Anatolian Houses Hotel in Görome Turkey.

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I stopped at the Anatolian Houses Hotel (Cevizler Sk, 50180 Göreme Belediyesi/Nevşehir Merkez/Nevşehir Merkez/Nevşehir, Turkey) two years ago on a trip. The rooms were carved into the limestone cliffs with stone rooms as additions. This stone living room where my X slept on the red couch, was connected via arched doorways into a bedroom that was carved into the cliff. The bathroom, also deep inside the cliff was a few steps up from the bedroom and had a large tub and plenty of pockets in the limestone walls to store towels and toiletries. Tiny windows carved in the walls overlooked the village below.

Another bathroom had deep holes in the floor covered in glass that fell away into the depths of the rock. The arched doorways between rooms had a definite disadvantage in that they were carved by someone who is less than 5 feet tall. I banged my head really hard one time as I was rushing to get out for a day of frantic sight seeing.

Flight to DC then Turkey.

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 A couple of years ago, my X and I went to Turkey to visit her niece Allison Brown
who works for the United States foreign service. At the time we visited
Allison, she said that her job might get very complicated if there was
politically charged dissent in the country. Her hotel had metal posts at
a guard booth that were intended to stop any terrorist threat of, let’s
say, a bomb filled truck. Luckily, she is now working in Washington
D.C.during the time of the present civil unrest.

Turkey has been in the news recently with a huge “March for Justice” that ended in Istanbul. Hundreds of thousands of people joined the rally in Istanbul following the 25 day long march to protest the government of president Recip Tayyip Erdogen. The government has been cracking down against any perceived threats after a failed coup last summer. The president was granted sweeping new powers after a controversial referendum in April. Erdogen claims to be cracking down on those who support militant organizations, but the government definition of what constituted backing terrorism is so broad that it has led to the arrest of thousands of civil servants, journalists, campaigners and other workers. Protesters demanded “Rights, Laws, Justice.” Also since this trip, Washington Post Journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered at the Turkish Consulate. What seemed like a gorgeous country to visit turned out to be dangerous.

The trip began with a flight to Washington D.C. where we would transfer to the international flight to Istanbul. I can never sleep on a plane, so the sketch pad invariably comes out.

It is a chance for me to check for the closest emergency exits and observe my fellow passengers.

Of course the flight from Orlando to D.C. wasn’t too long, but the flight to Istanbul was eternal. I watched plenty of movies and the progress map to pass the time after the sketch was done. Sketching on a plane is a thing that can only amuse me once a day. I don’t tend to like sitting in an audience staring at the back of heads and that is the only view available on an airplane. I can also easily pass the time watching the clouds which make amazing patterns, but this was an overnight flight which meant it was pitch black outside and everyone had their blinds down.

Terry’s day at the test track.

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My wife, Terry Thorspecken is a member of a Porche Club. The club has test track outings, driver training and a fun road rally where racers search for clues on road side signs. This test track was set up in a parking lot near a police gun range up north of Mount Dora. From the second we arrived, gunfire punctuated every moment. An SUV pulled up with a trailer that opened up to become the announcer’s station. The American flag fluttered in the breeze. Across the road was z grass covered landfill where model airplane enthusiasts flew their high pitched prop model airplanes.

Terry rented a driver’s helmet which every drive had to wear. She put a strip of tape on her car door to let the other drivers know this she was number 1. Actually being number 1 isn’t necessarily a good thing. It indicated that she was a beginner, and this was her first time on the track. At first a driving coach took the passenger seat to give her pointers on how to attack the track which consisted of a series of cones.  Each run was digitally timed. The announcer joked during her first run, saying that she was relaxing and taking her time on a leisurely Sunday drive. With all the track noise she couldn’t hear the announcer. Her first run was 87.882 seconds. On car did spin out of control at one point, hinting that this is actually a dangerous sport. The car windows had to be open, just, case a driver had to be dragged out of a wreck.

After a run, each car then had to line up on a long line to wait for the next run. It is easy to say that the drivers waited far more than they drove. There was always only one car on the track at a time. Terry’s second run dropped down to 73.646 seconds and by the end of the day she had her drive time down to 63.18 seconds. Though she didn’t get close to the best time for the day, she might has qualified as the most improved driver for the day.

The Orlando Sketch Tour explores color.

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At the First Orlando Sketch Tour we were chased inside Panera Bread thanks to impending rain. Kelly Medford and myself made the best of it and the restaurant became our classroom. Here we introduced everyone to the watercolor pallets we had supplied each artist with. We asked everyone to make a color wheel and then to make a light watery wash of each color along side a dark, syrupy wash of the same color. When working on location, I seldom have the time to mix colors, so I mix color washes on the sketch to find the colors and values needed. A sketch always starts out light and then I keep adding pigments to build up the darks. Trying to cover the whole surface except for a few white spots is the first objective.

On this day, students from Elite Animation Academy came out to join the Sketch Tour artists.  My wife Terry also came out to show her support. She is in the center of the sketch in the pink cowboy boots reading a magazine. Her signature sketch is a smiley face and she can finish that in five seconds. Shelby brought her daughter on the tour and together they discovered color and how to compose a sketch. That seems like the perfect way for a family to spend time together. My Elite Urban Sketching students were well into their studies so I let them sketch in peace offering just a few suggestions if they needed help. Between the eight or so Sketch Tour artists and the four Elite Animation students, we pretty much filled up the front room at Panera Bread. A little rain never stops an Urban Sketcher.

Riding Horses on Vacation

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My wife Terry used to love to ride horses. She used to volunteer for the Police Equestrian Unit in Orlando riding the police horses  to make sure they got enough exercise. On a vacation to visit my family in Pennsylvania she went for a trail ride while I sketched the horses in the coral. She stopped riding abruptly when a police horse got spooked and threw her to the ground. She ended up with a huge bruise down her leg which had her limping for a week.Horse riders say that it isn’t a matter of “if” you will be thrown, but a matter of “when” you will be thrown. I have never trusted horses and I have never sat on top of a horse. I suspect they don’t have my best interests at heart.

 On a vacation to the Canadian Rockies this year, Terry once again went on a trail ride that went for miles up a muddy path to a glacier lookout. I stayed behind and did a sketch. The trail horses were super calm and she didn’t get thrown or injured. Perhaps as the saying goes, she is back in the saddle. The trail horses had Western saddles that have that horn to grab onto. The police horses have English saddles that leave a rider with nothing to grab if they loose their balance. Regardless of the saddle though, I still prefer to sketch horses rather than ride them.

A Digital Artist in a Digital World

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Terry took of for a weekend to shop with her friend Elaine Pasekoff in Miami.While she was gone, I spent my Sunday trying to figure out a new digital paint program called SAI. The program is pretty intuitive and it allows for quick spontaneous mixing of colors right on the sketch. Several times last week I was sketching in theaters where the house lights were out for the duration of the show. That meant sketching and painting in the dark. On one occasion I used my cell phone as a light source but that meant I had to hold the cell phone with my left hand which made it impossible to hold the palette. I’m coming up with a simple clamp, lamp stand device which could hold the cell phone but haven’t figured out the design yet. It would have to fold up to be put back in the art back once the sketch is done.

SAI Paint Program could be an alternative for dark theaters as well. The tablet obviously generated its own light. It would however likely be considered intrusive however if there were other audience members in the theater. You might recall that someone was shot and killed for using their cell phone in a movie theater down here in Florida. SAI offers me the ability to apply saturated colors behind the line sketch and a quick way to paint gradations and highlights. As a paint program it is superior to Sketchbook Pro which doesn’t allow for mixing colors.

There is a major problem however in that SAI doesn’t have pressure sensitivity on my Motion Computing tablet. This means that lines don’t start out thin and then grow thicker as pressure is applied to the stylus. It is a major drawback. Sketchbook Pro does have pressure sensitivity so putting down lines is intuitive and fun. I spent the whole day trying to figure out how to switch drivers and or turn on the sensitivity. After a solid eight hours or so of research online, I was no closer to an answer.

When Terry got home and started to watch a movie, I decided to do a sketch using Sketchbook Pro and then I imported that sketch into SAI and started to paint. Bold brush strokes don’t necessarily always need pressure sensitivity but because of that, I spent far too much time switching brush sizes to go back and forth between thick and thin.

Wacom has a new Cintiqu Companion that is just like my tablet in that it can be used as a digital sketchbook. I looked up several videos that show it using SAI with all it’s sensitive features in use. My Motion tablet was designed for field technicians and nurses so it wasn’t designed with the artist in mind. For now I’ll continue to use the Motion tablet with this two program workaround. If I keep doing digital sketches I might be able to speed up the process so that it can be used every day. It basically makes it possible to have rich color quickly and apply light opaque paint over a dark base. I might start using gouache paint in my sketchbook to get a feel for a similar effect using real paint. If I switch to doing digital sketches, then there is no longer any original sketch to sell. The original would only be a computer file and I would have to sell prints. It is a catch 22, I love the look that is possible digitally, but there is a definite advantage to having an original sketchbook which can be stored away on a book shelf. I’ve had computers and tables die before and when that happens all the digital sketches disappear on the lost hard drive. I would have to get much better at creating and backing up a digital bookcase. Technology keeps changing which makes archiving work a constant challenge. When I first started this blog, my intention was to switch back and and forth between traditional and digital sketches. I might be bringing that experiment back again.

After two days of endless research online, I finally found an article that helped me resolve the issue of no pressure sensitivity. I deleted the Wacom driver and downloaded and installed  the latest European version of the Wacom driver. Since SAI was written by a Japanese company, it makes sense that a European driver would work.  I was amazed and elated that it finally worked.

Lakeside Inn

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Once a year, Elaine Pasekoff, Bob Newlin and Jill Ziegler make a pilgrimage to Central Florida to attend the Renningers Antique Market in Mount Dora. The last several years Terry has joined them in their all day shopping fest. She has started collecting antique women’s compants encrusted in jewels. Last year she also came home with a huge railroad crossing sign. Bob who comes from Washington D.C. collects antique silver. Elayne comes from Miami and usually walks away with some Teddy Roosevelt memorabilia. Jill, also from D.C., has joined in the last several outings collecting fine china. I didn’t spend the day shopping, but I agreed to meet the exhausted shoppers at the Lakeside Inn where they were staying the night so they could continue shopping at the Renningers flea market the next day.

I got to the Inn a little early and decided to sketch the building. A women stopped to admire the sketch. She told me that a friend of hers was an artist. Teachers bought the girls work. In time however, the art student sold her soul to the devil and became a graphic designer. The crew parallel parked across the street from me.  They unloaded their haul for the day and made their way to the hotel’s front porch for “Show and Tell.” There were several people smoking cigars, so we all moved to a smaller porch on one of the hotel’s smaller buildings.

Elaine advised me to come up with “Best Of” categories for the best buys of the day. Last year Elaine won my vote by getting four French diorama scenes that were multilayered, adding depth to the scenes.This year Terry won the Sci-Fi Award for her purchase of an unused Star Trek board game. Elaine won the Best Teddy Award for a bust of the president. The Steal of the Day Award went to Jill. Bob’s knockers won my pick for the Best Overall Award. The mini working door knockers were on a tie clip.

We all watched the sun set over Lake Dora and then went out to dinner. We all stayed at the Inn, which is the longest standing working Inn in Florida. The next day as the troops rallied to shop again, I drove back to Orlando.

On Top of Gore Mountain

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My sister Carol decided to car pool us all out to Gore Mountain. It was a frigid cold day. I put on all the sweaters, sweatshirts and coats I had. From the parking lot we could see the snow machines hard at work to open the slopes for the season. In the lodge people were busy putting on their sky boots, water proof bib overalls and thick parkas. People walked like Frankenstein with those big boots on. We didn’t have all the equipment. We just wanted to take the gondola up to the top of the mountain to look around. I think the one time ticket to the top cost $12. I think skiers paid $59 for an all day pass. Holiday rates jump up to $79 for the day. Renting skis would cost $45 for the day. I’ll walk thank you. I doubt I’d sketch any better with skis strapped to my feet.

The gondolas are constantly in motion. We got on as it whipped around to go back up the mountain. The windows were frosted over with ice since the gondola passed close to several snow machines. When we got to the top, we were advised not to walk on any of the ski trails. There was nothing to stop the wind up there. You could see forever. Carol lead us all to the start of one of the trails. Kirsten, Anna and Nini found a small icy hill where they could slide down for 15 feet. I kept my hands jammed in my pockets and faced away from the wind. Carol took some photos. I wasn’t smiling, my face had a grimace of shock.

0n the gondola ride down, I read a sign about the early days at Gore. Seasoned locals used to play tricks on the newbies who came up from New York City. In town they would spread rumors of bear attacks on the slopes. When the newbie went to the top of the mountain, a local would be there hidden in the woods to let out a loud bear growl. Success would be a good wipe out.

I did my sketch when we got back to the foot of the mountain. While everyone else went in the lodge to warm up, I sat at a picnic table to sketch the skiers in line for the gondola. It seemed warm compared to the top of the mountain. My watercolor paint literally crystallized as it froze on the page. I left the effect in several places and rubbed the crystals off in other places when I applied second layers of darker washes. My drawing hand had the finger tips cut off from the glove. I didn’t spend a long time on the sketch because I wanted to get inside to warm up.

Trends with Friends

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Wendy Wallenberg told Terry about a fashion show at Bloomingdale’s and I decided to tag along. Terry was worried that we might not get in since our names weren’t on the list. I was going straight from work and felt under dressed with jeans and a five o’clock shadow. The event wasn’t crowded and anyone could get in. We arrived long before people got seated on either side of the runway. I decided to stand at a table facing two manikins with a sweeping view of the runway. I noticed when the models arrived with their small roll along luggage and slender figures like flight attendants. Terry scouted for food and drink while I sketched. She brought back some smoked salmon on a slice of bread. It looked delicious. I’m not sure what drinks were offered, but she went back for more.

Wendy hadn’t arrived yet and Terry was getting bored. When Wendy did arrive, just before the show started, she texted me, “I’m here, don’t forget to put me in the sketch”. I looked up and waved to her seated next to Terry. Ten percent of all sales that night would go to MD Andersen Cancer Center of Orlando thanks to the efforts of Women Playing for TIME. Melanie Pace who was the wardrobe stylist, announced the models as they went down the runway. The runway presentation involved transforming “Daytime Wardrobe into Evening Chic“. I focused on Hope each time she strutted down the runway. I mixed and matched her wardrobe each time she modeled. Fashion models seldom stand still.

I was still applying color as the fashion show wrapped up. A server offered me a peach cobbler and man was it delicious.  I finished up the sketch so I could leave with Terry. Wendy wanted to shop. None of the outfits modeled appealed to Terry.

Jet Blue Flight 1717

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My wife Terry dropped me off at the Orlando International Airport two hours early to get through security and wait for my Jet Blue flight to Santo Domingo. 100 artists from around the world were gathering there for the Third International Urban Sketching Symposium. I was fortunate enough to be selected as one of the ten instructors. My workshop would be called “Capturing the Event.” All my course materials were tucked away in my carry on.

This is probably the calmest scene I sketched during the week of the symposium, as flight 1717 fueled up and prepared for boarding.  The flight took just about two hours flying south to the Dominican Republic. For the in flight snack, I grabbed a bag of animal crackers and I tried to identify each species before I bit off its head or legs. Each seat back had TV screens with 35 stations and three movies playing. I pushed the buttons on my arm rest and decided to watch The Lorax without sound. This Dr. Seuss animated feature was easy to follow even without the dialogue. Watching a film without sound let me focus on how scenes are composed, staged and lit. When I wasn’t watching the screen, I was watching the gorgeous cathedral like cloud formations.