Ultimate Floyd Tribute

Posted on by Thor

I am a huge Pink Floyd fan. Their music sculpted my teen angst leading into the years as I ventured into NYC to study art. I financed my college years at first as a mechanic who fixed and ran junk mailing machines. I became quite good at keeping the machines running with rubber bands sweat and delicate finesse along with zen wishful thinking. In the process I became a machine myself while wearing headphones from a Walkman that blasted Pink Floyd.

This was my first job that I got while still in high school. A team of high school girls were hired to sort the mail according to zip codes. The boys would then tie up the piles with machines and throw them in mail bags. A swing arm would rotate around the package and then tie a knot. I got to the point where I could keep my foot pressed down on the mechanical pedal and bundle packages so fast that the piles would instantly disappear.  The sorters would try and keep up. One of the sorters would joke with me and we started to race one another in the quest to see who could produce the largest pile of junk mail faster. She was my first crush. We only dated a few times before we both went off to different states for our college educations.

The Pink Floyd song, Wish You Were Here becoming my anthem as I went to the School of Visual Arts in NYC. The music kept me company on the many long bus and subway rides to and from classes. I kept the flame alive for this former co-worker for years, but eventually I attended her wedding, and she attended my wedding a few years later in NYC. The song still resonates with me. I no longer long for her but I still feel a longing for something I may never find.

My friend saved me a seat at house right. The concert started an hour before the time listed on the tickets. We were seated behind an empty chair which gave us a fabulous view of the stage. We joked that a super tall guy would likely sit there, and that he would probably be wearing a large cowboy hat or have a huge Bob Ross Afro. Just as we stopped laughing a very tall man sat in the seat. We just looked at each other and smiled.

A tribute band can be a risky proposition. This group however was amazing. They brought back all my teen angst along with the harsh reality of failed relationships. What made the concert particularly fun was that I went with a friend who it turns out is also a huge Pink Floyd fan. We both knew all the lyrics and sang along with absolute abandon. Behind us was a guy who knew when to chime in at all the right moments. In one song that mentions lunatics, he started laughing as loud as he could. I was in heaven, in the company of complete lunatics.

For the Dark Side of the Moon, the movie The Wizard of Oz was projected on the screen. I have read that the Pink Floyd album works in perfect sync as a soundtrack for that movie. I am not sure if the music worked in perfect sync but it was effective. The most heart wrenching scene in the movie was when Dorothy had to give up her little dog Toto. For that level of loss. Pink Floyd music rings true.

The darkest music of The Wall was reserved for the end of the concert. Whenever I looked at my friend I saw a smile from ear to ear. We sang Comfortably Numb like our lives depended on it. I felt pure joy but also found myself on the point of tears, it was such a strange flood of emotions.

My friend first discovered Pink Floyd at the tender age of 12. I probably discovered the band at the age of 17 or so in NYC. Both are impressionable ages and the music has stuck with us for all these years.

Simply put this was an amazing concert and I am so grateful to have shared it with a friend.

Bad Santa and the Angry Elves Blitzkrieg Maxine’s

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Bad Santa and the Angry Elves have been performing their rebellious, punk-rock twist on Christmas tunes around Orlando for some time. These shows were short high octane sets. Bad Santa has been expanded into a 90 minute show that builds on the premise that this Santa aka, Kris Kringle IV, is the son of THE Santa and he is trying to win his fathers respect by promoting the idea that Christmas should not be one day a year but should be celebrated every day of the year with small acts of kindness generosity, joy and giving. This radical idea caused a family rift.

This dress rehearsal was held in a beautiful lake front home in Winter Park. This was actually my old stomping grounds. I lived a few blocks away for a summer and did a series of paintings of the sunsets at the lake. The home owner is an avid art collector and he gave me a tour of his collection. A large flip board display in a bedroom showcased classic pin up art along with pop art from such pop art giants like Roy Lichtenstein. In the living room there was an original Soviet propaganda poster that showed a woman half in darkness with the dark representing the past while the light hinted at a positive future. I loved that I got to sketch amazing art along with the live performance.

Much of the early music in the show is based on one of my favorite bands, Pink Floyd. It was very fun singing along to the new Christmas themed lyrics to very familiar dark and moody Pink Floyd tunes. The eclectic mix of edgy tunes kept coming. If people go to the show expecting a saccharine sweet Christmas show they will not know what hit them. Santa started out the show all decked out in his full hot red suit but as things heated up, the winter suit and hat were pealed off with gusto allowing his jiggling belly ample room to breathe. Santa is very athletic as he acted as the hard core lead singer in this Angry Elves band. One of the microphones was misbehaving but the energy of the show never faltered.

One rather tall elf had on a muscle bound tee shirt that gave him the appearance of washboard abs in contrast to Santa’s belly. This elf in his green suit was all over the stage, sometimes singing back up and sometimes on guitar. I had trouble deciding where I should place him in my sketch. Santa was indeed angry as he sang about brotherly love in a world where conflict out shines compassion.

There is a constant driving energy to the show that had me whooping and hollering. Bad Santa and the Angry Elves with be performing excerpts from the show at at Maxine’s on Shine before they bring the show to Edinburgh Fringe later this year. There is a show on July 20th with doors open at 6PM and show at 6:30PM. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door.

A rebellious and loud Christmas should indeed be celebrated every day of the year.

Castrol Sales Force Convention

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Stacey Paul Barabe hired me to work at the Castrol Sales Force Convention here in Orlando. Jeff Hollis and Roger Edwards wanted me to do some live sketching during their training session. Castrol is a British global brand of industrial and automotive
lubricants offering a wide range of oils, greases and similar products
for most lubrication applications. The goal was for me to create 20 sketches live that would fit into their Powerpoint presentation. Michele Bires kept everybody on track and saved my butt when I realized I had no script for the next day. She sent over the latest slides and I cobbled together something for the next day.

The day before we all met for a walk through of what they planned to present. The basic flow of the presentation was to start with introductions, compare technical and adaptive approaches, Reactive versus creative approaches a mindset shift and then a final commitment. From the meeting I learned that the presentation would move quickly. Some of the sketches were to be dome in less than a minute which presented technical difficulties for me since any sketch worth its weight would take longer than a minute.

The night before I set up each of the 20 sketches on my iPad Pro so I would not have to deal with layers and some writing was done before hand which I could swipe into place when needed. The rehearsal the next morning proved that even with this plan the sketches could not be done as fast as needed. With Powerpoint the presenter has full control of transitions at the click of a button. I was positioned in the back of the room and knowing exactly when a transition was needed was problematic. Some of the early images were only on screen for 30 seconds. I am fast, but not that fast.

My responsibilities shrank from 20 images sketched live to 4 or 5 sketches done live. Also several that were planned to be done live were instead rotated into the Powerpoint presentation. I don’t believe anyone realized that when sketching live that I would have to open pallets when changing colors. I followed the presentation sketching each of the 20 images live and did mange to keep pace, but none of that work ever went on the screen. The sketches I did do live went well. I learned much from the process and realize now that what would be needed to fit into an established presentation would be for me to create the sketches before hand and send the client 30 second lime laps animations of the drawings being created. Those animations could then be fit into their Powerpoint presentations and played at the press of a button. Watching art being created for more than 30 seconds at a time is like watching grass grow for most people.

There were team building exercises in which teams had to support a bamboo stick with just 1 finger and then everyone had to work together to try and lower the stick to the ground. It seems simple enough but in practice it proved difficult. Participants also had to stand in order of height without talking or pointing. It was news to me that a new CEO had been tasked with leading Castrol into the future. Paul Waterman, is an American businessman and the chief executive
officer of Elementis Plc. Paul was Global CEO of BP Lubricants, a part
of the BP Group.

The final Powerpoint slide I got to create live and it consisted of a box. After a break, everyone returned to find boxes had been set behind each seat. On each box people were asked to write a commitment about how everyday business might be done better or more effectively. All these boxes were then stacked at the front of the hall to create a large wall. On my sketch I got to play with a reference to Pink Floyd‘s “The Wall.” My biggest take away from the inspirational afternoon was that great teams value differences. Live on the edge folks!

Moon Jelly illuminated the In-between series.

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On Saturday March 5th, Moon Jelly performed at the Gallery at Avalon Island as part of the monthly In-between series. When I arrived at the upstairs theater, Kate Shults was setting up the lighting and video effects. Hanging vines had their branches wrapped in foil as if to protect them from harmful radiation or alien attack. A vibrant green lamp caught my eye to anchor the scene and I sat in the front row to start sketching. Steven Head, the guitarist made a comment about all the “foiliage”.  He let me know that his family would be sitting to my left. He was also surprised that I was working digitally. He got ready to perform by putting on a pair of glitter socks. A photographer asked all the band members to hold plants and she photographed them before the show.

I just wanted to be sure I was fine where I was seated before committing to the sketch. Moriah Lorraine Russo sat next to me, and I felt at ease since she is an artist herself. My concern was that the room would go dark and I would be be the jerk with a giant illuminated tablet. People have been shot in Florida for turning on their digital devices in a dark theater. She reassured me that she enjoyed watching the sketch develop. Hopefully others felt the same. 

Timothy Murray, the other Moon Jelly guitarist, held up the small purple vase to let people know that they could place any tips inside since they were not getting paid for this gig. He was good about reminding the audience that he would be making the announcement multiple times.

Anna Wallace, the lead singer also performed on an Omnichord. She had on giant eyelashes and plenty of glitter around her eyes. The bands music is classified as pop psych. “Round, soft, colorful, senseless and unknowing. Polka-dots can’t stay
alone; like the communicative life of people, two or three polka-dots
become movement… Polka-dots are a way to infinity.” – Yayoi Kusama. Before the show, band members joked that it was hard to be weird but accessible. 

The music flowed and ebbed with a mysterious electron vibe. One song flowed seamlessly into another. The lyrics were quirky and fun. I absolutely loved the show which took me back to the brooding seamless concerts of Pink Floyd. Moon Jelly however had a much light flair. Blurred and pixelated images flickered on the screens. Listening was like a dream in which you find you are floating, a bit out control, but certain that things will work out. The audience went wild when the music found its resolution. Moon Jelly was the opening act for Mutual Benefit. I felt satiated when their set was done and decided to slip out before Mutual Benefit was set up. It was a great concert in a great venue. 


After the show, I got to see the plein air art show now hanging in the gallery. Kelly Medford, an American Artist has been living in Rome where she does a plein air painting every day. We collaborated on an Orlando Sketch Tour workshop on Valentines Day weekend and it was such a fun experience.

Live from Orlando, It’s Science Night Live

Posted on by Thor

Orlando Science Center kicked off the summer with an eclectic evening of fun and discovery reserved just for grown-ups during Science Night Live on Saturday, June 6 from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. The evening had craft beer samplings with local and national breweries, craft beer mini seminars, a Pink Floyd laser light show and more! The event was part of Orlando Science Center’s year-long 60th anniversary celebration. I sketched a larger than life chess board. Two different couple competed during the course of the sketch.

A laser light show in the Dr. Phillips Cine Dome featured Pink Floyd’s “Best of Echoes.” It was a rock ‘n’ roll experience backed by 28,000 watts of stereo sound and  laser effects. Classics like “One of These Days,” “Comfortably Numb,” “Another Brick in the Wall,” and “Wish You Were Here” were augmented by laser animation. I watched the laser light show, and although I love the music of Pink Floyd the laser animation was insanely dated and trite. Many of the younger patrons lost interest and turned to the graphics on their phones.

Visitors could also examine the night sky in the Crosby Observatory through the use of the 10-inch refractor telescope, the largest of its kind in the state available to the public. View moons, planets and deep sky objects such as galaxies, nebula’s and more. In addition, there is an unobstructed view of the downtown Orlando skyline from the sixth-floor terrace.

While the Science Center has a lot to offer kids and families during regular hours, Science Night Live was exclusively for grown-ups. Orlando Science Center’s mission is to inspire science learning for life. The Science Center strives to create lasting impacts on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education and develop the next generation of creative innovators. Fully accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, the Science Center ranks as one of the most popular museum destinations in the region. Having served more than 12 million people since its inception in 1955, the Science Center offers rich resources for lifelong learning.

Earth Fest

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Before work on Saturday I went to Earth Fest in Lake Concord Park (95 Triplet Lake Drive Casselberry FL). When I arrived I walked towards the sound of music. The Hindu Cowboys were performing and I immediately started a sketch. Next to me a bicyclist stopped and watched me intently. His name was Hector and he came from New York City so we had something in common. He lamented the fact that he seldom sees artists like myself sketching around town. In NYC there are herds of artists in Times Square. He also lamented that you never see musicians performing on the streets of Orlando.

The Hindu Cowboys finished up their first set playing Johnnie Cash‘s Folsom Prison Blues.  While they were gone I added watercolor washes to the sketch. When I was done, I wandered through the sea of tents. I was hungry and looking for a food tent. Someone offered me a health bar that tasted like a Fig Newton. One tent had an active bee hive on display. By the time I was ready to head to work, the Hindu Cowboys were on stage again playing Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd. The music faded away as I made my way across the ever busy 17-92 back to my car. Maybe there is something wrong in this need to sketch everyday. A movie trailer for the next Thor movie, hafd the tag line, “What would you sacrifice for what you believe in.”.

Whitney Broadway

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I decided to learn what I could about the Maitland Art Center‘s Artist’s in Action program. The program reflects the spirit of founder André Smith’s Research Studio and the current mission of the institution. This program provides non-residential studio space to  established or emerging artists for the professional practice and research of fine art. This program is an exciting opportunity to interact with Center’s community of artists and art enthusiasts while working in this uniquely rich and historic environment.

A fixture at the institution for many years, the acclaimed Artist-in-Action program takes place at the historic Maitland Art Center (originally André Smith’s Research Studio). In Smith’s day, famous artists were invited to live and work at the Research Studio in the winter months, including luminaries Milton Avery and Ralston Crawford.

Whitney Broadaway grew up in Sebring, Florida and received her Bachelor’s of Fine Arts
with a focus in Printmaking from the University of Central Florida in
2010. During her degree, Broadaway studied printmaking, ceramics, and
the book arts extensively. She has interned with the Museum of Florida
Art and Culture as well as Flying Horse Press. Whitney is currently
the Book Conservator for the Special Collections & University
Archives department of the UCF Libraries. There she is in charge of
conserving and repairing material, as well as coordinating and judging
the annual Book Arts Competition.

Whitney‘s studio at the Arts Center was bright and light filled. Whitney’s recent prints integrate elaborate floral patters similar to work done at the turn of the century. One plate had delicate line work where she had to carve away the areas around the lines which takes amazing patience. As she worked on carving lino plates, she sang along with the tunes on her laptop. I began singing along as well. Pink Floyd began playing and Whitney told me about a video that had the Dark Side of the Moon dubbed over The Wizard of Oz and the music synced perfectly. A huge steel print press stood in the corner of the studio. It once belonged to André Smith so it is a historical relic. It has sat unused for years and Whitney is trying to let the Arts Center committee realize that the press needs to be used so all the working parts are active and lubricated. I felt like a bit of a dinosaur working next to this young artist, so I can identify with the idea that no matter how old you might be you should stay active every day.  I hope the press wheel once again turns to create a new generation of prints.