Printmaking Workshops for Adults

Posted on by Thor

Work with “Artist in Action” Cara Pentecost, UCF Print Collective, in the Mennello Museum’s Printmaking Studio. A group of industrious UCF students helped Cara with the workshop. Inspiration for the workshop came from the large-scale work by artist Tanja Softic. In A Morning of the World, 2006, Softic pairs images from the natural environment with an image from the man-made environment to provide a study in contrasts. Using “tools” from nature, such as plants, we’ll emulate Softic’s soft, blurry flowers and branches to create personal prints of our own. Later, you might wish to add a photograph of a man-made object to complete your artwork. Enjoy wine and cheese as we enter the world of printmaking. Printmaking is not just for kids!

The exhibition of “IMPRINTS: 20 Years of Flying Horse Editions” was in the entry hall with three dimensional prints housed in glass cubes. Large prints were to the right of the reception desk and then the back gallery was converted into a working print studio. Students started by doing loose watercolors on paper. These watercolors were then used as a background for a collograph print. The collograph print plate was a sheet of corrugated cardboard. Creating the plate was an additive process. Faux plant materials were hot glued to the surface creating an organic floral pattern. Anna demonstrated the inking process. She used a rubber roller to spread the ink out on a plexiglass sheet. The ink took on a velvety look as the roller thinned it down. The ink was then spread onto the plate touching all the high points. When the prints were done, then were hung on two strings with clothes pins.

Wine and cheese was on the reception desk for print-makers and patrons. No previous experience is necessary. I actually think I might go back to experiment with the process myself. Cost is $12 per person. Each class will have a different focus, so join us for all of them if you like!

Other dates and times are as follows:

April 17th, 9pm – 10:30am with coffee and pasty

May 1, 6pm – 7:30pm with wine and cheese

May 15, 9pm – 10:30am with coffee and pastry

June 5, 6pm – 7:30pm with wine and cheese

July 17, 9pm – 10:30am with coffee and pastry

What a great opportunity to create art and treat yourself!

Call the museum to RSVP: 407.246. 4278

The Executive Director

Posted on by Thor

For a recent advertising illustration assignment I was asked to sketch an executive behind his desk. Rather than search for that executive online doing an image search, I decided to ask friends on Facebook if they knew of an executive who might not mind my stopping by to sketch him on location. Genevieve Bernard suggested Frank Holt, the executive director of the Mennello Museum of American Art. Frank was fine with me sitting in his office and sketching as he worked away on his computer.

His office is has colorful vibrant walls. The orange wall behind him ties in perfectly with an orange curtain featured in the painting that hangs on it. Gorgeous orchids were bursting into bloom. I like his desk which is simply a thick sheet of glass supported by saw horses. The room was simple and elegant much like the vibrant museum itself.

On display now at the Mennello is “Style & Grace” exhibition of American Impressionist paintings and sculptures collected by Michael and Marilyn Mennello. This really is an amazing collection of paintings by some of my favorite “Ash Can” artists, like Robert Henri and George Bellows. Sometimes I feel like that is the time when I should have been working as an artist. But hey, make the most of the time you have, right?

Friday March 30th there is a reception for IMPRINTS: 20 Years of Flying Horse Editions. A celebration of UCF’s limited-edition fine art book printing press, with a printmaking studio set up in the museum for workshops. 6-8 p.m. Admission $5, free to members. Continues through August 12.

Saturday, March 31st share a cup of coffee with the Artist: Mary Whyte. We are thrilled to have the teacher, author and “investigative watercolorist” from South Carolina discuss her book, Working South: Paintings and Sketchings by Mary Whyte , a series of interviews and portraits of blue-collar workers whose ways of life are diminishing. She is in town for the UCF Book Festival. The event is 10:30a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Reservations requested. Admission $5, free to members.

Lace Makers

Posted on by Thor

Terry and I returned to the Mennello Museum of American Art for the second day of the Folk Festival. Our first order of business was to go in the museum since admission was free for the day. On display was “Style & Grace, which was a magnificent collection of paintings from the Michael & Marilyn Mennello collection. There was a large golden statue of Marilyn in a gorgeous long flowing dress in the room to the left of the entry. I felt a bit sad since she had passed away, yet this sculpture was beautiful as was all the art she collected. There were so many paintings from artists whose work I love and respect. There was a whole wall full of John Sloan landscape paintings and a Robert Henri portrait right in the entry. Robert Henri was a fantastic teacher as well as a painter. I studied his color theories in detail and he is still teaching me today.

On display in the gallery to the right of the reception desk was, William H. Johnson: An American Modern on loan from the Smithsonian Institution. Arranged chronologically, the paintings begin when he was a student in France as he experimented in different styles. His later work, started in Harlem, New York, showed his hard edged maturity. As Terry and I walked around, I pointed out how some of the paintings focused on important details in certain spots while letting bold brushwork fill the remaining canvas. This is something I’m just beginning to learn with my sketches. A lesson learned over hundreds and hundreds of sketches. She let me know that it is this kind of insight into the process that she appreciated me sharing. I need to learn to share my thoughts verbally more often.

Before going to the Mennello, I brought Terry to Avalon for a couples Valentine Tarot Card reading. My aura was bright yellow with a candle flame flickering. Terry’s aura was filled with presidential figures. Between us stood a totem pole. Two column of Tarot cards were dealt out with one card between at the top. Terry picked the column of cards closest to her. She was blown away by her reading. Things said about her mother were spot on. My column had the death card in the mix. That implied change is coming my way. The common card between us was a heart pierced by three swords.

In college, I copied a painting of a Lacemaker by Vermeer in the first painting class I took as a freshman. Perhaps for this reason I decided to sketch Peggy and Anne as they clicked their small wooden bobbins, creating intricate lace patterns. A small lace pattern was started on a red pillow on a card table and occasionally Peggy would coach someone on the intricacies of the craft. A young Spanish man sat down and tried his hand at the Mundillo process, Peggy coached him calmly. She said, “I’ve been doing this longer than you have been on this Earth.” When she saw my sketch she said, “I’ve never been sketched before doing what I love to do.”

Crooked Road

Posted on by Thor

At the Mennello Museum Folk Festival music stage, Crooked Road played its blend of Celtic folk music. Natalie Doyle was on piano, Kathleen Cavanagh on pipes, Vicki Gish on fiddle and Scott Vocca on banjo. A slender wisp of a girl did Irish dances to the music, kicking her feet up with her arms straight at her sides. Mothers and their children played in the grass. It was a cool and very windy day. The large mobile sculpture in bright reds, yellow and blue moved slightly in the breeze. Children clamored up on Its cement base and tried to crawl through the hole in a blue shaped pyramid. One of the artists tents started to take flight and people rushed in to help keep it grounded. As I walked past the artist was ripping off the tent panels until only the skeletal structure remained.

When the band finished playing, Kathleen told me that I had to add the bands new byline, “We prevent murders.” Vicki explained. A woman had gone to their concert and she had been having a really bad day. She approached the band after and said, “I was ready to murder someone, but after listening to your music, I feel great!”

Kids Day at the Folk Festival

Posted on by Thor

The Mennello Museum Folk Festival was three days this year. The first day on Friday was set aside just for kids. I arrived in the early afternoon to see what was going on. The place was quiet with a small encampment of white tents set up under the overcast sky. I decided to lean against a flag pole to do a sketch. Dawn Schreiner and her husband, Eric, arrived to set up her tent. Dawn did the poster for this year’s festival with a nice painting of Earl Cunningham whose folk paintings comprise the main focus of the museum’s permanent collection. I always look forward to seeing Dawn’s colorful and whimsical work.

Genevieve Bernard pulled up in her VW Bug and she explained to me that there were about 50 school children running all around that morning. Ibex puppetry was there with puppets from “Panther and the Crane.” Frank Holt, the museum director, pointed out that there was a new puppet of a manatee. These puppets were life sized and a few children were scared, but when they were allowed to touch the puppets they were OK. There were crafts activities using recycled cardboard. Kids could paint a Valentine heart or lace a cardboard disk with an intricate pattern of yarn.

Unfortunately my mural was hidden by go carts, cars and mobile storage units. Very few people attending the festival would ever know it was there. Regardless, I made my way through the maze of machinery and signed the mural with a sharpie above the list of school children and parents who had helped. It rained lightly when I began the sketch but never hard enough to force me to run for cover. Then the sun came out and I sweated and baked since I hadn’t thought about shade. When the line work was done, I walked about ten feet back under the shade of a live Oak tree. I’m looking forward to seeing “Style & Grace”. These paintings are from the private collection of Michael & Marilyn Mennello. I saw them when I visited his home and they are from some of my favorite “Ash Can” artists, like John Sloan, Robert Henri and George Bellows.

The Mennello Christmas Tree

Posted on by Thor

Angela Abrusci offered to take some high quality photos of the five foot long painting I did for Margot Knight. We agreed to meet at the Mennello Museum to take the shots. Some shots were taken as the painting leaned against a brick wall and then we layed it flat in the parking lot. It was a cloudy day which she said made for better diffuse light. Autumn Ames wasn’t sure how to ship such a large painting, so I decided to ask Kim Robinson in the Museum, her advice. From the basement she found a large shipping box called a strong box. Inside was coated with foam soundproofing material. The box was just six inches shorter than what I needed for the painting. She also suggested that the panel be wrapped with glassine which would keep the foam from sticking to any paint.

Kim and Genevieve Bernard were getting ready to put up the museum’s Christmas tree. The wooden tree was designed by artist Anita Lam in 2000. She called it “The Out in Aspen BB Tree.” The branches were wooden dowels. They all had numbers which corresponded to the height they were placed on the trunk. Branches were collated and piled on the floor. Angela stayed to help and she snapped pictures. An old metal American flag was added to the top of the tree. It bobbed on its spring just barely clearing the water pipes.

Many of the ornaments were original works of art by local artists. The Museum put out another invitation to artists to submit ornaments for the tree this year. Genevieve went to an inner city school to participate in Career Day. She had the children make craft paper ornaments which she planned to string up on the tree. On her iPhone, Billy Holiday was singing “Nice Work if You Can Get It” as she strung the ornaments together using red yarn. Outside the giant bay windows the lake sparkled and a large colorful sculpture by John Robert Wolf moved slowly in the breeze. Kim stacked apple ornaments below the tree.

Gail Pergande stopped in to watch with her dog. Once the tree was full of ornaments, we all went out to lunch at Shakers in College Park. I hadn’t finished my sketch yet so after lunch, I returned to the museum to add color washes. I was inspired by the bright colors in the Earl Cunningham paintings on the walls.

Mennello Museum Mural Unveiling

Posted on by Thor

So many things had to fall into place for the Unveiling of the mural. I ran to Sky Craft to get 80 alligator clips which would hang the original sketches done of each person in the line. I also managed to forget the power cord to my tablet PC in the classroom at Full Sail. I drove over there and thankfully Nina had the keys to get me into the room. I was a sweaty mess after running all over town but I arrived at the museum an hour earlier than expected. This gave me plenty of time to set up. I borrowed a folding table from the museum’s garage and set it up under the tent I had used as shelter from the sweltering sun the entire time I worked on the mural. I hung many of the original studies, clothes line style on the iron gates around the museum. Kim Robinson let me borrow some nice folding walls on which I hung a dozen more sketches.

I set up a printer and the tablet so I could make prints for people on demand. Anyone who posed for the mural could get a free print of the sketch done of them. The originals were all on sale for $50 each. I made a few prints of the whole line as well. As I was finishing getting everything in place, Terry arrived to help out. She assisted me as I duct taped down electrical cords so no one would trip. It was a cloudless beautiful day in the low 80’s. I couldn’t have asked for a more picture perfect night.

When everything was in place, I started the sketch. The first people to arrive were volunteers for the museum. I sketched them quickly in front of the mural. Soon there was a steady stream of people and I explained over and over again how the idea of the mural had been generated. Genevieve Bernard and I visited a high school art class in Narcoossee and asked the students what they felt defined Orlando. One girl said she was always standing in long lines when she went to clubs downtown. We spent the rest of the class discussing who stands in lines and why. A Facebook event page invited people to come to the museum to be drawn in the line. Over 64 people from all walks of life came to be sketched. At the unveiling many of the people who modeled returned wearing the same clothes they posed in. It was fun taking pictures with the models next to their depiction on the wall. All the photos made the mural an interactive experience. The evening was a whirlwind as I made prints, finalized sales and socialized non-stop.

The Mennello Museum Mural

Posted on by Thor

It was brought to my attention that some readers haven’t seen any sketches relating to the Mennello Museum Mural. The mural is 48 feet wide by 7 feet high on a wall outside the museum. I have been sweating away for weeks getting this mural painted. High school and middle school students were invited to help. There was a show in the museum of paintings done during the “New Deal.” During the depression, artists were commissioned by the government to create murals and paintings for government buildings. The idea behind this mural came about when Genevieve Bernard and I traveled to a high school out in Narcoossee Florida. There were cows just beyond the parking lot fence. In the art classroom an animated discussion happened when Genevieve and I asked, “What defines Orlando to you?” One girl said, “I’m always standing in lines when I go to clubs downtown, theme parks or even the bathroom.” The discussion then changed to, “Who stands in lines and why?”

I created an event page on Facebook inviting people to come to the museum and be drawn in line. At first groups of people showed up and I sketched them all at once. Since each sketch took at least an hour however, I usually sketched people one at a time. The watercolor sketches were then assembled and blown up on the wall. At least 60 people ended up posing in line. People from all walks of life were bought together.

It was a challenge keeping the rough spontaneous look of the sketches when the wall was painted. I used acrylics and exterior house latex paint. I found a wonderful gel medium that thinned the acrylics down making it transparent and thin like watercolors. It is a shame I couldn’t step outside myself to sketch the mural in progress. People who stopped out to help shot plenty of photos of the work in progress.

The mural will be unveiled October 14th between 6 and 8pm. All of the sketches will be on display clothes line style outside. I can see the end of the tunnel but right now I need to head out and work on the mural for the rest of the day.

Drum Circle

Posted on by Thor

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.

Lowe’s Paint Department

Posted on by Thor

I needed outdoor house paint for painting the Mennello Museum mural. I painted small one inch squares of color using each of the 11 colors I carry in my pocket sized Winsor & Newton watercolor set. The plan was to get one quart of each, which should be more than enough to paint the mural. When I got to Lowe’s, the paint department was deserted. I considered leaving and going up to Home Depot up the street, but I needed to start painting immediately. I approached two store clerks who were standing near the self checkout registers. One of them, named Tyrone, said he could make the paint for me. He told me to find color swatches that matched my sample palette colors.

After searching for the proper color chips for sometime, I finally asked him to make a quart of each in outdoor house paint. As he worked, I sketched. A woman was ordering paint to touch up a room in a house she was going to rent. She became curious about the sketch and took a peek. Her father is an artist so she respected what I was doing. I gave her a card hoping to gain a new reader.

Tyrone worked quickly and deliberately. The number on the paint chip card was entered into the computer and various pigments squirted into the base paint matching the colors exactly. The cheapest paint was Olympic brand so I ordered that. Cheaper paints simply have a higher water content. I planned to thin the paint down even more to recreate a watercolor look to the mural, so the cheapest paint made sense. The cans were each hammered shut and placed in a plastic shell of a holding case which fit snugly into a paint agitator which shook the can like a mechanical bull. He would dip his finger in the paint and dab a bit on the label on top of the can. A hair dryer was used to quickly dry the sample. I checked each of the colors to be sure they matched. I proudly shot a picture sending it out on Facebook announcing that I was ready to paint. Christie Miga had offered me endless advice on what type of paint to buy. She saw the photo and made one more suggestion, “Double check and make sure it is outdoor house paint.” Of course it is, I thought, that is what I asked for. I went out to the truck to check anyway. She must have ESP, because sure enough, it was indoor paint. She let me know that indoor paint would fade quickly in the intense Florida sun.

The next day I returned the 11 cans of paint I had ordered, and I reordered outdoor paint. Apparently the folks who usually staff the paint department were instructed to check inventory on the day I first ordered my paint. No harm done, the mural is now progressing at breakneck speed.