?

Music by DJ Nigel , food from Creations Catering, drinks and a talk on creativity by Andrew Spear.

Mennello Gala

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The annual Mennello Museum Gala on February 22nd was referred to as, “An Evening With Fabulous Friends.” In exchange for illustrations supplied for the Museum’s 25th Anniversary, Terry negotiated tickets to the Gala held at the brand new Alfond Inn, (300 E New England Ave. at Rollins College, Winter Park FL.) Each year, The Friends of The Mennello Museum of American Art host an elegant gala to raise funds for the museum’s collections, exhibitions, and programs. This, the Eleventh Annual Gala celebrated The Mennello Museum of American Art, located in Orlando Loch Haven Park, which is owned and operated by the City of Orlando. The Gala also celebrates the passion of its founders, Michael A. and Marilyn L. Mennello. Marilyn passed away years ago and a statue of her is in the museum.

I was working from 9am to 5pm at Full Sail on the Saturday of the gala. Terry agreed to bring my suit and tie to the inn. I met her up front as her Porsche was being valet parked. I felt a little awkward being in jeans surrounded by tuxedos and women in ball gowns. Terry was in a gold sequin dress and blended right in. I rushed off to find a men’s room to change in. There was no large bathroom stall so it was like getting dressed in a very tight closet.

The silent auction items were in a small rotunda with a green house glass domed ceiling. Everyone crowded into this tight space with a craps table taking up a huge chunk of real estate in the center of the room. I spent most of my time trying to keep people from tripping on my art supply bag. Terry flourishes in this type of crowd and she squeezed her way around the room handing out fliers for my retrospective show next month. For a brief moment we stepped outside where it was cool and airy but we immediately went back into the chaotic crowd. I bumped into Michael Mennello and shook his hand. I’m not sure if he remembered me from the day I sketched him in his home.

When they opened the dining room, Terry and I found our way to table 26 which was the Enzian Theater table. Sigrid Tiedtke was warm and inviting, giving us both a hug. I was very flattered that she knew of my work. She looked much like her daughter Elizabeth who I often see at the Enzian. Philip Tiedtke sat next to Terry. The Tiedtke family established the Enzian Theater back in 1985 and it is Orlando’s top art house movie theater. The annual Florida Film Festival is now one of the top ranked film festivals in the country. Another couple at the table turned out to be musicians and I hope to sketch them performing some time soon. Frank Holt, the Executive Director of the Mennello Museum also ended up sitting at our table. Although table 26 was far from the podium, we were surrounded by talented heavy hitters in the arts community.

My tie wanted to keep flopping down onto the wet sketch. I dropped my pencil several times. The room was constantly buzzing with activity as the staff rushed to serve food. I picked at my plate of food as I worked, but I spent more time sketching than eating. The live auction had a fast talking auctioneer. The largest item was a trip to Colorado and most of the other items were group restaurant outings. Before I knew it, the Gala was over. Such events seem so rushed when you try to capture them with a sketch.