Fluffing the Christmas Tree.

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For Thanksgiving, Pam Schwartz and I traveled to her
parent’s home in Iowa.
Thanksgiving in the Schwartz home involves 25 or more relatives playing games
and having a huge Thanksgiving meal. Kids of all sizes run about and everyone
talks at the same time. After the big meal, everyone plays board and card games
at the kitchen table. The card game Canasta can last until three in the
morning. As I am writing this, a board game of Malarky has just begun. Everyone
has to come up with answers to little known facts, including reeling a story about why an octopus is thrown on the ice
during a playoff hockey league game. Three answers were made up and one answer was
correct.

The day after Thanksgiving, the Christmas tree is set up.
The family used to cut their own live tree but that tradition ended when two
mice were smuggled into the house within it. The artificial tree was
tightly bound and wrapped in a green drop cloth. Pam untied the multiple knots
and then set up the compressed mess of branches. Each branch had to be spread
and then fluffed so that all the needles were spread out. When tree was first
set up the trunk which is wrapped in a garland didn’t look very convincing, but
by the time Pam had the whole tree fluffed out, it looked reasonably real. She
also set up all the lights and hung tinsel. She has a very specific technique
in her tinsel hanging. Individual strands were hung creating an airy cascading
effect.

There is a family tradition that the tree came with strands of
Christmas lights already pre-hung, but one year Pam couldn’t take down the tree
because of her scheduled flight out of state. Her dad took down the tree that year and instead of remembering that the top two pieces of the tree don’t come apart, he ended up cutting off the strings
of lights in annoyance. It should be noted that he actively denies this family accusation.

Every year Pam’s eyes swell the next morning from the dust and the make of the tree branches. That doesn’t stop her from taking care of this
traditional chore. The rest of the family sits on the couch and watches or wander throughout the house with other decorations. A new
angel went on top of the tree this year since Pam destroyed the previous one attempting to retrofit it to a different light bulb. The new one has translucent violet and green
illuminated wings that sparkle.

10 X 10 Urban Sketch Workshop at the Orange County Regional History Center.

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One of the Orlando
Urban Sketching Workshops was held at the Orange County Regional History
Center. The lesson of this workshop was to focus on value and color without
much use of line. It was the same evening as another large event in town, so
turnout was down, but we made the best of it. There was also a wedding on the
ground floor, so we stayed in the exhibits on the top floors.

The Citrus Industry exhibition was where we started. The first sketch
was of a lifecast on a ladder picking oranges from a tree. There is a clear
advantage sketching a mannequin as opposed to a live model since it never
moves. I gave pointers on composition and then we all got to work. The goal of
the class was to finish two sketches with an emphasis on color and value.

Pam Schwartz, the History Center’s Chief Curator joined
us. She has done plenty of art in her past, so she fit right in. As we sat working, she noticed one of the
text panels in the Citrus Exhibit was missing a letter, so she touched it up.
The entire museum is going to be renovated with new exhibits in the upcoming year or two, so the museum as it looks today is a bit of an antique. New interactive
exhibits are on the horizon.

After sketching the citrus trees, we moved over to the pioneer cabin where two lifecast children were on the porch pulling taffy. This porch set up
was a good exercise in one point perspective and bold blocks of color. I
explained that the open window created a pool of light in which the main action
took place. The mural on the wall next to the cabin had a painting of a chicken
that was larger that the cows in the field. It is a strange touch that most
visitors probably don’t notice. When you take the time to sketch, however, such
strange size relationships become obvious.

Drum Schtick was a 50 hour drumming marathon.

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As part of Art in Odd Places, Brian Feldman performed at a drum kit in front of City Hall for 50 hours straight. Of course, part of that performance included eating and sleeping on the drums. I had signed up to volunteer on Saturday at 7 PM so I returned for a second sketch. The idea behind volunteers was that they would be sure the live stream camera was safe and answer any questions from passers by.

Pam Schwartz walked with me to the location along with Sprout, her scraggly-haired pup. Orange Avenue was a buzz as the clubs geared up for the weekend night of debauchery. Sprout was excited to discover all the new smells. I sat much closer to the percussive noise this time around. Brian told me that earlier in the day a huge gust of wind had lifted up the entire tent and dashed it against the flag poles to his left. Jeremy Seghers has a video of the incident. Brian’s camera was covered with a plastic bag to protect it from the rain so it didn’t catch a thing.

A mom and her son stopped to listen. The young boy wanted to perform and Brian let him sit down and start drumming. This Tom Sawyering allowed Brian a chance to get up and stretch his legs. The mom sat with Pam and told her all about each of her pet cats.

Brian now resides in Washington DC. I let him know that I would be sketching in DC the next day. He suggested I see an exhibit of moving light displays called Lumia by Thomas Wilfred (1889–1968). These mesmerizing displays all predate the digital age and are created by translucent objects and refracted light that display ever-changing colored forms against a black background. They resemble Aurora Borealis, but are more complex and ever-changing. One display had just a slight gap in the side which allowed a glimpse of the inner mechanical workings.

Howl at the Moon Fundraiser.

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Howl at the Moon raised money for In Harmony Nature Animal Haven. Patrons were invited to dress up their dogs for Yappy Hour at Orlando Brewing, (1301 Atlanta Ave, Orlando, FL 32806). Nature Animal Haven is a sanctuary for wolves, wolf dogs, dogs, cats, parrots, reptiles and pigs. They work to find forever homes for animals ready for adoption.

There were folks at the door to explain the event and accept $10 donations. The donation allowed for money off of draft beers. Pam Schwartz brought Sprout her gentleman of a mutt, He wore a green polka dot bow tie for the occasion. His hair was spiked up into a Mohawk for as long as it lasted. There were plenty of dogs in the house, and my favorite costume was the German Shepard in the foreground dressed in a yellow rain jacket with a red balloon. This is of course reminiscent of the beginning of the Stephen King movie, It, where a little boy chases a paper sail boat down a drain, only to have his arm ripped off by a demonic clown. The dog had all his limbs. Another smaller pooch won the costume contest wearing an inflatable power pack from Ghost Busters. His owner had on a similar power pack. They spent all their time at the bar and I didn’t notice them until the end.

There were wolf dogs and dogs everywhere. Sprout had a great time sniffing and meeting all the dogs, though none of them were particularly interested in playing. Dogs in Orlando are so well behaved. There was a silent auction and none of the items had bids yet, so Pam put starting bids on several items. She didn’t end up winning anything. She ordered us a beer sampler with 5 different beers. I liked the German Blonde beer the best.

Once the  sketch was done, we went outside to try Mighty Weenie which was vending Seattle-style hot dogs. What is different about these dogs is that they have thick cream cheese spread inside the buns along with onions. It was a rather bland tasting hot dog to be honest. It needed something other than white bread and cream cheese for flavor so I mounded on the sauerkraut.

Double Jeopardy: A Double Bill of One-act Operettas.

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Producer Theresa Smith-Levin invited me to sketch a Double Jeopardy dress rehearsal. Two one act operettas stood back to back both having a trial theme. The first was The Trial of B.B. Wolf with music by Curtis Tucker and words by Nelson Sheeley. Children’s blocks were on the stage. Part of me thought I was in the wrong place. A giant mushroom tiny house was house left and vines intertwined on house right. The judge in this case was a Leprechaun dressed all in green and with a bright orange beard. Pam Schwartz later explained that the blocks had the letters and colors associated with each character. For instance Little Red Riding hood stood by the red R block and the judge stood by the green J block. Members of the audience were invited to go up on stage to sit on the jury.For this rehearsal only two audience members were picked since there officially was no audience. Nishaa Carson the shows musical director performed on the piano with an iPad for her sheet music.

I was confused by the operetta writer’s motive. Did an adult audience really want to watch a trail build around Grimm’s Fairy-tail characters? The fact that the lyrics were in English was a plus. Of course Stephen Sondheim created the musical Into the Woods, a Broadway musical that was a success, so perhaps it was a viable option. So B. B. Wolf is as it turns out, an actual wolf (Bryan Hayes) in a grey suit and furry skull cap with wolf ears. He was on trial for destroying the three little pigs homes. A chubby little pig (Christina Rivera) took the stand and was interrogated about the incident. She shook in her boots letting out the occasional oink and squeal. Her testimony was overshadowed by the ferocious wolfs stage presence.

The wolf was indited in a second case involving Little Red Riding Hood (Katherine Stenzel). She related the usual tail of gong to her grandmothers house with the unexpected twist that she is an expert in martial arts. When the wolf took of his grandmother disguise, she karate kicked  his sorry butt and brought him in for trial. I am glad I chose to sketch this first operetta since it was visually interesting.

The second Operetta, Trail by Jury was by W.S Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Sarah Tellier took over at the piano. The set was transformed into a more traditional courtroom. This was a case of a man, the defendant, (Bryan Hayes) not wanting to marry his voluptuous fiance, the plaintiff, (Christina Rivera) and she brought him to trial to try and force his hand. Some of the language contain references that are unknown to a contemporary audience. For instance that defendant sang, “Be firm, my pecker.” Pecker used to be slang for courage, and in the case of a bird, it’s beak, in other words, “Keep a stiff upper lip.” Even knowing this before hand it was hard to resist a juvenile giggle.

During this performance I was focused on finishing my sketch from the previous operetta so my attention was divided. The defendant was in love with another woman and if forced to marry his fiance he would quickly then marry another. With characters singing over on another and the staging changing so quickly I honesty got a bit lost trying to follow the inn working of the case. I would have made a horrible juror.

Double Jeopardy

CFCArts Black Box Theater 250 SW Ivanhoe Blvd Orlando FL

Tickets: $25 reserved seating, $18 General seating and $16 Student / Seniors

Remaining show dates:

Thursday  November 16, 2017  at 7:30 PM

Friday       November 17, 2017  at 7:30 PM

Saturday   November 18, 2017  at 7:30 PM

Sunday     November 19, 2017  at 3:00 PM

Orphans at Theater on the Edge.

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Orphans written by Lyle Kessler is being presented by the artistic production team at Theater on the Edge (5542 Hansel Ave, Orlando, FL 32809). I am a huge fan of their hyper realistic set designs by the amazing Samantha DiGeorge. The attention to period detail allows me to get lost in that particular place and time. The plays presented in this intimate space highlight an American aesthetic of brutality and unfulfilled dreams. Orphans is set in 1989  in  a two story rundown Philadelphia row house. During the pre show, Philip (Adam Minossa) was mashing cereal in his breakfast bowl and then sat to watch a TV game show. He lived his innocent preoccupied life in the home as the audience filled in. He settled in on the couch to watch TV while hugging a red woman’s high heal shoe. When he sees his brother Trent (Zack Roundy) approaching, through the window, he rushed to clean up  the place and then hid in the closet.

Trent is a terror. He has returned to show off his earnings form the mornings robberies. He likes to taunt his simple brother and a game of tag became a power struggle between the siblings. The red high heal shoe becomes another point of contention and Trent throws it out the window on the front lawn. A painful head lock is the only sign of affection between the two.

On another occasion, Trent returns to the house with a drunk business man. When the man passes out on  the floor, Trent takes his brief case and forces it open on the kitchen table with his knife. Inside are piles of stocks and bonds. Kidnapping this man would clearly be extremely profitable. While out looking to cash the stocks and calling people for the ransom, he leaves his brother to watch the now tied up business man. The ropes are sloppily tied and loose so, Harold, the business man (Allan Whitehead) gets free. He doesn’t try to escape however and goes up stairs to clean up.

Trent isn’t pleased when he returns and there is a power struggle between Trent and Harold. Harold doesn’t play the part of a victim but instead says he likes Trent’s anger and could use hims as a body guard.  Harold grew up as an orphan and he sees a bit of himself in Trent’s deviant behavior. He becomes a father figure to both the boys offering support and affection the boys clearly lacked probably after their parents deaths. He builds Philip’s confidence to the point where the boy is able to venture out into the world alone.

The end of the second act ended with gut wrenching results. When the house lights came back up, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Someone said, there should be a warning before the show begins. All three actors did an amazing job exploring their characters and their underlying motives. The intricate relationships left me wishing there was more time to see what happened next. On the car ride home with Pam Schwartz, I was full of questions. I had a an affection for the characters and couldn’t let go. Perhaps that is a sign of great theater. This show got under my skin exposing regrets and the need for acceptance that seems never realized. I highly recommend this production.

Orphans

Theater on the Edge 5542 Hansel Ave, Orlando, FL 32809

Tickets: $22 to $26

Remaining Show Dates:

Saturday November 11, 2017      8 PM

Sunday November 12, 2017        2 PM

Wednesday November 15, 2017  8 PM

Saturday November 18, 2017      8 PM

Sunday November 19, 2017        2 PM

Friday November 24, 2017          8 PM

Saturday November 25, 2017      2 PM

Saturday November 25, 2017      8 PM

Sunday November 26, 2017        2 PM

The Orlando Weekly Best of Orlando Party.

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This year I was nominated as the Best Artist of Orlando. Andrew Spear won first place, and Boy Kong took second place. They both certainly deserve the recognition. I came in third place but just being nominated meant I could sketch the Orlando Weekly Best of Party at The Beacham (46 N Orange Ave, Orlando, FL 32801). The party of the year is a celebration for winners of Orlando’s
most prestigious awards, Orlando Weekly’s Best of Orlando. It’s a free
party for 2000 taste maker VIP’s: Best of Orlando Winners, Orlando Weekly
clients, select readers, artists, politicians and media.
This is always a blowout event that gets super crowded. Pam Schwartz and I arrived somewhat early and as I sketched the venue filled up to capacity. Only when people left, would more people be allowed to enter.

There were two entrances to the event, a “Winners” entrance at The Beacham, and a general admission entrance at 64 North. A series of bars were interconnected, including The Social, Aero, and The Patio. Different things were happening at all the bars. Lasers and spotlights created a two point perspective grid over the crowd. I sketched the grid and then took it back out feeling it hid too much of the crowd detail. When the live performance started confetti was shot over the crowd. I like to watch the hectic action at the two island bars as the bartenders are swamped by orders for free drinks. Working digitally meant I could catch the amazing lighting of the scene.

With the sketch done, we agreed that we had seen enough. We didn’t venture into the other crowded bars.

The Perceid Meteor Shower..

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The Perseid Meteor shower is supposed to be the brightest meteor shower of the year. According to NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke, the Perseids are perhaps the most popular meteor shower of the year. Typical rates are about 80 meteors an hour, but in outburst years (such as in 2016) the rate can be between 150-200 meteors an hour. The meteor shower’s actual peak was around 1 p.m. on August 12, which means that the night before and the night after will both have good rates; Cooke said the show would be slightly better in the predawn hours of Aug. 12, but that there would be a decent show both nights.

Comet Swift-Tuttle is the largest object known to repeatedly pass by Earth;
its nucleus is about 16 miles wide. It last passed
nearby Earth during its orbit around the sun in 1992, and the next time
will be in 2126. But in the meantime, the Earth passes through the dust and debris it leaves behind every year,
creating the annual Perseid meteor shower.

Pam Schwartz and I traveled to Magnolia Park on Lake Apopka in the hope of getting away from some of Orlando’s light pollution. We arrived at the lake side park just before midnight. Several people were leaving the boat launch area in their SUV and they shouted out that a big gator was lurking there. We found a spot on a dock and waited patiently, seated on my artist stools..

In my nocturne I could clearly see the orange glow of the city light pollution on the horizon. I was afraid that this might hinder our chances of seeing meteors. Another drawback was that it was cloudy. After an hour of sitting on the dock, the clouds started to part and thin out. While I was staring at my sketch, Pam shouted out that she saw a meteor. I stopped sketching and stared at the night sky.

In the reeds near by two beady eyes stared back at me. It was a huge gator watching us and waiting for his chance to lunge. It was kind of hard to look at the sky with those reflective lenses staring at us. I finally did see a streak of light on the horizon. It was just a flash out of the corner of my eye, but I saw it. On a different occasion I saw a meteor that was huge and seemed to linger in the sky like  an open wound. If there were a hundred meteors and hour on this night they must have been only active when it was cloudy. What I remember far more vividly are those ravenous glowing doll like eyes. We left shortly after I saw my one meteor. Although the gator might have wanted blood, it was the mosquitoes that feasted the most that night.

Escape Costume Party at Back Booth.

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Angel Jones invited Pam Schwartz and I to the Escape Costume Party at Back Booth (37 West Pine Street, Orlando FL 32801). We arrived at 10:30 PM but that was early for this crowd. People slowly arrived as I sketched. Blue balloons glowed in a booth that was soon occupied. A Japanese porn film looped on the TV screen. The film repeated itself enough times, so that I could sketch a scene on the screen. There was another booth that was hidden by a curtain so the films in there must have been XXX rated.

The costumes ranged from sexy tight anime school girl outfits to a giant rabbit and glowing gas masked dancer in a hood. A Parisian in a stripped shirt hung out with a can-can girl. On stage a performer spun a hula hoop to the beat of the music. The hoop has a rainbow of colored diodes inside creating a constant streak of vibrant color.

On stage there was a game show where a contestant was surrounded on three sides by a cardboard wall resembling a bathroom stall with holes cut in it. Two people would insert hot dogs in the hole and the contestant who could devour the most hot dogs from the glory holes would win. The problem was that the people putting hot dogs in the holes couldn’t keep up. The packaging would slow them down so they became an impediment to any truly talented glory hole expert. Another game involved eating food off another person while blind folded.

There was a screening of a home made film starring Angel as one of the characters. The lip sync was purposefully off, giving the film a comic twist. Overall this was a fun night. It is amazing what goes on behind closed doors in some clubs downtown. These Escape Parties by Mike Stone Promotions, happen once a month and have a different theme each time. They are definitely great sketch opportunities.

La La Land at Leu Gardens Outdoor Screening.

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Pam Schwartz and I went to Harry P. Leu Gardens (1920 N Forest Ave, Orlando, Florida 32803) to enjoy an outdoor movie in a beautiful garden. We brought a lawn chair and Pam has a blue plastic inflatable wind bed that we affectionately call the blue vagina. A woman at the front of the crowd near the movie screen made quite a show of running around to inflate hers and it brought a cheer from the crowd when she finally got is sealed and set up.

The group in front of us had a dinner picnic basket, along with some fine wine. It was still light when I started the sketch, but by the time the movie started it was dark. A storm was forming on the horizon, complete with lightning. The storm never made it over the gardens but it threatened the entire time.

The movie was La La Land which got rave reviews and won several Oscars. The movie opened with an LA traffic jam which of course resulted in a song and dance. It was a love story which unfortunately didn’t have such a happy ending. (Spoiler Alert) The entire movie has you rooting for this young artistic couple and then your heart is ripped out at what could have been if they had compromised. Pam hated the ending but it seems true to life with its grey areas and the ecstatic moments of dancing in the air.

The next movie night is November 3, 2017 with the Gardens arrival time of 6:00 PM and the movie time at 7:30 p.m. Much time has been spent repairing hurricane damage to the plants in the park but the historic home smells of mold. The movie is Arrival, starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner. This movie is rated PG13. Under 13 years of age requires an accompanying parent or adult guardian.

Garden Admission: $6 adult, $3 child (5-17 years of age) Admission is
collected at the door. Major credit cards accepted.  Leu Members
receive free admission, Membership Card and ID required.

Leu Gardens closes at the end of the movie.

Arrival
delivers a must-see experience for fans of thinking person’s sci-fi
that anchors its heady themes with genuinely affecting emotion and a
terrific performance from Amy Adams. 

Movie Etiquette: For the enjoyment of all, please
place cell phones on silent during the movie and smokers may smoke in
the gardens away from the movie audience. Curbie’s Sidewalk Cafe will be selling great food and Peak Season Pops will be selling popsicles and popcorn.