2nd Annual June Bug Poetry Festival Open Mic

Posted on by Thor

On the first Monday of every month there is a poetry open mic at Tatami Tea and Sake Lounge, (223 West Fairbanks Ave.Winter Park). The event was hosted by Russ Golata. I arrived a bit late and Russ, dressed in a red Avengers T-Shirt, gave me a warm meaty handshake and pointed out the sign in sheet for me. I found a seat at one of the remaining high bar stools and started lightly penciling in a sketch of the first poet. He read a rather long piece about the gears on a bicycle. I didn’t commit to sketching him since I figured he would be done any minute. He finished and there was warm applause. Then he sat in the seat directly in front of me blocking my view. I’m such a dope, I didn’t consider that possibility. I erased all my pencil marks and moved to the Susi bar right next to the stage.

The next reader was Amy Aviles. Apparently Russ had called her while she was making dinner and he insisted she come down to read. I was captivated by the intricate tattoos on her arm. I cursed my short sightedness because I couldn’t make out the word that was inscribed in delicate swirling detail above a male portrait. She read her poems off her iPhone and the relaxed beat and cadence of her poem had the flow of spoken word. Another poet related that there had been a death in her family. She sat on stage and read a poem about living with pride in spite of illness. Her second poem about knowing a man, related the intricacies of a relationship well lived in spite of life’s demands and limitations. It was bitter sweet. A young poet named Logan Anderson read poems filled with youthful angst. His second poem had a musical backup from his iPhone. Curtis Meyer performed with eloquent speed and fervor, his spoken words sparking at lightning speed. I liked his analogy that poets were like super heroes, their observations being their power.

As I left, Russ let me know that I was welcome back anytime. Curtis announced a new poetry event later that evening down on Fairbanks and another author announced she was having a book signing on June 16th from 1PM to 3PM at Stardust Video & Coffee. The room was filled with new faces. With so much going on, it is hard to keep up doing just one sketch a day. Walking back to my car, the rhyme and flow of poets words still rang through my mind. An event like this demands and inspires creative thought. I seem to only have time for the subtle layering of facts. Who could sit at home passively watching TV when there is energy like this around town? Seize the day.

Ghost Busters

Posted on by Thor

The October edition of Dr. Sketchy‘s had a Ghost Busters theme. The walls of Tatame Sake Lounge were lined with paintings by Vaughn Belak which all had a macabre, goth, Halloween flavor. Tamara Grey who had run Dr. Sketchy’s since I first discovered it a year ago, moved to the West Coast to work at a visual effects house. Her move happened just days before and so she handed over the reigns to Kristen Pauline and a photographer named Adrienne Frankenfield.

The woman dressed as the Ghost Busters secretary, Jenine Melnitz, was both sensual and awkward with her tight orange mini skirt and wild red hair which almost hid her cat eye shaped lime green glasses. The model wearing the Ghost Busters uniform had gone all out in duplicating the tools of a Ghost Busters trade. His backpack haa blinking diodes, a disk shaped vortex at the base and tubes that went everywhere. That unit would fire off a serious plasma beam.

While all the rest of the artists were struggling with the one and two minute poses, I was focusing my attention on the room and all the paintings. When there was finally a five minute pose, I blocked in the figures quickly and finalized the ink work on Jenine. I then waited for the ghost Buster to take another “shooting” pose. when he did, he was facing the wrong way so I moved to the opposite side of the room to sketch him. Happy Halloween!

Dr. Sketchy’s – Tatame Lounge

Posted on by Thor

I decided to relax for an evening and work with a model. Dr. Sketchy’s meets every first Wednesday of each month at Tatame Lounge (223 West Fairbanks Road). I found a parking spot right around the corner from the Lounge and when I walked in people were already drawing. With the first set of poses the model was dressed as a 1960’s housewife. She had a voluptuous figure and was a joy to sketch. I quickly sketched her figure and then focused my attention on all the fellow artists at work. Seated next to me was Joey Fisher who knew of my blog and asked me about my approach to a sketch. I explained how I block the picture in and we spoke for a few minutes between sets.
A waitress explained the specials for the night and I was looking forward to getting a sake but she never came back. I think the fact that I never stop working when I start a sketch throws people off and they are afraid to approach me. The light hanging above the spot I sat at was burned out. Joey managed to get a staff member to come over and replace the bulb. After the bulb was replaced, it immediately flickered off again. Something was wrong with the bulb connection. Jennifer Gwynne Oliver a fellow Former Disney artist came over and lent me her book light. I had a book light but I liked hers better it had a gentle warm glow whereas mine was way to bright.
Towards the end of the posing session a large group entered the bar and they crowded around the back of the room where I was seated. Things got loud and soon most of the artists were chatting it up as well. When it came time for the Dr. Sketchy’s competition, I was nowhere near finished with my sketch. The prize was a Disney book which I honestly didn’t want anyway so I didn’t compete. If you don’t compete, you can’t loose. Before I knew it the evenings sketching session was over. I left with a single sketch which makes me wonder if I got my $5 worth for the evenings modeling session.