Weekend Top 6 Picks for September 7 and 8, 2019

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This month’s concert held at the Timucua White HouseSaturday September 7, 2019

9am to 5pm. $50-$68  Florida Blog Con. Full Sail University, 3300 University Blvd, Winter Park, FL 32792. The
Florida Blogger and Social Media Conference (aka #FLBlogCon) is a
one-day gathering of the state’s biggest bloggers, social media pros,
content creators, marketing and PR pros, and online influencers. Now in
our 9th year, the FLBlogcon planning team is excited to present once
again a day packed with break-out sessions, hands-on classes, and
informative keynotes.

4pm to 7pm Free. Found Spaces: New Paintings by Robert Ross. Arts on Douglas Gallery, 123 Douglas St., New Smyrna Beach, FL 32168. Sept.
7-28, 2019. The show, Found Spaces: New Paintings by Robert Ross, will
feature 38 brand-new art works I created over the past year exploring
interiors and landscape spaces. The exhibit includes a series of
10×10-inch paintings called “DOMUS” that riff on the classic geometry of
domestic spaces.

10:30pm to 12:30am Free but get food and drink. Son Flamenco. Ceviche Tapas Orlando, 125 W Church St, Orlando, FL 32801. 

Sunday September 8, 2019 

9:30am to 12:30pm $275 Crealde Urban Sketching Class. Crealde School of Art, 600 St Andrews Blvd, Winter Park, FL 32792. I am instructing this 6 week course in Sunday mornings.  Learn to sketch from subject to the environment. Classroom sessions will
focus on sketching clothed models and progress towards sketching the
model and classroom environment. Learn how to incorporate storytelling
into your sketches in our location sessions. These trips to local venues
will challenge you to use your sketchbook the way a photojournalist
uses a camera. The six-week goal is to produce finished sketches using
pencil, pen, and watercolor within two hours. Skill level: Intermediate.

Noon to 2pm Free. 10th International Urban Sketchers Symposium Travelogue by USk Orlando.  Sam Flax Orlando 1800 East Colonial Drive 2nd Floor Orlando, FL 32803. Join USk Orlando as we show and tell what we gained from the Urban Sketchers Symposium in Amsterdam! We’ll meet at Sam Flax on Sunday, 9/08 at 12pm.

trav·e·logue

/ˈtravəˌlôɡ/

noun

a movie, book, or illustrated lecture about the places visited and experiences encountered by a traveler.

Join us as we present a travelogue of our personal experiences at the 10th International Urban Sketchers Symposium held in 2019 in the beautiful city of Amsterdam. We will have a Q&A session, show & tell of our sketches done on location during the symposium, and demonstrations of workshops. Stay after and shop at the artist’s mecca, Sam Flax, then join us for a traditional Drink & Draw at Dandelion Communitea Café.

“The Dutch capital city has a history that dates back to the 13th century, and nowadays is a world city with historic as well as modern architecture. It has inspired artists for centuries with its idyllic bridges, canal houses and cobblestones.Amsterdam hosts 180 nationalities so everyone will feel right at home. It has everything you need for spending the perfect day in the City. Hosting world-class museums, it’s not just decked with old canals, charming gabled facades, drawbridges, and windmills but also with cutting edge modern design like the EYE Film museum. Truly an urban sketchers paradise.” http://www.urbansketchers.org/p/usk-amsterdam-2019_99.html

2pm to 4pm $5 Film Slam. Enzian Theater, South Orlando Avenue, Maitland, FL. Originally
a project of University of Central Florida’s Downtown Media Arts
Center, Enzian became the home of FilmSlam when DMAC closed in 2006. FilmSlam will usually be held on the second Sunday of each month at 1PM at Enzian.

Robert Ross Exhibit

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Found Spaces: New Paintings by Robert Ross will have its opening reception at Arts on Douglas Fine Art and Collectables (123 Douglas Street, New Smyrna Beach, FL 32168.) I have been fascinated by Robert’s work for years. He creates oil paintings that depict empty interiors and exteriors. They break up the canvas into well defined, sharp-edged shapes, with warm and cool colors playing off of each other along with warm and cool greys. They create a sense of deep space while evoking, to me, a lonely atmosphere.

This sketch is of an opening at Mills Gallery in Orlando. Robert walked through the exhibit with guests explaining his process. I liked his response to one patron’s esoteric question about the underlying meaning of what he paints. He explained that he simply loves the process of painting. Years from now the critics can read what they want into the paintings but his goal is to keep creating. He said, “My paintings reveal the beauty, mystery, and hidden life in ordinary,
overlooked places. My paintings often convey a quiet stillness, a sense
that something has just happened, or is about to happen. While good
design is always my starting point, I also want my paintings to transmit
the pleasures of light and color.”

Artist Dana Hargrove will also be exhibiting in the galleries alt_space. Dana’s work questions the ties that surround our daily lives, whether cultural,
political, religious, or social. She looks at how our ideals and values are
shaped by the fabric of our society and our identity within a nation. To me, her work looks like colorful shipping container architectural communities. 

The opening will be on on Saturday, September 7, between 4-7 PM. During this event, Arts on Douglas will be featuring the smooth jazz stylings of Trio with Ron Gilotti on the upright bass, Howard Post on the guitar, and Tyler Rosenke on the drums. Light refreshments will also be served.

Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival

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This was the 60th Annual Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival. I arrived on the first day to do a quick sketch. I entered by the rose garden and realized that it was the perfect spot to slow down and observe before entering the tight crowded walkways.College girls took selfies in front of the iconic peacock statue. One girl must have shot over 50 photos of herself in her constellation pattern skirt.

The first local artist I saw was Robert Ross but I never did find his tent. There are so many paths set up with wood chips through the park that I suspect I must have missed a few aisles. Someone walking the event was on his cell phone was saying to a friend, ” It’s 9 to 5 or some mess like that.” I always like seeing the quirky work of Ed Myers who integrates hidden digital phones and tablets into his creations to add blinking eyes to some paintings.

There was a hand made book binder that intrigued me. It reminds me that I should create my own sketchbooks if I want to work on paper that I love in the size that suits me. I have never found just the right sketchbook for my work. I make due with what I can find mass produced.

Local artist Mathew Cornell had a booth on Park Avenue. He creates small and incredibly realistic oil paintings. I like that he doesn’t crowd his booth with tons of work. He just had a few paintings appropriately spaces like in a gallery. The painting on display were called roadside attractions being from his travels across the country. He is trying to relate what America means to him as an artist.

There was also fashion accessories, photography, mixed media, ceramics, metal, leather, jewelry, digital art, fiber, glass, clay and sculptures. It was a chance to see a wide variety of art as inspiration. Of course it is illegal to sketch on Park Avenue in Winter Park. I hoped that the city ordinance had been rescinded for the duration of the festival. I also knew that Central Park is considered a safe zone, where freedom of expression is permitted.

The Winter Park Paint Out takes over Park Avenue.

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The Albin Polasek Museum and Sculp­ture Gar­dens will host its eighth Annual Win­ter Park Paint Out dur­ing the last full week of April 2016. Twenty-five pro­fes­sion­ally acclaimed Plein Air artists will roam across the city cap­tur­ing many of your favorite land­scapes and land­marks with oils, water­col­ors and pas­tels. Plein Air, a French term mean­ing “in the open air”, describes art works painted out­doors with the sub­ject directly in view rather than in a stu­dio. Plein air artists cap­ture the spirit and essence of a landscape or sub­ject by incor­po­rat­ing nat­ural light, color and move­ment into their works.

 If you’re an art lover, a patron, or just curi­ous to see what the buzz
is about, stop by the Polasek Museum to see the lat­est from the 25
artists in action! The museum, sculp­ture gar­dens and gallery will be
open free to the pub­lic through this excit­ing week-long event.
Com­pleted paint­ings will be hung in the gallery’s ‘Wet Room’
imme­di­ately. As the week pro­gressesthe gallery will fill with Plein Air art­work. Be sure to visit often to watch the artists work
and to pur­chase these one-of-a kind paint­ings the moment they are hung
on the wall.

On Monday, the first day of the Paint Out, I met Robert Ross who was set up near Writer’s Block Bookstore just East of Park Avenue on Welborne Avenue. Since Winter Park has just recently passed an ordinance making it illegal to create art or Perform on Park Avenue, I wanted to observe artists who where were immune from the $500 fine and or 60 days in jail for creating art in the forbidden zone. Each painter I saw on that day to had a Winter Park Paint Out sign which was a visual hint to police that they were sanctioned by the Museum. Several Russian women stopped to watch Rob a work, and shoot some photos. I passed four Plein Air painters hard at work as I walked back to my car. Odd that a city that just recently outlawed art should suddenly be over run by 25 artists from around the country for a week. why not allow free expression all year?

Mark Your Calendar for the free Paint Out demonstrations and workshops. Tonight April 26th, there is the “Dynamic Shadows Oil Painting Demonstration” by John Guernsey.  Bring a blanket or lawn chair and join us in Central Park by the Rose Garden. On Wednesday April 2tth, there is a Sunset “Paint-In” at the Winter Park Racquet Club, (2111 Via Tuscany, Winter Park). Paint Out Artists gather on the shore of Lake Mait­land at the Win­ter Park Rac­quet Club to cap­ture a beau­ti­ful Florida sun­set, then take a break from the week’s activ­i­ties. Come share the vista with us and watch as these out­stand­ing artists cre­ate a sun­set mem­ory on can­vas.  A cash-only bar and buf­fet will be avail­able to non-members, so please make an evening of it! April 30th from 6pm to 9pm is the Paint Out Garden Party.  Tickets to this event are, $100 in advance, and $125 at the door

Night of Fire lights up Crealdé School of Art.

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The fourth annual Night of Fire at Crealdé School of Art, (600 Saint Andrews Boulevard, Winter Park, FL) offered a chance to see artists at work in each of the studios. I settled in to Painting and Drawing Studio 1A where Crealde faculty Robert Ross and Barbara Tiffany were painting a still life with some eggs in a bowl and a letter. Marie Orban was also drawing from a model, although the model as on a break in the time I was sketching.

The whole campus comes alive after dark for  A Night of Fire. There was live music, refreshments and storytelling around the fire. Other workshops and demonstrations including a bronze pour, a gas kiln firing and raku firing. After finishing my sketch I warmed up with a cup of hot spiced wine and walked toward the lake to wait for a light-painting photography display. A dark silhouette of a boat on the lake could faintly be seen. I speculated with another patron to try and figure out what the light painting was all about. Small fireworks and sprinklers began dancing over the water. A camera with it’s shutter open recorded all the action compiling all the light motion into one image. I lost interest and wandered off to a warm fire pit.

The evening also served as the opening reception for the “Director’s Choice V” exhibition of works by Crealde’s youth faculty.

The Alice and William Jenkins Gallery had paintings by Bill Jenkins, the school’s founder in honor of the school’s 40th Anniversary. The Front Office was open to register for classes. All the activities were free.

pARTicipation

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It had rained all day on Saturday March 29th. An e-mail flash from the Maitland Art Center had said the that evenings “pARTicipate” would go on rain or shine. pARTicipate is an annual fundraiser where local artists are assigned a table to host and decorate. The dress code was cocktail attire, with a flair. The email highly recommend wearing comfortable (flat) shoes. This is a traveling party, and there will be walking on bricks and grass. I considered wearing my hiking boots to transverse the mud but they didn’t quite go with the suit and tie. Guests could take photos at the photobooth, make pieces of art at a creation station, visit any of the artist demonstrations, and bid in the silent art auction.

Terry and I were assigned to Robert Ross‘s table. Amazingly he had small 5 by 7 inch paintings matted as a gift for each guest.  One painting was a colorful plein air painting of a lake and the other had neutral greyed down colors depicting a barn and fence. It had a Grant Wood simplicity. Each wall of the architecture was a single brush stroke. Long after the event Robert contacted me to get a high resolution scan of the painting because he wanted to use it as a study for a much larger piece.

A large tent had been set up in preparation for the rain but thankfully the sky cleared up just enough so that there was I gorgeous sunset over the lake behind the Art Center. Glowing balloons lead guests back to the tent which was outside the Art Center’s fortifications. I didn’t sit for diner. Instead I stood at one of the high top tables to sketch. Three Full Sail students also sat at Roberts table as well as Kelly Canova who was photographing the event.

Voci dance performed a ritualistic dance accompanied by a drum. Terry and I explored the auction items inside the museum. Terry did place several bids but didn’t win the items. It was shoulder to shoulder standing room inside the museum. This annual gala is really a highlight every year to see what Orlando visual artists are doing. Dawn Schreiner‘s table was a playful pop up book style map of Orlando. Another table had art supplies so that guests could create.

Robert Ross Studio #7

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The Art and History Museums of Maitland (A&H) offers an Artist-in-Action (AIA) program that reflects the spirit of founder J. André Smith’s Research Studio and the current mission of the institution. This program provides non-residential studio space to an established or emerging artist for the professional practice and research of fine art. This program is an exciting opportunity to interact with A&H’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 A&H’s acclaimed Artist-in-Action program takes place at the A&H’s 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. In the recent past, a number of very well-known artists occupied the studios in a non-resident capacity, including the late Anita Wooten, Barbara Tiffany, and Ellie Diez-Massaro.

On September 12th I went to visit Robert Ross one of the 2013 Artists in Action. I got to the studio a bit early, so I considered doing a quick study of the Maitland Art Center’s central courtyard.  Unfortunately that sketch was interrupted by a lawn jockey who entered the courtyard with a lawn mower. He isn’t permitted to mow a lawn with anyone within 50 feet of him because flying debris could cause injury. He asked me to leave and I erased what I had started. Robert arrived as I exited the courtyard.

His studio doesn’t have any windows, but the bathroom window lets light in when the door is left open. A large tree branch was hung on one wall and Robert was working on a life sized sketch which was pinned to the wall directly below the branch. He decided to work on a still life with a cup, jar and seed pod. He quickly assembled his field paint easel. A warm spot light was set up to illuminate his scene. Robert’s paintings  have been exhibited in a growing number of venues in Central Florida. He also maintains a studio at McRae Art Studios in Winter Park. He worked quickly on his painting and I tried to maintain the same energy with my sketch by avoiding line in favor of value and color. Robert is a retired graphic designer and he loves the ability to pursue painting full time. He plans to take part in the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival where he can see which pieces sell. He doesn’t want to get caught up in chasing the market. I admire Robert’s work which is a blend between Edward Hopper and Fairfield Porter.  Many of his pieces show lonely, empty spaces between structures.

Recently he has been doing large painting based on sketches from sketchbooks. He likes having control over color and form which he can experiment with not feeling the need to slavishly recreate every detail. Watching him work made me itch to start attacking large canvases myself.

Casselberry House

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The Florida Painters Group had their annual exhibition at the Casselberry House (125 Quail Pond Circle in Casselberry, Fl) in June. The show included paintings from 15 artists, who are mostly landscape painters. I went to the opening reception to see the work.

Show participants were: Ann Gale Holstein, Robert Ross, Carol Platt, Cathy Hempel, Cori Garret, Diane Walters, Gary Rupp, Gary Sisco, Karen Minnigan, Kim Ashby, Laura Bates, Lynn Tolar, Lynne Polley, Mary Martin, Orit Reuben, Rosa Bujali and Seemi Usmani.

The paintings that most caught my eye were by Robert Ross. He did a painting inside the  Capen House. This historic Winter Park home was slated for demolition, but locals are raising funds to save the house and float it across the lake Osceola to the Albin Polasek Museum where it would be lovingly preserved.

After viewing the paintings I decided to sketch Louis Alfredo playing guitar. He was quite good and several people actually danced as he played. For the most part however people shouted at one another in the crowded space and didn’t notice the incredible talent in the corner.

Cami Smith who is an industry outreach liaison at Full Sail introduced herself. When she found out I had worked at Disney Feature Animation, she asked me if I knew Aaron Blaise. Of course I knew Aaron who had co-directed “Brother Bear“. He had taken a research trip to Alaska for that film and his sketchbook from that trip was absolutely inspiring. Aaron had gone on to work at Digital Domain in South Florida but that company went bankrupt before they could finish an animated film about an elephant. I heard Aaron was returning to Orlando. Cami informed me that he is hoping to produce a Computer Animated film called “Art Story” about a boy and his grandfather who travel into the worlds of famous paintings. She showed me the Kickstarter page and Aaron has successfully raised the $350,000 needed to further develop the story. I like the story’s message, “Life is a blank canvas, now go paint your masterpiece.”