Spooky Empire Vendor Set Up

Posted on by Thor

Set up for Vendor at Spooky Empire began at 6pm on October 24th at the Double Tree Hotel right across Kirkman Drive from Universal Studios. Vendors cars and vans were parked in front of the hotel as they unloaded. Shane and Heather Herbert Malesky of Chronic Damage Art were there setting up. Heather had kindly invited me to stop by and document the show as it took form in the convention hall. Tattoos and brightly colored hair circulated the hall.

The vendor to the left in my sketch was the first to be completely set up. A table cost $300 for an artist to rent for the weekend. Shane got 2 tables and he set up his own electricity using a marine battery since hotel electric would cost an extra $100 for the weekend. His exhibit utilized a metal grid which he and Heather attached a Chronic Damage banner. It would have towered high above all the other signage but unfortunately it broke apart as they tried to scoot the structure up against the wall. When all his paintings were in place and the lights went on, Shane’s paintings created an impressive display. During the show, Heather looked quite demonic as one of Shane’s paintings.



Tommy Castillo was hanging demonic looking super hero’s and Mark Hadley was hanging paintings on coffin shaped canvases. A machine gun was moved to the top of a bookcase. It looked heavy, I do believe it was the real thing but don’t know if it was for sale or just for display. Every possible horror themed painting was on display. There was a demonic rabbit whose bubbling guts flowed out of it’s open wounds. There was Freddie, Elvira and multiple skeletal creatures. Local artist Morgan Wilson actually found someone who had one of her paintings tattooed on her leg.

Exhibiting would be a costly risk for any artist, but as the saying goes, you have to spend money to make money. I didn’t spend as much time as I would have likes at the convention, it was without a doubt a sketching landmine since zombies and cosplay characters were everywhere.

Zombie March

Posted on by Thor

The Zombie March happens every year as part of Spooky Empire’s Ultimate Horror Weekend. This year the convention of horror was being held at the DoubleTree By Hilton at Universal (5780 Major Blvd. Orlando, FL). This is right across the street from Universal Studios which is perfect if people wanted to check out Halloween Horror Nights at Universal.

The Zombie March was scheduled for 4pm on Friday October 25th at Hooters which is about a quarter mile north.of the Double Tree on Kirkman.  I arrived about an hour early and zombies were milling around in the parking lot. Two zombies stood curb side moaning and flailing at passing buses. It was hot in the sun although temperatures are just starting to dip in Orlando. Make up artists were set up on the Porch of Hooters transforming people into zombies.

I sat at a table with a sheriff whose facial skin had been ripped off leaving red bloody pulp in its place. We talked for a bit. He has been coming to Spooky Empire for the past four years and he has seen the convention grow exponentially. He said that the money spent on alcohol probably has kept the convention growing. Attendees can rub shoulders with stars of horror. For instance he bragged that he got to chat with Shannen Doherty one year at poolside. He told me that the make up artist at the far end of the porch was doing the most detailed work, so I thanked him and moved closer to sketch the artist at work.

He was busy adding bruising to the cleavage of a woman who had on a Wonder Woman T-shirt. He had her tilt her head back and then poured blood down her cheeks and neck. Her skin was chalky white and there was a bite wound on her forehead and breast. Zombies don’t understand social boundaries when it comes to feeding. Jason stood rock still watching the make up artist work. Talk powder was added to her hair so she looked like she just rose from the grave.  Wonder Woman put on her red cape and vogued for photographers along with her friend who were all zombie super heroes.

I was still sketching as the make up artist packed away his supplies. I should have come earlier to get several sketches. Zombies got riled up at the sound of a chain saw and they all began to shuffle down Kirkman towards the hotel. Several make up artists remained on the porch painting Day of the Dead ornate flowery skull make up onto the faces of Hooters waitresses. When they all were painted, they posed for photos, being sure to lean forward to showcase their exposed v-necked supple slopes.

Universal Parking Nazi

Posted on by Thor

On March 1st, the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida hosted a fundraising concert at Hard Rock Live. Hard Rock is located at Universal Studios City Walk complex. After 6PM, the parking garage becomes free for Florida Residents. I left home later than usual to make sure I got to Universal after 6PM.

There was a long line of cars waiting to get past the parking admission booths. When I got up to the booth, the collections agent asked me for my Florida drivers license which I was happy to show him. Now my license isn’t the prettiest thing in the world. It is dog eared at the corners and the renewal stickers that Department of Motor Vehicles keeps sending tended to slip a bit from being in my hot wallet too long. Anyway, I’m holding my license out the window and he barks at me that he needs a FLORIDA License. “It is a Florida license.” I respond. He frowned and took the card from me, then handed it back. “I can’t use that”. He said. After some arguing, he did admit it was a Florida license, but he said “I can’t scan that.” “What? You didn’t even try!” was my response. “It is valid till May of 2013, read the back.” I got five bucks out of my wallet since there seemed to be no way to reason with this Parking Nazi. I held my bill out the window but he took so long with the car on the opposite side of the booth, that I changed my mind. “I’m leaving.” I told him. He slapped a ticket on my windshield under the wiper and pointed me towards the exit. I turned on my wipers to send the ticket flying as I drove away.

After leaving Universal and cooling down, I decided to return to the parking garage but this time I would look for a female parking attendant. I figured a female attendant would be more reasonable than the Parking Nazi. It was quite a drive on side roads and a very crowded International Drive. When I drove up to the female attendant, she gasped when she saw the card, but she did let me into the garage. I probably wasted an hour of drawing time by arguing and driving in circles, but I was in. I stayed off the moving walkways and used the steps rather than the escalators, for the exercise and to warm up. Besides walking is often faster than the moving walkways.

There was a metal detector to get into Hard Rock Live. The security guard said, “You can’t bring that chair inside.” “Your kidding.” I replied, “What am I supposed to do with it?” “You’ll have to bring it back to your car.” If you’ve been to Universal, then you know that the parking garage is a loooong walk. If I had to walk all the way back, I’d probably leave in a huff. This was the last straw. As I was debating what to do, a second guard said, “Let him in.” I set off the metal detector then emptied all the art supplies in my pockets onto a table. Finally I was in.

Betsy Dye who had recently started working for the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida greeted me in the lobby. Her warmth and cheer melted away my frustrations. I went up to the White Lennon Room where people were able to meet the band members of 38 Special. The band members hadn’t arrived yet, so I went out on the balcony and sketched there. It was a cold night, so I drew fast.

K.D. Lang

Posted on by Thor

On May 27th, K.D. Lang performed at Hard Rock Live in Universal Studios. Terry scored some free tickets to the concert. We were pleased to find that parking is free for Florida residents after 6PM as well. We parked in the Jaws lot and rode the series of escalators and people movers towards City Walk. City Walk is the closest thing Orlando has to Times Square so I might be tempted to return for some night time sketching in the future.

Our seats were way up in nose bleed territory, but the price was right. Terry went to get some sodas at the bar. I saw Parker Sketch in the crowd but I didn’t have a chance to talk to him, I was already sketching. I layed out the sketch while the house lights were on, but then the place went pitch black. The warm up act was Jane Siberry and the Siss Boom Bang. She is from Toronto, Ontario, Canada and is most famous for her early 1980s new wave
hits such as ‘Mimi on the Beach’, ‘I Muse Aloud’ and ‘One More Color’.
Internationally, she is best known for her 1993 album ‘When I Was a
Boy’. She talked far more than she sang and honestly we couldn’t wait for her to get off the stage.

Terry has several K.D. Lang CDs so I was very familiar with her music. She  is a Grammy Award-winning Canadian singer and songwriter. She is
regarded as one of Canada’s foremost female vocalists, as well as a
champion of legal equality for LGBT people. K.D. is the same age as me. Terry told me that when K.D. came out publicly she was in her twenties and it took some guts since most performers hid their private lives and loves. She was on fire for this performance. I particularly liked her rendition of Hallelujah.  People were standing and swaying to the music by the end of the concert. There was endless applause when she left the stage and even louder applause for the encore. It was a great concert in a great venue.