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.

Steampunk was featured at the Orlando Maker Faire.

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The Central Florida Steampunk Association was strongly represented at the Orlando Maker Faire held in the Orlando Science Center on September 13th and 14th. Their display was in the Dino Digs area of the museum. A large T-Rex stood menacingly in the background. Intricate costuming and devices were all hand crafted. Leather was being stamped and patterned with detail. There is an infinite amount of detail in every Steampunk costume. The details even have details. A jet pack in front of one of the display tables was constructed using two large soda bottles as the main canisters.

Gadgets and gizmo’s were all for sale. The fashion for women featured corsets and fur. I rather like the look. Gusts could stop at the leather working station and pound in some of their own patterns using a metal template and a hammer. In a room behind me, an announcer would let everyone know that the potato gun was about to be fired.  It blasted off about every half hour. In the stairway, Orit Reuben was doing a pastel portrait of Jenny Coyle as she read her book. I’m happy that art was represented at the Maker Faire. There was a back room for robotic battles, but unfortunately the two times I went it the robots were on a break. Robots don’t need cigarette breaks.

Dead Men Chase no Tail

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I decided to go to Austin’s Coffee (929 W. Fairbanks Avenue) to join “Sketchy Broads” for an evening of sketching. It was pouring on my drive over from work. All day there had been tornado warnings across Central Florida. I made sure my sketch books were in plastic bags and then I sprinted through the parking lot to the back door. I ordered a Yak which is a frozen coffee with caramel and chocolate. Sean Moore, Austin’s owner and coffee expert, told me he had peaked over my shoulder the last time I had stopped in for a sip and a sketch. He liked what I was working on and invited me to exhibit my work on the coffee shop walls. I always get nervous when my sketchbooks leave my studio but I might take him up on the offer.

While I was waiting for my drink, Orit Reuben introduced herself. She was there to sketch as well. We both had arrived early and both of us were attending the Austin’s sketch event for the first time. Sean let us know he would be moving furniture off the front stage area to get things ready. I joined Orit when she started moving chairs. Sean and I moved the Victorian looking purple couch onto the stage as a prop. Soon the models, Jenny Coyle and Lindsay Boswell, arrived. They had a hamper full of pirate costuming and props. When Jenny pulled out an old bottle of rum, an artist remarked, “That’s no prop, she goes everywhere with that tharr bottle!” Everyone laughed.

As artists arrived, I added them to my sketch. I did some of the fast poses but then erased them and waited to add the pirates when they took longer poses. Orit had a concerned look on her face when she sketched. She had a large 18 by 24 pad for doing pastels but I think she needed an easel. Another artist arrived with a mini easel and he told her where she could pick one up. He did some very detailed pencil renderings of the pirates faces. I have just the one sketch to show for the evenings modeling session. As I left, I bumped into Swami Worldtraveler and he let me know about the weekly jazz sessions at Austin’s every Thursday night starting at 9pm. Sounds like I have to come back for another sketch!