Orlando Drink and Draw (ODD) ventures to a new bar each month to sample beers and sketch. There is no model fee and no instruction. This is just a chance to get out, meet fellow artists and draw. I’m hoping to sketch in Central Florida’s best dive bars, so suggestions are always welcome. Mondays are usually slow event wise in Orlando so ODD usually happens on the First Monday of each Month. In December I changed the date to a Tuesday since Kirt and Maxine Earhard had a wedding ceremony on Monday. In their honor, January’s ODD will be at Maxine’s on Shine.
Melissa Marie was gracious about letting artists descend on The Falcon Bar and Gallery (819 E Tosh-0, Washington St, Orlando, FL) on December 8th. I never know how many artists will show up, I might sketch alone, or there could be up to a dozen artists who stop out. On route to the Falcon bar, I learned that Melissa
Marie’s sister, Anthea, had just died at the tender age of 32 from a pulmonary embolism.The message appeared in my Facebook news feed and then flickered off to show a more recent post. My heart goes out to Melissa and her family.
The bar was empty when I arrived around 6pm except for the bar tender. I ordered a cider and started sketching. An open mic night was scheduled to begin at 8pm so I hoped some of the stools would fill up by then. Brian OHalloran who has attended past ODD events stopped in. I told him the news about Melissa Marie’s sister and then he did a black somber sketch of the Falcon Bar o his iPad. The only color in his sketch was the red candles which to him represented sacred funeral candles. My sketch, has a similar dark feeling. All the art on the walls was by local artists. The theme seemed to be pop culture, super heroes and manga. Perhaps there was no theme.
The bar tender was watching a show called Tosh-O on TV. There was an insanely long clip of a woman tweaking, so I sketched the gyrating butt on the screen. Another sine, sh shouted “gross! and I glanced at the tube to see a weight lifter vomiting as he lifted the dumb bells over his shoulders. I wished I hadn’t looked up It seems a sad commentary on what Americans need to see to be entertained.
Brian and I chatted for a while after our sketches were done. I had missed a sketch opportunity he had given me a tip about. It was a candle light service at an angel statue for women who had lost children in childbirth or at a young age. He and his wife Maggie attended and he said it was one of the most emotional experiences he has ever had.
I had brought in a stack of paper for an ODD sketching concept I wanted to try out. I call it a $ketch Off. Artists face each other on bar stools and are given 5 minutes to sketch each other. Neither artist is posing, so it is a bit hectic and the results can be unexpected especially after a few drinks. Since there were just two artists, it was a chance to try it out. I switched to pence and paper since me tablet battery was low. Brian was game, and he worked on his iPad, although he said he was a bit intimidated at first. He is an architect, so people aren’t his specialty. While doing the sketch, he laughed off his concerns, and the result is far more interesting than a realistic depiction. Asking people to pose for five minute is actually outside my comfort zone as well. I tend to usually keep my distance and watch a seen unfold from afar. At some galas and costumed events I should start asking people to pose so I can capture some quick close up sketches.
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