Five Centuries of Florida Cattlemen History

Posted on by Thor

Photographer Bob Stone gave a talk at the Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens in the Capen House (633 Osceola Avenue, Winter Park, FL). It was a crowded event so seating was limited. I went back to the car and got my artist stool so I could get to work sketching. A few seats did remain open, so Pam managed to sit as well.

The cattlemen history began way back in the 1500s when Spanish settlers first brought cattle to Florida. Raising cattle has been a long tradition in Florida. One cattlemen explained it this way, “You can plant crops, but at the end of the harvest you have to load that crop onto the train. The cattle just walk onto the train themselves.” It is possible that the word cowboy originated as a derogatory reference to blacks who worked raising the cows. One woman in the back row was a real character who clearly has been raised in the cattle culture. She pointed out that some whips used to be 15 feet long and someone she knew could flick a match out of your lips from 15 feet away.

Bob had an amazing collection of historic photos that showed how raising cattle has changed over the years. Ranchers used to create cattle “dips,” or troughs in the ground and fill them with a poison that killed the bugs. When development encroached, these toxic sites had to be cleared.

Christianity has long been ingrained in cattleman culture. One photo showed a cowboy being baptized in a metal cattle trough, while other photos showed bull riders praying before getting on the back of a bull.

After the talk, Rachel Frisby invited everyone to see the exhibit, “Lay of the Land: The Art of Florida’s Cattle Culture.” This show, in collaboration with the Florida Cattleman’s Foundation, explored the 500 years of Florida cattle culture through art and hand-crafted items such as saddles and spurs. My favorite discovery at the exhibit was the sketchbooks of Sean Sexton. He has been documenting life on a cattle ranch in his sketchbooks since 1973. I desperately wanted to flip through the sketchbooks, but they were behind glass.

Painting Demo

Posted on by Thor

Winter Park Paint Out Artist Steve Andrews gave a painting demonstration in Downtown Orlando at the Orange County Administration Building Sculpture Garden (201 South Rosalind Avenue Orlando FL). He set up on the lawn facing the Orlando skyline. This was a free event so anyone was invited to attend. As I arrived, Rachel Frisby and several assistants were setting up the Albin Polasek Museum banner and a tent. I paced around an tried to figure out what I should sketch as they set up. I finally realized I should sit back a bit so I could include the sculpture of a man trying to fly with I-beams and very non aerodynamic wings. It seemed fitting in that it implied to me that most of man’s aspirations though well intentioned can be futile. I had every intention of doing a good sketch but it always seems that circumstances are always set in place to keep me from the task of taking flight.

Several people approached as I set up the scene asking well intentioned questions that stole time as the sun raced towards the horizon. Terry Olson who heads up the Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs stopped to say hello. He then checked out Steve’s progress and headed on his way, probably to another cultural event. I see him everywhere I go. A security guard from the Orange County Building approached and asked if I was with the County. It was clear he was looking to stop my sketch in progress. I told him I was, to buy time, and kept working. My mistake had been to say hello to him as he did his rounds. He approached a second time and asked to see my credentials. I showed him my Winter Park Paint Out badge and told him that this was an event that had been approved with a permit. He told me he had not been informed and I assume he went back inside to call around to see if he could get the artist/anarchist off of the city property. I must have seemed an easy target since I sat apart from the crowd. His main concern was that this would be an isolated event. We don’t want artists running amok downtown, now do we?

Steve began blocking in his painting as everyone sat on the lawn to watch. The biggest challenge was looking straight into the setting sun. Instead of using line, he boldly blocked in the shapes in oil always being able to refine a shape as the painting progressed. He told a story that his father had been a doctor during world War II and he was one of the few doctors who stayed in Orlando during the war effort. Orange County Regional History Center curator Pam Schwartz made arrangements to get his fathers oral history.

The crowd gathered to watch Steve paint broke out into laughter. I didn’t understand why at first. Rachel later explained that her dog had taken the moment to squat in front of the artist and take a lingering dump right in the scene he was painting. “Everyone is a critic!” Steve mused.

Today is the last day of the Winter park Paint Out, so it is your last chance to see all the paintings that have been created this week in the “wet gallery”. Admission to the Albin Polasek Museum (633 Osceola Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789) is free for the paint out until 5pm. Tonight is the Paint Out Garden Party from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. This is the big blow out gala which showcases all of the art from the event. Over 400 patrons are expected to attend dressed in cabana chic garden attire. Tickets to the Garden Party are  $100 in advance or $125 at the door. Each ticket enti­tles the buyer to $50.00 off the pur­chase of a paint­ing dur­ing the Gar­den Party! (Limit one ticket per paint­ing val­ued at $300 or more)

Winter Park Paint Out: Peacock Junction

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In a small suburban neighborhood south of Michigan street in Orlando. peacocks roost each night in this live Oak tree. I had just gotten back to Orlando on a red eye flight from Las Vegas and taught an Urban Sketching course at Crealde. This year I am participating as one of the 25 artists in the Winter Park Paint Out. When I got back in town, I read an e-mail from Rachel Frisby the Albin Polasek Museum curator, and one of her suggested locations to paint was this neighborhood. Though running on fumes, I decided to immediately head that way to check it out.

The sun was setting as Pam Schwartz and I arrived. We could hear the Peacocks before we saw them. They resembled large looming vultures when we first saw them in the tree. It had rained earlier in the day, so there were puddles of water to sip. Neighborhood cars would slow and drive around the birds which were in no rush to get out of the way. One car parked in front of me while I sketched and the driver shouted out, “You can take a few home with you if you like!” He then pulled into the driveway of the blue home I was sketching. His daughter later came out to introduce herself. She was an actress who I had sketched in a murder mystery ghost show. In that performance he was dresses like a rocker chick with a Mohawk, so I didn’t recognize her at first. I believe she will be in the cast of “Patrons Pick For Murder” at the Orlando Fringe starting May 18, 2018. Tickets are on sale now.

A small puppy was being taken for a walk. He was unfazed by the peacocks, some of which were much larger that him. The front door of the tan home opened and an entire bucket of bird seed was thrown out in the yard. Soon there had to be at least 50 peacocks crowded around the seed. Two males strutted around the yard with their tail feathers in full display shaking their booties. One female wandered too close and she was hypnotized by the display. In an instant he mounted her and the entire encounter lasted only seconds. As it grew darker more and more peacocks wandered en mass towards the tree. This street is located between two small lakes and the birds probably came from the water to this location to roost for the night, there being protection in numbers. Their calls sounded like, “HEEEELP MEEEE.” I asked the actress how she slept at night and she claims that you get used to the noise over time. That seems unlikely to me because the noise is deafening. Any time a car dives by with its head light on the entire flock starts screaming out, “HEEEEELP MEEEEE.”

The 10th Annual Winter Park Paint out is happening this week through April 28th. Admission to the Polasek Museum (633 Osceola Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789) is free for the duration of the event. Hours from Monday to Thursday are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday April 27, the hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday April 28th, the hours are 9 a.m. to noon. My work created this week will be hanging in the gallery. Artists are always painting in the museum gardens which are beautiful. Come on out and see all the new art. I might be standing near this painting subtly screaming out “HEEEELP MEEEE!”