The Bug in Mount Dora Florida

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My bike needed a major tune up when I lived up in Lake County Florida. I took it to Adrenaline Bike Works (206 N Highland Street, Mount Dora, FL). They did a great job of fixing a flat and getting the brake pads balanced. It felt like a new ride when I left. A few months prior I had just purchased an inner tube and I replaced it myself. However, I had to drill the hole in the aluminum rim a bit larger to get the valve to fit. I think I must have left a few aluminum shards behind because the next time I went to use the bike the tire was flat.

The time I wanted to use the bike I was going to Stella Arbelaéz’s Graduation. It was a several mile bike ride from the artist studios to the UCF stadium where the graduation was taking place. I was more than disappointing when I got on the bike and found that the tire was flat. It was a moment to shout out and curse the gods. I decided to walk the distance to the graduation ceremony. I was a sweaty mess in my dress shirt and fashionable slacks when I arrived, but I made it in time.

Next to Adrenaline Bike Works was this shell of a VW Beatle which was turned into a menacing metal spider. The sculpture was unveiled in January of 2020. It was built by John Henns who owns the commercial property at Highland Street and 3rd Avenue. The bug is painted an ominous black. Any arachnophobics who happen to drive by might get a fright. The Volkswagen or, translated, the People’s Car was car developed from an idea of Adolf Hitler himself.  To me the VW Beatle symbolized the Nazi ideals which included concentration camps and ethnic cleansing, which makes it all the more frightening.

School must have just let out when I started the sketch, because large groups of school children kept walking past as I worked. One student shouted out, looks great! And I gave him a thumbs up.

James Chonody Street Artist Little Econ Trail

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I have been biking the Little Econ Greenway Trail each morning since I have been in an Airbnb in Azalea Park. I set up this short-term rental for two weeks. Stella Arbeláez pointed out that the place was very close to the Little Econ trail. I am glad I made it a limited stay in Azalea Park, because the house is directly under the flight path of planes landing at the Executive Airport. I thought only little Cessna’s landed at that airport, but I was wrong. The planes also fly over the Little Econ Trail but the noise isn’t as bad since the planes have more elevation when flying over the trail.

I tend to bike the trail as soon as I wake up in the morning. I know that the heat builds and I would rather not be sweating when the Florida heat reaches it’s peak in the afternoon. Riding my bike each morning gives me time to think, and it allows my body to heal faster after my hernia repair operation. The time spent biking also allows me to reflect on what I want to accomplish for the day.

One morning I noticed an artist set up in one of the picnic canopies working on a painting. I had wanted to bring along my art bag so I could do a sketch on the trail, but I managed to forget it back at the Airbnb. I cursed my thoughtlessness and rode by, hoping I might catch him the next day. Thankfully he was indeed there the next day. I rode past again because I wanted to be sure to do a full circuit of the trail. On the ride back, I stopped to introduce myself.

James Chonody was dressed in a Hawaiian shirt that looked like Van Gogh’s Starry Night painting. My awkward introduction was warmly received by James, and he started to tell me all about his career as a location artist. James gave up drinking about 7 years ago and at the same time he took up painting. He thought he might reward himself with a drink after finishing his first painting, but he became completely obsessed with that first painting and forgot all about drink. Painting had kept him sober for 7 years. I feel the need to get lost in the creative process once every day to keep my life on point, and I suspect James feels that same need. He said that children who like to spin obsessively are prone to want to drink later in life. They like the feeling of being a bit off balance. Art does the opposite.  It offers a chance to be completely balanced and very much aware of the surroundings.

As James related his life story I felt like our paths were very much alike. He worked for Disney helping engineer the parade floats, and I put in 10 years at Disney Feature Animation. He feels more satisfaction now that he is producing art that satisfies his tastes. We had some fun bashing Disney executives.

James blocks in his paintings quickly and can do several paintings a day. He doesn’t like to over polish a painting, he likes the look of definite bold brushwork. I was a little worried because he felt the mason jar painting he was working on looked complete. I just hoped he would work on it long enough for me to finish my sketch from across the bike path. He did continue painting by adding lights to the background of the piece. He started packing up at about noon. I think like me he likes to get back to the studio before the worst of the Florida heat hits.

His painting often starts with a black ground. He explained that this allowed the darkest darks to already be in place, he just needed to add lights. We joked about watercolor artists who refuse to use black. They spend so much time mixing black with burnt Umber and ultramarine, blue. Like James I am happy to just use black if it suits the needs of the sketch.

He is a member of the Sanford Seminole Art Association and he encourages artists to paint on location. I hope to stop out and join them at some point. I am always excited to learn about a new arts organization.

The story James related of resilience and using art to rebuild oneself really resonated with me. James is 74 years old and he has his art for sale as he works on a painting. As we were speaking someone walked up to his artist’s area and they were in the market to buy the painting James had of a golden retriever dog swimming. The person didn’t have enough cash, and he offered James a down payment. James suggested he look for an ATM cash machine nearby. He joked with me that the park should really set up an ATM near the picnic canopy where he sells his art since the art sells so well. As I was finishing my sketch, the guy returned with the rest of the cash to buy the painting.

James explained that it was a good day since he had sold several paintings and he had replenished his artistic stock by completing a painting of the mason jar full of lemonade. He also had a painting of a mason jar full of fruit loops cereal. He said people love nostalgia and nostalgia sells. That Fruit Loops painting would end up in someone’s breakfast nook, of that he was certain.

Other paintings on display were of Italianate architecture.  James said that some people could spot his engineering background in his artwork. I sometimes get similar comments about my location sketches. James paints live at events, so we certainly have much in common. It was such a pleasure to meet a fellow artist on a beautiful Sunday morning. Showcasing his work outside allows him to meet people and sell art.  He wondered why more artists don’t do it. I want to live more like James when I grow up.

Gouache Video Workshop

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Stella Arbelàez and I painted along with a gouache and color theory workshop video. It is fun learning new painting skills with another artist. Only 3 tubes of gouache along with white were needed for the workshop. Since I was borrowing the dabs of gouache from Stella, I was very conservative about how much paint I used. On a few occasions I used some of my watercolors when the gouache ran low. The colors used were Red, Yellow and Blue which are the primary colors. Any other color can be mixed from those three colors. There was no use of black on the palette. Instead, the instructor focused on how to best mix warm blacks and cool blacks. All the variations were so subtle.

The gouache colors used are very pure and thus very dark and full of pigment. Very often white would need to be mixed into the color to differentiate one color from another. Being able to paint a light color on top of a dark color was a thrilling change for me, since I have only worked with thin washes of watercolor for years.

The instructor had us mix a gradation between two complimentary colors. He picked yellow and purple. In the middle of the mixture the colors neutralize or become muddy. This is important since most colors seen in nature are not pure and vibrant, they have to be muddied up a bit. My everyday palette is organized so that complimentary colors are opposite one another. I often will find myself mixing complimentary colors to make them less vibrant.

We all worked from the same reference which was a scene of a market in Flushing or Queens New York under the elevated subway tracks. Having lived in NYC for 10 years I was very familiar with the scene. It reminded me of the early morning fish market I used to sketch at the southern tip of New York City. It would be great to return to the fish market again since I know I could capture the scene so much better than I did way back in the late 1980s.

I love finding colors while mixing. That is why I used to love to paint in oils. I stopped using oils simply because I never want to leave any trace of paint behind when working on location. I work fast and sloppy so the change of oils getting on my hands and then on a carpet of cushion are pretty high. Working gouache into my everyday kit seems like a good compromise. I can keep part of the sketch fluid with thin washes and them add opaque paint in areas where it is most needed.

If I were to use thick paint as I did in this workshop then it would become necessary to start working smaller. For me the biggest challenge is to always try to keep the brush clean. I might be painting in the darks and then decide to try and paint a bright and light color. The darker color always seems to find a way to hide deep inside the bristles and then muddy up the light color I was hoping to paint. Plenty of experimentation is going to be needed.

I purchased a small landscape hardbound sketchbook that I will try and use at the Orlando International Fringe Festival in May. That is where I will experiment with using gouache for the first time extensively. There are so many other supplies I would like to get, but I am living out of a backpack right now and don’t want to carry too much weight.

Langford Park Orlando

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After the experience with Jeff Wirth as part of  the Play Coach Story Swap, Stella Arbeláez and I decided it would be nice to do a painting in Langford Park. Stella had her full painting set up in her car and I had my usual sketching supplies. Langford Park and Dickson Azalea Park are right next to one another. The little stream that runs through Azalea Park also runs through Langford Park. Langford park is more open and expansive with some of the oldest trees in Orlando.

Stella and I set up on a sort of peninsula that is between several paved hiking trails. The advantage of this spot was that few people would walk buy as we were working. It offered privacy in the otherwise very public park. While we were painting and sketching, a large group of after school children were being guided on a forced march around Langford. The adult in charge would shout at the top of her lungs, “ Sarah, stop right there! Let everyone catch up!”  The fits and starts of the forced march were punctuated with constant commands from the supervising adult. Was my childhood that structured and highly supervised? Dear god I hope not. Rather than enjoying the sights and sounds of nature these kids were being hearded to the point of squeezing away any joy.

Stella set up her easel and was doing a full on painting while I sat in my tiny artist stool and sketched the tree and stream. Stella got to play with magnificent warms and cools in her study , while I cranked out my dark sketch of a beautiful live oak with it’s twisted limbs. The focus of my composition was the horizontal light gap below the gnarly branches. The grass was sun lit on the distance while the live oak was a dark mass casting much of the scene into the shadows.

I got up a few times to see what Stella was up to. I liked the vibrant colors she was playing with. I have been getting frustrated lately at how dirty the colors are that I end up using thanks to of my filthy everyday watercolor palette. It is almost impossible for me to get a clean blue sky without some green getting thrown into the mix.  I just purchased 3 tubes of primary colors of gouache yesterday and want to start using them to mix more opaque passages in my sketches.

In this sketch, I wanted to make the hanging Spanish moss more obvious but the areas had already been painted with dark greens. I lightened up the moss with some white colored pencil but gouache would have worked much better. It would also be nice to paint in some light gaps between the bulk of the leaves. I have some of the parts to assemble a compact easel. I just need to settle down long enough to actually screw the parts together.

There is something very reassuring about working beside and artist whose work I respect, knowing that they are experiencing the same doubts, and frustrations while creating. There is a dopamine rush that comes as the many mistakes and corrections start bringing the sketch or painting to life. I get lost in the process and despite the many questions and doubts, I feel good about having gone through the process each time. I need to feel that rush every day. It is an addiction.

Play Coach Story Swap

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Jeff Wirth is a dynamic theatrical powerhouse in the interactive Orlando Theater Community. I sketched some of his unique workshops and productions early in my Orlando sketch a day journey. In one workshop he demonstrated the proper way to roll up electrical chords. You wind the chord between your wrist and elbow and every other turn the chord needs to be flipped to take away some of the rotational tension. Anyway, I think of Jeff every time I roll up a chord after working in the shop.

Jeff is the director at the Interactive Play lab. The Play Lab fosters Interactive performance  where audience members become co-creators of performed fiction. The Interactive PlayLab provides resources and training for creators of interactive performance. Jeff offers books, e-books, apps and templates to help performers meet their full potential,

Jeff moved to New York for a number of years and he dropped off my radar. When he returned to Orlando he immediately promoted his Interactive Play experiences on Facebook. I signed up but wanted to find a way to also sketch the experience. Sketching is how I play. I recruited a dear friend, Stella Arbeláez to also participate. The experience involved sharing stories and I know she is exceptional at sharing her story.

We met Jeff at the entrance to Dickson Azalea Park. I was looking at the possibility of buying a home in the Azalea Park area, so I considered it a sign that the universe was speaking to me. The home it turns out had termites that had infested all the roof rafters. Since I wasn’t up to rebuilding the home from the inside out, I abandoned the sale. All the reconstruction costs would have added over $100,000 to the price.

We walked with Jeff through the park until we came to a bench that overlooked a babbling stream. Jeff and Stella sat on the bench and I set up my little artist stool to sketch. Boo Boo jumped up on Stella’s lap and settled in. He was having a grand time with all the new smells to be found in Azalea park.

The structure of the Story Swap was pretty straight forward, Jeff asked a few questions and let Stella relate her stories of  shock and recovery. I will not recount what she discussed, they are her stories to tell, but they left me feeling inspired that the creative human spirit is incredibly resilient.  She took a sip from her aluminum water canister between tales.

Jeff then relayed his own story of a young relationship which had to end, yet there was no animosity in the separation. They both loved one another but work pulled the couple in different directions. They walked into divorce court holding hands. Having lived through a bitter divorce that probably still clouds my dark view of what a relationship can become, and having a marriage proposal refused, I found his story of loving separation surprising and ideal. Like an army retreating, my bridges are demolished with explosives.

I was so elated to have two of my dear friends relating such intimate and heart warming stories the very first time they met. When I look at social media or follow politics I see nothing but stories of violence and deception. I make it a policy that once I see a punch thrown on social media I turn it off and instead go about doing a sketch. Sitting with Jeff and Stella made me feel that there is still hope for friends to share meaningful stories that show how the human spirit can grow despite life’s challenges. Life can be a playful challenging adventure that is meant to be shared.

After the story swap, Jeff walked off, and Stella and I decided to do a painting in the park. We walked off to the car to get art supplies and when we got there, Stella realized she didn’t have her aluminum water canister. She riffled through the car but it wan’t there. She must have left it on the bench by the stream. We hiked back into Azalea Park toward the bench. As we got close, I noticed a man walking towards the bench. He was with his ten year old son. The dad picked up the water canister and started to walk off. We ran after him shouting out that the canister was Stella’s. He was happy to surrender it. Another of life’s tragedies had been narrowly averted.

Olive Garden

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I have been helping Stella Arbelaez with several large art projects. After a day of working in the studio, we went for dinner and a sketch at Olive Garden (10027 US Highway 441 Leesburg Fl). She had a coupon for a free dinner from years ago. She wasn’t sure it would work, but it was still valid. We ordered a big salad and pasta and then we both started to sketch while we waited for the food to come out. The menus on the tables were electronic. The displays flickered with adds constantly. I am amazed at how digital displays are invading even the simple act of going out to eat.

I focused on the group of diners seated next to us, while Stella did a sketch of me. Her sketch turned out rather good. It is one of the better sketches of me with my 75th Infantry cap and my beard.  There must have been about 5 different servers who stopped by the table. One was an artist himself who was attending college. The fellow who brought out the food would respond with “I got you” for any request. He said it to everyone in our section of the restaurant. I find myself saying it now in a joking way anytime someone makes a request.

There is something truly rewarding and relaxing about sketching with another artist. being around another artist you know they understand the struggle to create. A sketch isn’t easy, It is often a compilation of mistakes which hopefully is believable in the end. There might be two steps forward and then a step back. It is simply reassuring that sketching around another artist there is no expectation of perfection. As she put it, there is no need to act like a “normie’. We could just relax and be ourselves as we created.  For me there is always a feeling that I need to capture the moment with a sketch. In a restaurant there is a certain rush to try and block in the sketch before the food comes out. In Europe, especially Paris, many people will linger over a meal and watch the world go by, but in America there is a rush to get people served and out the door as quickly as possible.

I have gotten used to eating out alone, because that way I can always get a sketch done. It is a rare pleasure to share the experience with someone else.

Brooklyn Pizza

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In an attempt to locate arts events in Lake County, I found out that Brooklyn Pizza has live music on Thursday nights. Stella Arbelaez agreed to stop out for the sketch opportunity. It is always fun to sketch with another artist. When we got to Brooklyn Pizza on highway 27, we f0und out that there was no live music. The website had been wrong, or rather misleading. Live music was a rare occurrence. It is more likely to happen in the summer months rather than leading up to the Christmas holidays.

Rather than leave, we decided to settle in and order a pizza and sketch anyway. The tables in the center of the room had been pushed together and there was a large group of retirees, probably from The Villages which is a short distance to the north. Their pizzas had not been served yet so there was time to sketch the group.

Our waitress was an artist herself. She had done the Christmas window paintings at Brooklyn Pizza. Stella and I checked out her handy work when we were leaving. I have returned to Brooklyn Pizza several times since this outing, since it isjust one of the three choices if you want to have a quick bit out. There always seems to be a crowd of baby boomers enjoying a slice here at Brooklyn Pizza.

At the No Kings Protests around the country, baby boomers came out in force. Even in the deep red south, the young and old alike are furious at the fascist direction the country had shifted towards. There are plenty of Boomers making their voices heard.

Our waitress kept checking in on our sketching progress. I think having artists sketching is a rare occurrence at this pizza joint. The open sign was a lit up as an American flag. Seeing people crowded around a pizza pie as the world burns is true Americana. The only thing that could have mede the scene more complete would be for a guitar player to be standing in the corner working hard to drown out the conversations.

Serendipity in Mount Dora Florida

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Stella Arbelaez wanted to go to a public space to work. Being around people while writing can spark the creative juices. We drove to Mount Dora to find a place to sit and write and Serendipity fit the bill. It is a local artesian coffee shop and craft beer bar. What made Serendipity so appealing was that they have Karaoke night. We both ordered a cup of coffee and sat to sketch and then write. The room was rather small with 2 couches and three tables against the wall. A Santa doll was at the foot of the area where the DJ would be spinning the tunes. To our right was the bar where people could also sit, although most who crowded in, just stood in this area. The definition of serendipity is, to find something good without looking for it.

This was a challenging situation. I had no idea where singers might stand. I just started sketching the room and hoped for the best. People came and went rather quickly. The center table must have been repopulated three times during the course of my doing the sketch. All the Christmas decorations were already up, consisting of pictures covered in wrapping paper and a long green paper chain. Mount Dora goes hog wild decorating downtown with Christmas lights.

My sketch was completed before the first singer picked up a microphone. The three youngsters on the couch next to us turned out to be talented singers. The fellow with the torn jeans sang a song in a mockingly hilarious way. The music was incredibly loud, so Stella and I both put in ear plugs when we started tapping away on our laptops.

Singers came in waves. There was always some unexpected performance. Only a few singers made me cringe by hitting the wrong notes. One singer knocked over my coffee cup, but it had a cap and was mostly empty. There was no spillage.

It was a fun night and despite the intense volume I got plenty of sketching and writing done. I would gladly go back to Serendipity to experience Karaoke night again. Now that I know the layout and timing, I could go back to get a sketch of some singer at the microphone, and if I’m ambitious, I could put down the sketchbook and belt out a tune myself.

Serendipity 144 W 5th Ave, Mt Dora, FL 32757

Broken Woman

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The Broken Woman by Stella Arbeláez Tascón was last exhibited at the UCF Masters Exhibition in the UCF Art Gallery (12400 Aquarius Agora Dr, Orlando, Fl.) titled Haunt. That exhibit was on display until March 7, 2025.

Since that exhibition, The Broken Woman has been stored in the artists studio. At first she stood exposed with her vibrant red heart radiating golden beams inside her shattered shell.

The broken birdcage that hung in place of her head fell and broke further when she was moved to this spot. An old cell phone used to play static, but it had since died. The crotch still held some crisp Benjamin Franklin bills.

Then, the Broken Woman was covered with drop cloths held in place by bull clips. In many ways this visage is just as mysterious as the actual sculpture.The sculpture conveys some hope of escaping the convinces of caged thought, but covered in cloth she feels fully entrapped and enclosed. Any vibrant radiating colors were muffled.

Like Michelangelo‘s David, the head appears large. Since the entire figure is draped it looks like a medieval monk.

Behind the figure is a pantry that holds canned goods, potatoes and large jars of dried beans and other cooking items. The refrigerator has a pink swimming noodle under it to try and keep the robot vacuum cleaner from getting stuck on her daily cleaning duties.

The light switch for the room is also behind the draped figure, and getting to the switch involved a careful reach in just above the sculptures hips while avoiding her left arm.

The shelves are filled with inspiring books about artists of thee past like Leonardo Da Vinci, Botticelli, John Singer Sargent and , so many other amazing artists. Inspiration is always just an arms reach away.

Some of the framed work from the Haunted exhibition are on the walls in a hallway near the bathroom. Like this sculpture they are all also draped. Stella has no need to see the work hanging and on display. They were created for others to see, and they will not be unveiled until they go on exhibit again, or they find a new home.

Experimental Painting

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By Thomas Thorspecken

After attending Ilenia Colón Mendoza‘s Talk titled, From Paret y Alcázar to Bad Bunny: The Puerto Rican Jíbaro, I went to the Visual Arts building to see a wall of student work assembled by my friend Stella P. Arbelaéz Tascón. She has been teaching an experimental painting class as a Graduate Teaching Assistant and the student work from her students was on display.

What set this display of work off were articles written by the students that described their experiences in doing the assignments. The rest of the student work from other teachers were strictly paintings and drawings. Since I write articles each day about my experiences sketching, I was intrigued.

For one class, the assignment was Sumi painting using Japanese inks on rice paper. One student expressed how excited they were to try the technique. It was their first time using rice paper which is delicate requiring a gentle touch with the brush. Different values of ink application produced atmospheric perspective. The student found the use of the Japanese brushes to be calming. Another student found Sumi difficult, however she loved the result and plans o use what was learned in future projects. Projects pushed students beyond their comfort zones and that is where progress is made.

In another class, students worked in watercolor out in the UCF meditation garden. For most students this was there first time working in water color plein-aire. In the visual arts building undergrads are set up in tiny cubicles where they are tasked to create their body of work. I always find getting out of the studio refreshing. Sometimes the big concept can take the back seat to simple direct observation. One student noted that working with watercolor was challenging to start. With practice she began to understand how the medium worked. She began to use delicate layering of washes. Allowing the white of the paper to shine through was the biggest challenge.  Though challenging, the time flew by and she found painting in watercolor to be therapeutic.

I loved reading all the students thoughts. It grounded me to the simple joy of what if feels like to create something, every single day.

In the sketch above, Stella was working on labels for the wall display. She gave me a quick tour of the undergrad painting studio area. There were some very talented painters working in that area. A critique was about to start so we had to get in and out fairly quickly. Then she got to work adding labels to her student wall just as I had to hit the road, so I would be available for my online students back at the Lake County studio,