Lorne’s Swinging Bridge becomes a backdrop for a wedding photographer.

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I asked Josie Browne advice on picturesque places to sketch in Lorne Australia. She drove me to the swinging bride, which is a small footbridge that crosses a quiet stream right before it trickles into the ocean. At the beach, the stream breaks apart into a series of tiny deltas. On the far side of the bridge is the Swinging Bridge Boat house and Cafe (30 Great Ocean Road, Lorne VIC 3232, Australia).  Terry, Josie and I ate lunch here after a long walk on the beach. The food tasted great after so much fresh air and exercise.

The  bridge reminds me of a painting Vincent Van Gogh did in Provence of a small yellow bridge. In his painting, women stone washed their laundry at the river’s shore. I had no such luck, darn washing machines. I did notice an oriental couple posing repeatedly on the far shore.

A wedding photographer was shooting photos of the couple. They moved out onto the bridge and the photographer coached them to get ever sillier with each shot. The soon to be bride was quite a ham. Soon all three of them were standing behind me. The photographer asked if it was alright if he took a few shots of me. I said it was fine. After what seamed like an eternity of constant, persistent clicking they wandered away.  So now in some couples wedding album there is a photo of this couple acting stunned and amazed as they look over my shoulder.

Snap! Fashion Night

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Snap Orlando was a three day photography celebration showcasing the work of renowned international, national and local photographers. Fashion night was held in the “Urban Wild” Space Wendy(400 Pittman St). This turned out to be an empty warehouse behind the Sheraton Hotel near the Bob Carr Theater. Lion King was being performed at the Bob Carr so parking in the neighborhood was difficult. Luckily Terry and I left my truck down in the parking garage where she works. I had a press pass and Terry was a bit upset that she might have to pay $25 to get in. As soon as we entered the warehouse, Wendy Wallenburg was there to greet us. We then walked right in. It was still early in the evening and the place wasn’t crowded. While Terry searched for a bathroom, I hunted for my sketch.

Artist Andrew Spear was working on the second of two murals he was doing on the cinder block walls of the warehouse.  Using thick Krink permanent markers, he was transferring a crosshatched ink drawing based on one of the photos in the show. A woman was hugging the neck of a stag. Andrew stood stoically on his ladder adding the finishing touches to the animal’s neck and head. He worked non-stop the whole evening to push the mural towards completion. He came over to greet me. We admire each others work since we share an affinity for the power of line. Of course admirers would interrupt his work but Andrew would embrace them and speak about art with enthusiasm. Naked couples embraced in photos encased under plastic sheets.

When I was done with my sketch, a fellow named Frank asked if he could flip through the pages.  Terry asked me for my press pass so she could go in the VIP area while I worked. With my sketch done, I went to go find her. I marched into the VIP area like I belonged, but one of the female bouncers stopped me saying I needed a ticket. I tried to explain that I was press but she wasn’t buying it. I was wearing a suit but still had on my hiking boots. A dead give away that I didn’t belong. Tommy Cannalonga, a gallery owner, greeted me from inside and as I turned to greet him and shake his hand, the bouncer said, “Oh, all right, go on in.” Later I thanked Tommy and he said, “I knew that would help.”

Sara Segal told me about the photographer’s lectures she had been to that morning. She explained how photographer Frank Day‘s work had its roots in the history of European and American Landscape painting. She mentioned the Hudson River School’s Frederic Church and I knew of his huge paintings. She pointed to a man seated alone on a couch and it was Frank, the same man who had flipped through my sketchbook. Frank had wide set eyes and a small nose on which thick glasses were perched. Sarah began talking to him about his work as Terry and I listened in. Terry bragged that she took some pretty crisp pictures with her cell phone, and she showed Frank a photo of our pet cockatoo. Frank was quite amused. Later photographer Gregory Scott joined us. Terry was convinced she knew the designer of his shirt and he allowed her to inspect the label on the inside of his collar. Across the way a man was tweaking another man’s nipple as a photographer took a digital picture of a large red dragon tattooed on a woman’s back.

By the time Terry and I left the VIP tent, the fashion show was already over. Terry and Wendy had an ongoing commentary going about the horrible fashion mistakes by many of the women in the room. Wendy was particularly offended at some of the purses. I was amazed at how many people were on cell phones. I held my cell phone up to my ear even though no one was on the other end, just so I looked like I fit in.

Play in a Day – Tech

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Play in a Day at the Orlando Shakes, featured 20 actors, 7 writers and 7 directors. A lottery done the day before picked the creative teams for the seven plays. Each play was given a 20-30 minute tech. Tech is when the play is rehearsed in the theater so sound and lighting cues can be worked out. One of the plays referenced the set… “It looks like a children’s theater show gone horribly wrong!” I sketched as the play “Out On Top” written by Kenny Babel was being rehearsed. Kenny wrote the play between 2am and 4am the night before. Elizabeth Murff as the wife, Steven Johnson and Anthony Pyatt as the sons, played family members who just lost their father. The father had died in a freak accident at the opening of LEGO Land. He had climbed a LEGO Empire State Building and fell. A Bank of America skyscraper pierced his heart. In one scene the two boys stood with their hands at their wastes as if at a urinal as they spoke about their father.

Family Road Trip which I had been sketching all day entered the theater to polish their tech. John Connon slipped up on a line and then he shouted, “I f*cked it up ya’ll!” He followed with, “I wanna do art and I wanna get paid!” Both lines are classic Beth Marchall standards, delivered with her distinctive sharp southern drawl. Beth said, “I wanna be famous just so drag queens can play me. Also I wanna make tons of money so I can throw it at talented people.” She walks the walk. Posing for photos with the cast, she compared tattoos with John for Kristen Wheeler behind the camera which made me happy since I had painted the makeshift tattoos on John as a lark using my portable watercolor set.

Soon the theater filled with an audience. Beth stood, “Thank you for coming to Play in a Day and what a long day it has been.” Lindsay Cohen who had written “Welcome to Heaven” sat in my row. She seemed nervous since she had no idea how the audience would react, and she didn’t get to see the development process. When the audience responded with thunderous applause I glanced over and saw her relax.

Wekiva Photo Shoot

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Mary agreed to pose for a photo shoot to raise awareness about breast cancer. The catch was that she would heroically have to expose her breasts. Mary and Joseph (her ex husband) agreed I could come along to sketch. The photographer, Angela Marrocco, told us to meet her where they rent canoes on the Wekiva river. I arrived first and sat back on a bench to watch a few tourists relaxing near the river drinking beers and soaking up the sun. It was a beautiful day. Joe and Mary arrived and we discussed the logistics. Since there would be four of us, we would need two canoes. The women would go in one canoe and the men in the other. Once Angela arrived, she quickly rented her canoe and she and Mary headed down to the docks.

I used the digital device on the bar to try and rent the second canoe but got lost in the multiple forms. When asked to sign my name, I did it at first with a real pen before realizing I needed to use a stylus. By the time Joe and I got to the dock, the women were already paddling down river. Joe had never been in a canoe before. We jumped in and started paddling but we discovered we were still tied to the dock. Before long, we were working as a team picking up speed.

I had only seen two canoes in the time I spent waiting for folks to arrive. When the photographer found a cove where she could shoot Mary in the canoe, there were suddenly a dozen canoes crowded in the narrow river. I tried to get close to a tree that was overhanging the river. I figured if we anchored to that, I might be able to sketch the women in the other canoe. As I struggled with branches, I saw the photographer shoot several shots of Mary who had slipped her dress top down to her waist. Dang, I didn’t even get the sketchbook out yet! When Joe and I were finally secured against the tree, the women paddled back out into the river looking for another photogenic spot. I sighed and we followed.

For the next shot we all got out on dry land. There was an old worn out boardwalk set up in case of floods. Mary picked some ferns from the base of a thick tree trunk and used them to hide her face for the photo. She was a bit self conscious since she was visible to anyone paddling by in a canoe. The photographer worked quickly. I sketched as fast as I could. The photos were shot and my sketch was barely blocked in. For once I would have to finish the sketch in the studio.

Joe and I struggled to help the women launch their canoe. On the trip back, Mary was surprised by a branch and she fell back in her canoe with a thud. I’m amazed neither canoe capsized with all the activity.

Snap Mothers Day Reception

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The main photography exhibit for Snap was on the 5th floor of the GIA Building (618 East South Street.) I parked in Thornton Park and walked to the building. The exhibit took up the entirety of the 5th floor which was still under construction. Overhead, air ducts and beams were exposed. The walls had exposed insulation and raw metal studs. It was a wide open industrial loft. Surreal fanciful photos were everywhere. One large area was separated from the rest with a long black curtain. I stepped inside the ominous space. Large three foot high black and white photos shot by Barry Kirsch hung from the ceiling one after the other in two rows. Every photo was of a murder scene with one element, a gold watch, appearing in each shot. Most of the shots felt staged but as a whole the effect was disturbing and desensitizing.

After seeing everything I decided to focus by sketching the Dan Eldon exhibit. Mothers slowly began to arrive, and it was heart warming to watch them share the art with their children. This was an opportunity to spend quality time away from the distractions of TV and video games. They could share wild creative thoughts with abandon. Dan Eldon’s mom, Kathy, came to the exhibit and she offered a guided tour of her son’s photo journals.Dan was born in 1970 in England. When he was seven years old the family moved to Nairobi Kenya. This began his lifelong infatuation with Africa. His mom was a journalist and he accompanied her on interviews. His father worked with local community leaders. From his parents he learned how to transfer ideas into positive life affirming actions. A creative activist is someone who uses thought or imagination to catalyze positive change in our world.

He returned to Africa when he was 22 and photographed the horrible effects of famine in Somalia. His images helped spearhead a large international relief effort. He used his art to affect a positive change. Throughout his life he kept journals in which he would create expressive collages. The exhibit consisted of large screens on which large prints were made of pages from his journals. These pages offered a personal glimpse into his adventurous life. I jotted down a few of the quotes from his pages, “The most important part of vehicle maintenance is clean windows, so if you are stranded you will enjoy the view.” “Death is just a horizon and the horizon is only the extent of your view.”

On July 12, 1997 Dan Eldon was stoned and beaten to death while covering the conflict in Mogadishu, Somalia. He was just 22 years old. His mother, though devastated, had to find a positive way to deal with her grief. She formed an organization called Creative Visions and published Dan’s journals in a book called, “The Journey is the Destination.” She is intent to share his creative vision with the world. This mothers Day I got to meet an extraordinary mom. A mother’s love is eternal.