Out on a Limb

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I was arranging a sketching opportunity with Mark DeMaio who is doing amazing work harvesting food for the hungry.

Anyway the day before he had been working at the Mennello Museum of American Art and cut down this tree limb which was threatening to scratch employee cars that parked in the lot.

The added benefit is that a long obscured section of the mural was brought back into the light. Vines have been snaking their way across the top of the mural, one having crawled right across journalist Seth Kubersky‘s face. The vines were pulled off but the tiny vine suction cup marks remained behind. The crowd at the back of the mural line are more saturated with more contrast to the colors. The shade of the tree limb had protected the paint from the harsh Florida Sun. Though others in the sun were bleached, they still hold together as a whole.

It is interesting to watch the mural age. Michael Mennello who is seated, is no longer with us, he died of COVID-19, nor is Harriet Lake who is seated in her wheelchair reading Catcher in the Rye. I am seated at the end of the line sketching. I hope that has no bearing on my limited mortality. It makes sense that I would be hiding in the shade of a big tree limb.

Mennello Museum

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The second Sunday of each month is Free Family Day at the Mennello Museum of American Art, (900 East Princeton Street, Orlando, FL 32803). This was a rare day when it was cool enough to sketch outside. A wedding rehearsal was set up lakeside and people slowly gathered to run through the ceremony.

The
Marilyn L. Mennello Sculpture Garden had on display sculptures by Alice Aycock called Waltzing Matilda and Twin Vortexes. These were originally part of series of seven sculptures
in Aycock’s significant outdoor exhibition on Park Avenue in Manhattan
entitled Park Avenue Paper Chase. Aycock, is one
of America’s most recognized and respected sculptors of her generation.

Grounds for Exhibition features
year-long large-scale sculpture exhibitions by nationally renowned
American artists who otherwise would not be shared with Orlando
audiences. It is possible to see the sculptures any time if you are running or riding the Orlando Urban Trail which runs from Meade Gardens to the north down through Lock Haven park, Lake Formosa and down to Magnolia Avenue. An extension is planned to bring the running and biking trail downtown.

Museum Founder Michael Mennello presented over 20 examples of early 20th
Century painting and seminal works from his American Impressionist
Collection to the museum on May 1, 2018.  These painting are is
valued at more than $8.75 million as appraised by Debra Force Fine Art,
LLC, New York. The masterpieces include work by renowned ashcan school artists: John Sloan, Robert Henri, George Lukes, and George Bellows. The ashcan school was named after a sketch done by George Bellows of two bums inspecting a morsel of food they had just lifted from a garbage can. The movement didn’t only show life in the gutters, but also featured the pleasures of art and culture that was booming at the time. The ashcan school of art includes some of my favorite artists who documented everyday life of people from all walks of life.

The next Free Family Fun Day at the Mennello is October 14, 2018 from Noon to 2:30pm. I definitely want to see these new paintings in person.

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.

The Executive Director

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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

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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.”

Kids Day at the Folk Festival

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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.