Drinking and Drawing at the Thursty Topher.

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ODD2 was held at the Thirsty Topher on Alden Road in the artsy warehouse district which is part of Ivanhoe Village. This bar along with the Fringe Festival offices next door and many other art studios will be facing the wrecking ball this fall. In there place, a high rise condominium will be constructed.

All told, about 8 artists stopped out to drink and draw. When I arrived, Gay Geiger was already at work sketching the beer she had selected. She had just changed jobs and sketching seemed a good way to celebrate. I ordered a Southern Tier beer which was dark and had a citrus aftertaste. Carlos Basabe, an artist I hadn’t met before, joined me at the bar.

Artists sketched each other, shared their work and sketched the bar scene.

I introduced myself to each artist as they arrived, but I didn’t have any agenda for the evening other than drinking and drawing.  The bartender, Sam knew of me from a past sketch I had done. She introduced me to Viking Blod which is a meed made from honey and it is delicious and strong. That became my drink of choice for the night.  lt is made with honey and the honey combs which are buried underground for at least a year to ferment. Meed is apparently one of the oldest liquors in the world. lt really tastes like life blood, and it packs a punch.

After quite a few drinks, several artist recruited an unsuspecting patron to join in and do a sketch. He drew a character called a Cactopus.  It rules the land and sea. On land it is a water conserving Cacti and at sea it is an octopus. It’s side kick was an angry looking spider-fly and they were joined by a tumble bunny. Carlos began sketching the characters as we all joked about the characters. After a few Viking’s Blod and a Southern Tier, it seemed like a glorious idea.

The next Orlando Drink and Draw will be September 7th at Redlight Redlight (2810 Corrine Dr, Orlando, FL) from 6pm to whenever. Carlos gave me some ideas for some artistic socializing and I’ll arrange to try one of these ideas at the next ODD.

A sketch demonstration from the First Orlando Sketch Tour.

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I hosted the first Orlando Sketch Tour along with plein air painter Kelly Medford from Rome Italy on March 1st and 2nd. We decided to hold the Sketch Tour at Lake Eola and we gathered with about six other artists near the Japanese Pagoda at the North East corner of the park.

Kelly and I tag teamed, offering advice to get everyone warmed up and ready to start sketching. All skill levels were encouraged to participate, so we each offered one on one instructions to each student to bring them up to speed. We started off the day with blind contour drawings with artists sketching each other without glancing at the sketch. Then we did quick gestures again without looking at the page. I did several watercolor sketches to demonstrate value studies. I painted the Red Pagoda since it was in view.

The clouds moved in and we went to find cover at a lake side restaurant. I didn’t sketch at that location. Instead I did thumbnail sketches for each student showing them how I might compose the scene they were sketching. Kelly and I covered a lot of material that weekend and hopefully we encouraged the artists present to take a sketch book with them to document their next vacation. If just one artist from the Sketch Tour catches the sketching bug, then I’ve done my job.

I’m planning to host an Orlando Sketch Tour quarterly. The second Sketch Tour was held at the Orlando Fringe Festival which offers endless sketch opportunities. I’ve just started hosting Orlando Drink and Draw (ODD) events every month, so over time I should meet more local artists who love to sketch. Last year, the Orlando Weekly claimed I was Orlando’s best Urban Sketcher. Since I’m the only Urban Sketcher, that title doesn’t have much panache. I want to meet others who are as passionate about art as I am.

The First Orlando Drink and Draw was a success.

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Usually Mondays are rather slow in terms of events in Orlando. Because of this, I’ve decided to host my own event on the first Monday of each month. Orlando Drink and Draw (ODD) will venture to a new bar each month to sample
beers and sketch. There is no model fee and no instruction. This is just
a chance to get out, meet fellow artists and draw. I’m hoping to sketch
in Central Florida’s best dive bars, so suggestions are always welcome.
Feel free to invite any artists who love to drink, draw, or both!

The first Orlando Drink and Draw was held at Taverna Opa, 9101 International Drive Suite Number: 2240

2nd Level of Pointe Orlando Orlando, Florida. I focused my attention on the bar which has a daily happy hour from 3pm to 6pm. I ordered a Greek Beer called Alfa. It is sharp to the taste at first but is quite drinkable. Part of my hope is that I will refine my taste in beers at these ODD events, but I am a neophyte when it comes to beer tasting. I should have downed the first beer quickly since it was happy hour and I could have gotten a second beer for free. I sipped my drink as I drew as usual and ended up having to pay for a second drink. Live and learn. I also ordered a Humus which was rich with garlic and served in a wooden pedestal with a mortar to crush the chick peas. The humus wasn’t a thin paste, but thick and crunchy. I liked it that way.

Urban sketcher Gay Geiger stopped in as I was finishing the first sketch.  She also ordered an Alfa and drew a view of the dining area. Gay had been to a Taverna Opa in Tampa, so she knew of the dancing celebration to come. Starting at 7pm, a beautiful belly dancer started dancing on the tables. Children loved climbing on the tables with her and napkins were thrown in the air as confetti. The setting sun lit up the storm clouds a bright orange on the western horizon which could be glimpsed through the restaurant windows. Gay did a sketch of the Alfa beer which loosened up our line work.

Bar staff kept stopping by to check our progress. It became clear that, “Where are you from?” was part of their everyday tourist interaction script. I found out that one waitress, Amber Rose Brantley, is a musician that performs on Sundays at Fiddler’s Green on Fairbanks, so that is a future sketch opportunity. That is what makes these ODD outings so exciting. There is so much hidden talent in Orlando and as an artist I seek that talent out. I now define success as, drinking, drawing and meeting fellow artists. “You don’t have to be great to start, but you do have to start to be great.”

Beer tasting at East End Market.

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I went to East End Market, 3201 Corrine Drive Orlando, FL, where I have some cards on consignment displayed at Local Roots Farm Store which brings the freshness and quality of the farm
directly to the city, including local produce, artisan foods and craft
beer. I was advised to get a rotating card stand to display the cards but it had slots which were too large for the 5 by 7 inch cards I had created. Because the slats are so large, cards kept falling on the floor and I was asked to remove the display. I’m thinking that I could hand make foam core boxes that could keep the cards from falling but that is a complex task that is on the back burner for now. For now, my cards are on display in a small wicker basket on a shelf.

The bar is made of a huge single slab of wood that curves elegantly.  Taylor and Megan were trying a beer sampler which had six shot sized glasses of beer for their tasting pleasure. I like this sampler idea. I just started a monthly artist group called “Drink and Draw” and the idea is to sample beers at a different bar each month with a group of artists. I am hoping to refine my tastes while also sketching.

Mark your Calendar. The first Orlando Drink and Draw (ODD) event will be at Taverna Opa, 9101 International Drive, #2240, Orlando, FL from 5:30pm to 8:30pm on July 6th. Taverna Opa has an assortment of unique Mediterranean dishes. But you might not be too focused on the food as restaurant goers participate in the traditional Zorba line dance and throw plates and napkins on the floor. I’m having to re-think my retail display since cards keep falling on the floor, but it has to be fun sketching a restaurant and bar with plates and napkins getting thrown on the floor.

Social Media is a brave new fronteer.

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I always go to social media meet ups when I can to learn something new. Panelists discuss what they have learned, but they learn by trial and error. I learned that headlines should be catchy and informative. Complete sentences work better when the post goes on Twitter and Facebook. I’m thinking that the best headlines always involve cute kittens. Twitter is a beast I have only started to use. Panelists seem to have Thousands of followers and they accomplish that by looking through lists of followers followers and following them. I can’t imagine putting in so much effort to find people I don’t know.

Monetizing the blog is a realistic goal that I need to set for myself next year. At a party this weekend, we discussed the idea that a goal isn’t likely to be achieved unless you write it down and share it. Soon I will be teaching workshops to middle school and high school students, inspiring them to keep sketchbooks. I hope to start organizing monthly “Orlando Drink and Draw” (ODD) events to meet more local artists. The literary community seems to have a plethora of events every month yet artists seldom get together unless they are vendors at festivals. Frankie Messina had the awesome idea of having a softball game between authors and artists. It is fun ideas like this that can get arts groups to mingle and mix more.

Another goal for the new year is to set up sketch workshops for tourists. I’m sure there are some tourists who would like to escape the theme parks and sketch the real Orlando. In February I hope to collaborate with Kelly Medford who founded  sketch tourism in Rome Italy. Together we will host a tourist sketch outing in Orlando. I’m excited to see this happen.