Alex Barr, Pulse Survivor

Posted on by Thor

This post is from a personal account about the shooting that took place at the Pulse
Nightclub on June 12, 2016. It contains difficult content, so please do
not read on if you feel you may be effected. 

This article and sketch have been posted with the express written
permission of the interviewee. Analog Artist Digital World takes the
privacy and wishes of individuals very seriously.

Alex Barr, from Atlanta, Georgia, is a survivor of the mass shooting at Pulse Nightclub. He was a friend of Darryl Roman Burt II (DJ), who was a victim that night. They first met in college, and in 2016, DJ had just graduated. His ceremony was to be at the Orange County Convention Center. They arrived in Orlando the Friday before with friends and DJ’s family. They always supported each other. After the graduation there was a party with some of DJ’s cohorts, that is when three more of their friends showed up, Fred, Antwine, and Javád.

When they got back to the hotel, it was late and the three friends wanted to party. Alex was tired, having partied the night before and he just wanted to recover. DJ felt the same way. They tried to convince their friends to go out the next day, to just chill. Somehow they ended up going to Pulse Nightclub. He had been to Pulse about 3 years before. This was his second time there, so it felt familiar to him. Alex was surprised there was no pat down at the door. It seemed like a lot of Latin music, but they were having a good time.

Alex remembered saying on Snapchat, “I don’t want to be here.” He turned to DJ and said, “You fine?” and he said, “Yea, Yea.” They weren’t supposed to stay long, at most 10 to 20 minutes since DJ’s family was flying out the next morning at 5AM and he wanted to see them off. It was lively on the main dance floor. Alex, Antwine, and Fred were in the main dance floor and DJ and Javád went to the bar. Fred bumped into two people he knew. As they were exiting the main dance floor to get to the bar area, they sat for 5 or 10 minutes, getting ready to walk out.

The disc jockey said, “Last call for alcohol!” They were seated in chairs with their back up against the wall. They were trying to rush Fred, “Lets wrap it up, we have to go.” DJ said, “Are you all OK? I’m going to get this last drink. I just want to be sure you are all alright.” Alex said, “Yea, we’re good, we’ll be here.” About two minutes after he left they heard POP, POP. That’s when it began.

Alex, Antwine, Fred, and Javád were all in tune when they heard the sound of gunfire. Alex thought “Oh, somebody’s fighting, someone may have shown off and pulled out a gun or something.” They thought it was contained, because security was right there, there was a cop right at the door. But they heard POP, POP, POP, POP, the repetition of it. “OK it’s time to go!” They got up to get Fred and DJ, and that is when they saw the traffic, the rush and the screaming coming. They got shuffled down the hallway. Fight or flight kicked in. At that point Alex lost sight of Fred and Javád. He remembered that DJ was at the bar and hoped he was in this group of people. He forgot that there were two other exits from the main dance floor.

As Alex moved down the hallway he blacked out, a blur. He found himself in the hallway bathroom tucked back behind the main sink. Adrenaline pumped and the cadence continued, he could feel and hear the gun, the bullets getting closer and closer. Some people went in the girl’s restroom and Alex went into the men’s. They barricaded themselves in the handicap stall. Alex heard Antwine pounding on the door shouting, “Let me in! Barr let me in, damn it!” So he let him in. Everyone got down, hyperventilating.

For a moment they thought they were fine. It stopped. The next thing they knew there were bullets and the smell of the gun powder. That is what he remembers the most, the smell, not the sound, and trying to contort himself to get as far away and out of sight of what he had seen, everyone who was hit. He was wrapped around a sink, a tiny sink. In that moment he discovered what his body could do to try and survive. Antwine was right there with him.

They could hear the gunman across the way in the other bathroom talking, chatter, but then executing afterwards. Clearly they would be next, the best they could do was act like they were already gone, hide under some of the bodies and try to keep those who were injured as quiet as possible.

The gunman didn’t come across. He was talking, saying something about pledging allegiance and something about the flag. At that point they started texting families, “Goodbye.” Alex sent one to his mother, brother, and sister giving them his last words. He was sure the shooter was going to come, peak over the stall, and finish the rest of them off. But he didn’t. Alex told Antwine, “If God is real, this is the time, if these angels we were praying to exist, this is the time. I love you, its been a good ride, I guess this is it.” Alex texted
DJ who responded “I’m scared, I’m still in the building, don’t make any
noise.” He let DJ know he was in the bathroom, but DJ didn’t let him
know where he was.

He stayed contorted around that sink for an hour. He was expecting to die. Yet he didn’t. They began to whisper in the stall, and Javád’s head popped up out of nowhere. Alex and Javád texted Fred and DJ. “Did you make it out? Are you OK? Where are you?” Fred sent a text back that said, “Yea I’m fine, I made it out.” Then Alex texted Fred, “What about DJ?” Fred texted back, “Yea He’s fine.” The signals on their phone began to get spotty.

So it was just the three of them left, Alex, Antwine and Javád. DJ was good to go. Everyone was calling 911. Javád ended up on the phone with an investigator. They wanted pictures and a description of what was in the bathroom. How many were in the stall. There were 19 of them counting those who were expired outside the stall. Alex got advice on how to treat the injured from the emergency management person on his cell. She said she was a nurse. She said apply pressure. Their main goal was to keep people calm. They were respectful of the dead as well.

Another man, Angel, was able to crawl out and get to safety. The police yelled, “Get down! Show us your hands!” Angel yelled, “No it’s me, I’m OK!” They were able to get him out. They were happy, but the rest of them were not going to take that risk. At this point the gunman knew they were in the opposite bathroom and that some were alive. It had been 4 hours.

The investigator on the phone with Javád was prepping him, but withholding some information, perhaps to avoid tipping off the shooter. They learned that the shooter said he had bombs and planned to blow the place up. After all this, they were still going to die in an explosion. Another hour went by. Eventually they got wind of a rescue plan. They were going to blast a hole in the wall, and warned everyone to get down. There was a BOOM in another part of the building and then another BOOM. Later Alex learned that this was to distract the shooter so he didn’t know where they planned to get people out.

Then there was a huge blast against the cement wall of their bathroom and cement flew everywhere. A pipe burst with water spraying. They yelled for them to stop and they did. A machine was used to hit and hammer the wall. They called out, “You need to stop you’re crushing us, there is nothing but cement falling on us.” The head of a swat member looked in and yelled, Get out, Get out!” He had a gun pointed at them. They were still in shock. Those that were more mobile were hiked up and taken out.

They ran. All that could be seen were flashing lights, and people screaming, “Keep your hands up, get down, Keep your hands up!” There were a bunch of guns pointed at them because the police could not be sure they weren’t the shooter. The questioning began and Alex began to ask his own questions. “Where was DJ?” He looked around and tried to call. Well, DJ texted earlier. “Why wasn’t he texting now?” There were stories of people rushed to the hospital. Maybe DJ was in the hospital.

That is when Alex learned about Fred. Fred attempted to run with the crowd towards the restrooms. He exited the bathroom and tried to make a run for it and was hit critically in the arm. He had to have about 15 surgeries and was, at the time of this interview, at 85% with the use of his arm and hand.

No one could account for DJ but they remained hopeful they would get news later. They had to stay until the sun came up and then were bused to the police station for additional questions. They were soaking wet from the burst pipes and blood. In the main lobby of the station they were separated into two groups depending on which restroom they had been in. They were asked for personal information. The detectives leading the effort were very professional and sympathetic, which helped put everyone at ease. An officer drove them back to their hotel where they showered, but could not rest. They watched the news.

The next day they got Antwine’s car but didn’t have the keys for DJ’s car. They went to every hospital in Orlando looking for him. His mom, dad, and grandmother went to the Orlando Regional Medical Center where family members waited for news. They tried to be as proactive as possible. He had to be OK because of Fred’s text. Maybe DJ was one of the John Does? That evening, Alex saw DJ’s name scroll across the TV screen in the hotel room. He sat there for a moment, numb unable to react and then lost it. DJ had just graduated, a huge milestone for him, and now he was gone. His last words to Alex were, “Are you OK?”

Sugar Art Fashion Show

Posted on by Thor

The Sugar  Art Fashion Show took place during The Americas Cake Fair 2017 at the Orange County Convention Center, West Concourse Hall. Organizers didn’t know how to handle the crowd gathered, resulting in an endless wait to be seated. So I could get busy sketching, I slipped into the back row while the chaos to be seated played out. Everyone was desperate for front row seats. Perhaps people hoped some icing might fall and they could taste the fashion first hand.

A portion of the proceeds from the fashion show went to benefit Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. The New York-style fashion show displayed mouth-watering haute couture. Gorgeous edible ensembles were masterfully designed by more than one dozen celebrated sugar, cake and chocolate artisans. The fashion designers were asked to base there edible creations on famous movies and the results were quite fun. The models strutted there sweet stuff down the catwalk during this one-of-a-kind event hosted by Food Network Star, Chef Emily Ellyn and Fashion Stylist/On-Air Style Expert Melanie Pace.

When I walked back to my car, I discovered that I had left my umbrella under the seat in the convention center.  I didn’t decide to walk all the way back. I tend to leave a little piece of myself everywhere I go.

Drip Comic Art Party

Posted on by Thor

Mega Con is at the Orange County Convention Center this week and Drip is throwing a huge party every night of the week. On Wednesday March 13th, Drip (8747 International Dr. Suite 102, Behind Denny’s and Senor Frogs) had a Comic Art Party. I decided to participate by doing life sized chalk drawings of anyone in a comic themed costume on the black walls of the bar. Through March 16th, Drip is performing special Comics and Sci-Fi Shows at 8PM and 11PM each night. Tickets are $35 for the show or $43 for the show and a white Drip T-shirt. You will want the shirt because you will get wet.

Artists were invited to show any work they might have that had a comic, sci-fi or Japanese Anime theme. All mediums were encouraged. The only sketches that I could find I had done at Mega Con a few years ago. I framed them and brought them along. When I arrived, attendance was pretty thin. I asked for some chalk and waited for my first model. The dancer who performs as red, Brigetta Frias, was my first model. We both stood on a table and I sketched her life sized on the black wall. When we hopped down to see what the sketch looked like I was surprised to see how large I drew her head. That was because we were so close as I sketched her. Next, blue, Meagan Nagy, posed and my skill at drawing so large improved. All the Drip dancers wore capes. Yellow, Jessie Sander, was running around all night just to get the cape to flap in her wake.

When I sketched Tracy Lulu Brown everything clicked into place. Tracy’s goth fetish outfit with a plaid skirt and fishnet stockings seemed natural rather than a costume. It wasn’t until I was sketching, that I noticed she had horns. I exaggerated forms and the chalk lines flowed with a gestural ease. I think the fact that she was an artist put my mind at rest. A fire alarm had to be incorporated. Tracy is now working for Drip making sure every performance flows without interruption. Every action is set to a musical beat. I met Tracy’s husband AJ who had a black mask painted on his face and black dog ears.

Shane Malesky and his wife Heather were there showcasing his Chronic Damage Art.  Chris Tobar had a series of his gas mask paintings across the room from me. One artist that I didn’t get a chance to meet was doing little four inch square paintings of cupcakes on canvas. A make shift screen was set up where people could play a Super Mario Brothers road race game. Balloon artist Bruce Carr  had eight balloon arms that sprouted from his back. His entire head was enclosed in a white balloon helmet. He posed for me and his arms snaked all over the wall. He spent well over an hour creating a balloon mask inspired by one of Shane’s paintings. It was an impressive reproduction of a red face screaming. When Bruce took off his balloon helmet he broke his glasses and I believe he had to be driven home since he wouldn’t be able to drive.

I met Lynann Barr who is a beauty and special effects makeup artist. She had worked at Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights where she had to crank out hundreds of face makeups a night. This was her first time doing body painting but when the evening was over she realized it had been a walk in the park. It was a first for me as well to do life sized drawings, but it was a blast. Although attendance was light, I was busy all night adding giant figures to the wall. There wasn’t an artist on hand to sketch my performance. Drip is bringing Sexy back to International Drive.

Beauty

Posted on by Thor

The Premiere Orlando International Beauty Event was a huge event held at the Orange County Convention Center. Sultana gave me a thick book which showcased all the vendors and offered a fold out floor plan that showed the locations of the hundreds of vendors. Just walking the showroom floor offered constant visual stimulation. Every vendor was doing whatever they could to get viewers attention. I finally realized that I just needed to sit front and center at any booth and I could sketch the many models who were there. These two models sporting Alice in Wonderland outfits stayed fairly still. Once a photographer stepped in however they would vogue and pose looking down at the photographer with a highbrow disdain. I liked that the mad hatter had on a shoulder harness made from spools of thread. That was a nice creative touch.
Next to the models, a hair stylist was busy cutting and styling another models hair. I had just blocked in the sketch when the hair stylist told the models that they could take a lunch break. I calmly closed my sketchbook and then got up to sketch somewhere else on the showroom floor. Several hours later when the sketch was finished, I returned to the Salon Tech Booth and the same two models were back at work. I sat front and center and got back to work. Lee Ann McCall a national sales manager for Salon Tech came over to see what I was working on. She seemed sincerely surprised and delighted by the sketch.
Unfortunately, a cough I had caught flying out of NYC started to take hold in my chest. I had a press pass that would have allowed me to return to the event for several more days. The sketching opportunities were limitless, but the next day I was flat on my back in bed for much needed rest and relaxation.

Premiere Orlando International Beauty Event

Posted on by Thor

Sultana Ali who was working at the information booth at this event was kind enough to get me a press pass so I could wander the Convention Center at will. She showed me around the show floor pointing out various sketch opportunities. I shouted out, “Everyone here is a model. how can I go wrong!” After she went back to work, I settled in and started sketching.

The first booth I stopped at was Farouk Systems. The product they seemed to be showcasing was a special hair spray. The two hair stylists circled a model seated in a barbers chair. They both kept spraying the models hair until he was lost in the mist filled cloud they had created. They both teased and snipped the hair while talking incessantly. It seems this product is targeted for a Hispanic market. Between hair cuts, the stylists would shout out to the crowd, “Who wants some free stuff!?” “I can’t hear you!”

The models hair was multi-colored. The stylist demonstrated how to cut a perfectly straight edge between hair colors. Fashion models would strut up and down the runway and cameras would start flashing.

The convention floor was packed. Who knew that so many people would want to attend a conference devoted to beauty products? This sketch was a real challenge since there was a nonstop flow of humanity between me and the booth I was trying to draw. When I finished this drawing I felt I was capable of drawing anything. Drawing the stylists proved a challenge since they moved with amazing speed. His hands moved so fast they would show up on film as blurs. At the front of the stage there was a huge assortment of lotions, creams and sprays. They all seemed to sport the same orange label.

I continued to walk the show floor but I am sure I only saw a fraction of the vendors. Events like this are for me exhausting since I am always changing direction to avoid people who stop in the isles. It is like running an obstacle course all day long.

Mega Con

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Mega Con held at the Orange County Convention Center is an event where dressing like a super hero was the norm. I went to the convention thinking I might want to pay the twenty four dollars needed to get on the convention floor. Parking however was eight dollars. Having to pay for parking is a pet peeve of mine so I was stewing by the time I got in the convention center. Besides Mega Con, there were several other events going on that day. There was some college recruitment event and a cheer leading competition. I had to walk most of the length of the hall before I found Mega Con. Rather than getting in the long line pay to pay, I wandered over near the entryway to the convention. Gathered all around the entrance were a wide assortment of individuals in costumes. I leaned back against a column and started sketching. During the course of doing the sketch I must have seen at least five different Supermen, including a little ten year old who was so muscle bound with foam that I don’t think he could move his arms. Superman would often scoop women of their feet when they posed with him for photos. This sort of voguing was constantly going on as soon as a camera was seen. Cheerleaders with their glittery eye makeup, would cheer with delight if they saw a beloved character. It was impossible to avoid the cameras. Some photographer must have taken about a dozen shots of me working and I wasn’t even in costume. When people struck a pose I knew it was only for at most a minute, so I didn’t often try to catch those poses. I simply sketched them as they milled about waiting for the next photo opportunity. One small group was playing some hip-hop music on their radio while a young muscular Latino youth kept dancing to the beat. Cheerleaders somersaulted down the hallways.
When I finished up the first sketch I debated for the longest time about paying to get an arm band to walk the convention floor. I decided with only a few hours remaining, it would not be worth it. As I was leaving, I saw several people in costume going up an escalator to the second floor. I followed. They ended up going to a glass walkway that overlooks the whole convention floor. Here they tried to catch peoples attention by waving their arms and dancing in place. This “look at me” mentality seems to be the main point of the convention. It is Halloween on steroids. Were I to have asked people to pose, I am sure I could have had 3 days of non stop sketching fun.